The next generation that we have influenced will unveil clear evidence as to how we have lived our lives, unless of course there is divine intervention.
However, as wise as King Solomon was, who lived long before Christ, there were areas in his life where he lived like a fool. And the resulting next generation revealed that fact. The kingdom that he had built, as the richest and wisest man on planet earth in his time – at his departure – was swiftly ripped from the hands of his family through the foolishness displayed by his heir, and the fruit of the foolish things that he himself did throughout his ‘wise’ years.
A tree is always evidenced by the fruit it bears. And if we choose to live foolishly or wisely – the next generation will bring forth the fruit of our lives.
Be aware that our decisions impact the generations. Our values determine the paths of our future inheritance. We cannot stand idly by living as we wish without it having ramifications into the future.
If we sow wild oats we will reap the devastating implications from such choices. If we sow good crops, then we and our heritage will flourish from such a planting.
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I read this obituary the other day that brought a smile to my face. How good would it be to die, and in your death you actually inspire those who are living.
Here is one example of exactly that…
For a late starter, the career of award-winning Hollywood producer David Brown took an extraordinarily successful course. The former journalist produced some major hits that not only became classics, but also made him – and his sometimes employer 20th Century Fox – plenty of money. They included Jaws, The Sting, Chocolat, A Few Good Men and Driving Miss Daisy.
He was a partner with Richard Zanuck in the early 1970s – when they produced the blockbusters Jaws, The Verdict and Cocoon – before Brown started his own career as a film and theatrical producer.
Brown was still producing movies such as Chocolat well into his 80s, including supervising filming on location.
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‘Philosophy is perfectly right in saying that life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the other clause – that it must be lived forward.’ Soren Kierkegaard
It is only as the years have flowed through my fingers, like sand, for decades at a time, that I have started to grasp the meaning of Kierkegaard’s words.
For there have been times in my life that I wished that at eighteen years of age I had been the possessor of the wisdom that I now possess. But life must be experienced, and we cannot place an older head on younger shoulders. For a wise head, in most cases, must learn through the development of experiential knowledge.
But there is a fast track that can be attained. And that is by positioning yourself in the company of wisdom – be it mentors both living and dead – and making certain that you listen, take notes and then take action.
Wisdom literature has been my companion now for many a year, and it is from there that I have learnt to understand backward while continuing to live forward.
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Recently I was reading about the death, at age 54, of a man – who in the words of one of our nation’s prominent leaders, was the greatest concert pianist in the country, if not the world. And yet he had over a number of years, leading up to his death, been sidelined, in the words of this leader, by all the major symphony orchestras in Australia. And it appeared that from that point on his life spiraled downward, and ultimately landed him in an early grave.
But may I suggest that we can all be guilty of blaming others for our demise, or else we can get up and go again. We can sit and wait for someone to give us an opportunity, or we can make our opportunity. We are responsible for our own destiny, because we have been endowed with the power to choose – no matter what life throws at us.
Life has its seasons. For every winter there is a summer. And for every Autumn or Fall there is a Spring.
It’s how we respond to each of these seasons that will determine the outcome of our experience – especially during the tougher seasons.
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If there is one word of wisdom I can offer you today it’s this: stop comparing yourself to those around you.
The days of keeping up with the Jones or the Smiths are dead and gone. Stop looking at the other guys car, because if you knew the truth of it all, you’d probably be glad to know that you don’t have to pay his monthly lease bill. I have seen it time and time again – especially in tough economic times – the shedding of top end vehicles and multi-million dollar mansions because the vehicles and properties were never owned by the occupants in the first place. They were owned by the bank. So stop comparing yourself with others and their stuff.
The only person you should be comparing yourself with is you and your last week, month or year’s performance.
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