As I go through life, I see flowers bloom and fade. I see young animals being birthed and after a while, they grow and die. Same goes for humans, babies get born, they grow so fast and soon, they die. The change are seen but the memory remains.
Memories are powerful. They keep our souls warm or cold, depending on what type of memory we keep. Our brain has the capacity to store millions of memories, bringing them up occasionally to our remembrance when we want it to or when we are triggered.
We all want to be remembered for something. In my country, there is an event that some people do in order to honour their departed loved ones. They hold a remembrance service during which they talk about all the good deeds of the deceased.
This in itself is not a bad thing but I have discovered that most of these so-called family members are fake and hypocritical. Imagine a husband who beats up his wife daily being remembered by his daughter as a good man and a hero. Who are they trying to fool? I mean, we all knew that the man was violent towards his family members.
What would I like to be remembered for?
I would love for people to remember me as kind and compassionate. I would want my friends, family and acquaintances to remember me for my kind acts of service towards them and for how I never left them alone in their times of sorrow and in their times of joy.
I just don't want to be remembered as a good person alone because to me that sounds general and cliche. I want the people that I have impacted their lives positively to remember me by my kindness towards them.
Kindness is a powerful virtue that not all humans have. Human nature is inherently selfish, seeking only its own gain. Knowing this, I don't undermine any act of kindness done to me by someone. In fact, that memory will stick to my mind like glue and whenever I think of that person, I smile recalling how he or she was kind to me. I also want the same thing.
I want people to recall the memories we shared and smile and say, ”Oh Becky was a kind soul. She doesn't fake it and she was always ready to give us a helping hand”. Trust me, if I heard that as a dead ghost, I would smile in the world beyond.
I don't want to be remembered by how much money I made, I also want to be remembered as an institution that stood up for the weak and gave a voice to the voiceless. One thing about my character is a great resistance against injustice and cheating.
When a friend complains to me about certain injustices and I verify it, I take up the case as if I was the one that the injustice was done against. I resist it vehemently. I believe in justice and fairplay and I understand that I cannot always win especially where corruption has eaten deep but at least, I will raise my voice and it will be remembered by all present who witnessed it.
There are certain men that we remember fondly in my country. We do not remember their networth or number of houses owned by them but we remember the way they raised their voice for justice. I remember the late Dele Giwa. I also remember the late *Herbert Macaulay, the late Onyeka Owenu and the late Nnamdi Azikiwe. These were great men of their era that impacted many positively.
Lastly, I want to be remembered for leaving a legacy, not just for my children but for my children's children. I want my name to grant them access into great and high places. I want them to remember me and say ”she was a great woman”.
Because, indeed I am a great woman 😁.
Thank you all for reading. This is my entry to the #indiaunited contest. Feel free to participate here
Image is mine.
Yours truly, Beckyroyal; Living life with passion.