Deacon Oliver’s Cemetery
Deacon Oliver’s Cemetery
Tonight I have an image to share with you. Along with a few thoughts about life, death and taxes. Well… life death and legacy. Not so much thoughts about taxes.
Let me begin by telling you a little bit about this image.
Photographing the Deacon Olivers Cemetery
This summer I made a little trip with my cousin to Maine. I’ve been sharing images from the trip ever since.
Nathan and I hiked the Nature Conservancy trail on Indian Point. Once we were done taking pictures down by the ocean we came back “the short way” which involved hiking along a paved “road.” About halfway back to the parking lot we came across this small graveyard.
I was immediately drawn to this graveyard. Old graveyards are simply interesting. This one proved to be the final resting place of a dozen or so men, women and children.
I took a number of shots of the area and stones and kind of forgot about them till I was back home and working through the editing of the pictures from the trip.
So What About Life And Death and Legacy?
As I look at this image I can’t help but wonder about those who are buried here. I wonder about their families. What they did for a living. What they accomplished in life. How they died. And a lot of other things.
I don’t usually stay awake nights wondering about what people will remember about me once I leave the land of the living, breathing, moving, coherent people. But sometimes I do think about it. I think there is value in viewing life from the perspective of “what will I leave behind when I die?”
I’ve been thinking about life in a bit of a different light recently. Each weekday I am planning my days using the Storyline Productivity Schedule. (You should check it out. I find it helpful to jot things down and simply think about what I need to do each day.)
There is a question at the bottom of each day’s schedule. That question is “what is your life theme?” Or something to that effect. So far I’ve been putting something kind of generic down, something that is true, but isn’t very specific. But I’m trying to think a bit more deeply about how I should be answering this question, because I believe the question is fairly important.
My View of My Life Goal Changes What I Do
Does the way I view my life have anything to do with what I do each day? Yup.
As I answer this question each day I find myself thinking about that answer throughout the day and asking the question, “is what I am doing right now helping to further my life goal, what else could I do today to get closer to the end result of my life goal?”
When we ask ourselves these kinds of questions we are focusing our lives. One. Day. At. A. Time. Focus is important. Knowing where you are going is important.
So what is worth chasing in life? What is really valuable enough to spend each day of ones life investing in?
There are many things that are worth while in life. As a broad general goal I want to live a life that brings glory to God and His kingdom first of all. But beyond that there is some level of selection that we each must personally ponder.
Here are a few things that I’ve been thinking about. There are more… but these are the ones that came to the top of my mind.
- I want to bring hope to those who don’t have it.
- I want to inspire people.
- I want to help people realize their dreams.
Ultimately these are the kinds of things that will stand the test of time. They will be the kinds of things that we are remembered for. These are the things that we will leave behind. These are the things that will be included in our legacy.
“Think about your life, your death and your legacy. Then go live life and invest in those goals every day.” – Click to Tweet…
What kinds of things would you put down as your “life goals?”