In Ulysses, Tennyson wrote, "I am a part of all that I've met". As I drove back today from Anne Lummis' funeral, I began to fully understand what a profound statement this truly is.
I didn't know Anne, having only met her briefly at a few social occasions with her husband, Gordon. But I had the privilege today of seeing how many friends came out to pay their respects, and to hear the tributes to her during the eulogies by her husband, and their three children.
One of the descriptions of Anne's life that stuck with me today was that "She wrote her own book." This is something that we all get to do, and how it reads is entirely up to each of us.
Those who know me, would attest that I am proud of my accomplishments. But when all is said and done, those closest to us - our family, friends, colleagues will gather in a room to remember us. No one in that room will care that "He was a great business development guy...He exceeded quota...He signed big deals", etc. It's not what we've done, but who we are and how we've lived our life that matters to those closest to us at the end of the day.
We make choices in our actions and interactions every single day, consciously or subconsciously. We choose to act rationally or irrationally, with integrity or not, with compassion or not. When we become that "part" of those that we meet along the way, what "part" of them will we become? If we strive to leave the best parts of ourselves when we cross paths with people, the world will be a better place for our having passed through it.
By all accounts, Anne Lummis left only the good parts with all whom she met, and, as a result, the world is, indeed, a better place.
We could all aspire to as much in our own lives.
