And, I still can’t quite believe all that was built centuries and centuries ago in the history-rich European countries. Recently, I traveled to Italy with my family and was in awe of the structures that were built by hand and with make-shift equipment over 2,000 years ago. The physical effort and sheer architectural genius that went into places like the Forum, Coliseum and Piazza de Poppolo caused me to pause and wonder…what legacies are we going to leave for visitors hundreds of years from now, and actually even decades from now? Seems like we are going to leave a great deal of debt and pollution, and natural resources that have been depleted.
Now, recent and current generations can certainly take credit for the technology boom, skyscrapers and space travel, but are these going to be legacies that we will be proud of? Will they withstand the test of time like the ancient structures have? I wonder if the motivation to build and create such greatness was driven by the “need” of the people – need for protection against their enemies, need to elevate their position in society and so on. Conversely, it feels like we here in America are more driven by what we “want” – wanting to be bigger and better than our neighbors, wanting everything to be fast and easy and so on. And, that might lessen our creativity, ingenuity, work ethic and overall commitment to one another, our environment, society and future generations.
Creating a legacy feels like an insurmountable task to me based on my own talents, but maybe it’s a bit simpler than that. Just maybe I can do something that will positively affect my family, friends and co-workers now and into the future. Whether it’s a tradition – new or old – a kind action or a profound thought! While Rome wasn’t built in a day, I am going to try and work on my mini-legacies starting today.
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