I'm going to try to write a little something each Monday. Maybe something that I have meditated on or something I feel I need to mediate on.
I was recently reading a book by Thich Nhat Hanh called The Art of Living. Within the pages are some amazing bits of information that really changed my life. This next passage was one that I really enjoyed:
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, is the French scientist who discovered that “nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is in transformation.” I sometimes wonder if Lavoisier was able to live his daily life in accordance with this truth. Lavoisier lived at the time of the French Revolution, and at the age of fifty he was killed at the guillotine. He had a wonderful wife who loved him very much and became a scientist too. But, I wonder, if Lavoisier, who had this deep insight that nothing can be destroyed, was afraid of dying the day he walked up to the guillotine? The insight and discoveries that Lavoisier made in his lifetime continue to resonate to this day. So Lavoisier has not died. His wisdom is still there. He continues in new forms. When we say that nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything transforms, this also applies to your body, your feelings, your perceptions, your mental formations, your consciousness.
Each day we have the opportunity to take what we learn and share it with someone else. Be it an insightful legacy such as Thich Nhat Hanh or Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. We have a legacy that we can pass on to others around us. They may not be our children; as a monk Thich Nhat Hanh has no children yet, he passes his legacy to millions around the world. I am not a monk, I am still a teacher. I share my views daily with those around me. Either by words, action or deed. Just as you do. What will be your legacy? Will it be one of peace and compassion?
I asked myself this over this past year and it led me to the path I am in today. I want to be someone who shares with others. I want to show compassion to every living being on this planet. For years I have been a warrior, a fighter for those who cannot fight. Today I know that those who I was fighting for did not benefit from my fight. In fact my fight only brought about more suffering for all involved. Instead my direction would be better served by showing compassion to those in need. Supporting them. Helping them. Fighting only leads to more fighting and at some point there has to be one person to lay down the sword. I have transformed myself into a new person. I pause before I speak. I wait. I breath. With that I am learning to be that person that I really want to be.
Where are you at today? What do you want your legacy to be? How will you transform your actions?
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