Celebrities. Stars. VIP's. Dignitaries.
Brad Pitt. Meryl Streep. Robert Pattison. Dakota Fanning.
Do you think that some people are born stars? What about the people who truly believe they are born stars who never make it past the leading role in their elementary school plays? It's kind of fascinating to me. Maybe somewhere deep inside all of us we all want to be celebrities and be waited on and have our photographs taken and hear strangers say they love us and see our names in lights. But mostly, don't you think we all just want to leave a legacy? Isn't that why we take pictures and write journals and memoirs and take generational portraits? No one wants to be forgotten. We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. We all want to shine. We all want to be loved.
The first star I ever loved? Michelle Tanner.
And the second? Mary Poppins. But come on now, who didn't?
And we ALL know who I love now, right?
So much so that Hannah I might have taken something out of her recycling bin while stalking (ahem-visiting) her home...
One thing that I find hard to swallow though is this quote I found by Fred A. Allen on being a celebrity:
A celebrity is a person who works hard all of their life to become well known, and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.
And suddenly, just like that, it doesn't seem so appealing anymore, does it? Makes me grateful for the small, quiet life I lead. And it makes me grateful for the opportunities I do have to shine. I can goof off at work and put on accents and have dress up parties and make music videos with Hannah.
And you know what else? I can leave a legacy. It might not be the same legacy that the late Michael Jackson left behind, or Marilyn Monroe, or George Washington. It might not be as important. But I am still leaving one. And you are too. I see so, so, so many of you who are raising the most beautiful children ever. You are cuddling them, feeding them, loving them. They are your legacy. And others of you are expressing yourself through your art, your photography, your voices, your work, and it is beautiful.
I know I use song lyrics in my posts like they are going out of style, but it is because that is how I most often feel understood; through songs. And Nichole Nordeman sings a song called Legacy (surprise, surprise!) that totally changed the way I saw my life when I first heard it a few years ago...
I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much
I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things? [...]
That sounds to me like something I want for my life. I have never been promised children, but that doesn't mean I can't leave a legacy. I want to be known as someone who loved. Deeply. Widely. Unconditionally. Don't you?
Someone told me something sad today. I was at work and chatting with a parent who told me that her 4-year-old child learned from her father to yell at ESL people to learn English or leave the country. Could you, for just one second, imagine being the person on the other side of the drive-thru speaker hearing someone say that to you? (I use that example because it was the one that the parent used). I just think we could do so much better being a little more tolerant and a little more loving.
Wow, I am so totally off topic!
The point here is, that kid in Pay It Forward was seriously onto something. We can definitely pay it forward when it comes to love, and that in itself is the greatest legacy there is.
Have fun loving those around you this week, friends. If you feel so motivated as to reach out to someone this week, I would love to hear about it! We could have a share-a-thon or something. Because I am just that cheesy.
~C~
