A Midget amongst Giants
For those of you who know me, this may be the last thing you may have thought of me. Standing at a little over 6'1", I tower over most people on a daily basis. My friend Elizabeth, who is also vertically gifted, made the comment one night that there are only two people in our young adults group that she looks literally up to - Seth and myself.
I went to Wal-Mart (the place where I'm "zen" again) as I typically do a few times a week, looking for random little knick knacks, new items, and just to be around people. For the first time in many years though, I felt tiny. I felt so small amongst the mass of people. For just about anybody else, this would seeem like a cry for pity. I felt like a a baby tuna in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
For somebody who has stuck out from the crowd over half of his life, this was a comfort and a new experience. I've always tried to excel, to be the best at all I do, to be known. The very meaning of my full name is 'Man famed throughout the land". Still, I don't want fame...not that kind.
I don't want to be known for some great invention, for a new technique I develop, for great financial success, for my prowness with women (like THAT would ever happen!), for amazing musicianship, nor skill with the written word. All those things will fade one day.
I want to be known for the lives of the common man that I touched. I want to be remembered by the guy I gave 10 bucks to for gas when he ran out, by the cyclist that I offered a ride to when his tire went flat, to the guy I helped change his flat tire on his bike at the park, the lady that I helped change her flat tire on her car, the man I offered food to, the person whom I got the can of some food for from the top shelf, the many a friend I was there for when a loved one passed away, the friend that I gave up part of my day for just to listen to her talk, and so on.
This means more to me than any other fame that I may gain on this earth. I don't expect a great reward in heaven, nor to be thanked buy God Himseelf for it. Its not about that. Its about being the "insignificant" from 6.6 billion people showing, kindness, mercy, compassion and love to another "insignificant". Suddenly there is more significance to the insignificant, and a greater joy in the world - the kind God wanted all of us to receive.
I don't want scholars, thinkers, beaurocrats, politicians, brokers, celebrities and dignitaries at my funeral. I want those people I mentioned, the ones who received a small part of what dwelled within me, that which God put within me that i imparted to them. In them is where my inheritance dwells.
I went to Wal-Mart (the place where I'm "zen" again) as I typically do a few times a week, looking for random little knick knacks, new items, and just to be around people. For the first time in many years though, I felt tiny. I felt so small amongst the mass of people. For just about anybody else, this would seeem like a cry for pity. I felt like a a baby tuna in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
For somebody who has stuck out from the crowd over half of his life, this was a comfort and a new experience. I've always tried to excel, to be the best at all I do, to be known. The very meaning of my full name is 'Man famed throughout the land". Still, I don't want fame...not that kind.
I don't want to be known for some great invention, for a new technique I develop, for great financial success, for my prowness with women (like THAT would ever happen!), for amazing musicianship, nor skill with the written word. All those things will fade one day.
I want to be known for the lives of the common man that I touched. I want to be remembered by the guy I gave 10 bucks to for gas when he ran out, by the cyclist that I offered a ride to when his tire went flat, to the guy I helped change his flat tire on his bike at the park, the lady that I helped change her flat tire on her car, the man I offered food to, the person whom I got the can of some food for from the top shelf, the many a friend I was there for when a loved one passed away, the friend that I gave up part of my day for just to listen to her talk, and so on.
This means more to me than any other fame that I may gain on this earth. I don't expect a great reward in heaven, nor to be thanked buy God Himseelf for it. Its not about that. Its about being the "insignificant" from 6.6 billion people showing, kindness, mercy, compassion and love to another "insignificant". Suddenly there is more significance to the insignificant, and a greater joy in the world - the kind God wanted all of us to receive.
I don't want scholars, thinkers, beaurocrats, politicians, brokers, celebrities and dignitaries at my funeral. I want those people I mentioned, the ones who received a small part of what dwelled within me, that which God put within me that i imparted to them. In them is where my inheritance dwells.
posted by El Guapo at 8:07 PM
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