One of my favorite TV shows in recent years is the Netflix original “Travelers“. It’s a fantastic show and I recommend you check it out, but the show itself isn’t really the point of this post.
Late in the series, one of the characters (Marcy) has lost much of her memory, so she asks David to “tell me about me”. He tries, but can’t really express himself very well, and ends up saying “all I can tell you is what you did to me; how I felt whenever you walked through the door” and then ends with:
“Maybe someone is best defined by how they affect the people around them.“
Even though Marcy can’t remember it, David’s life was changed in amazing ways because of the time he got to spend with her. In a comment at Daily Kos a while ago, a user there shared it this way:
“I think this is beautiful. I have always felt that the measure of my life will be on what I leave behind… not monetary or physical riches, but on the impact and memories I leave with those still alive. Once I’m no longer here to speak for myself, who I am… was… will be framed and articulated by those I interacted with and left an impression on.”
The money and property that you leave behind will be beneficial to some, but the impact that you leave on people, good or bad, will far outlive your time on this earth.
