At what point in our lives do we leave a legacy? Can it be misplaced? Does one have to search for a legacy; is it
bestowed upon us, or, something we take…for granted?
Do we know what potential
impact we will have on another human being and what that ripple effect could
be? There is a theory called the
Butterfly Effect, where, when applied to the weather, it is said that if a
butterfly were to flap its wings, at some future point in time, that will build
to a hurricane half a world away. MIT
meteorologist Edward Lopez coined the term in the 1960’s. In his book, The Butterfly Effect: How Your
Life Matters, Andy Andrews extrapolates this theory in human terms, in that one
person can have a profound effect on the lives of another and so on down the
chain. He outlines this then follows a
real life impact through many generations.
The point of the book is that everything we do can and does have an
impact on those around us. Sometimes the
impact is profound; sometimes it is small.
If there is a Butterfly
Effect, and it is applicable to humans, then we all have the potential to leave
a legacy, whether that is through a big impact or minor impact. We can, we should, and it is important to
live each day with this in our minds.
Like the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where the main character George
Bailey did not know how important his life was until an angel showed him. Fiction, yes, but highlights the point.
“But, Wayne, that is just a
story. Do we ever get to see this in our
lives?”
There was a man that came over
from Europe and engaged in leading religious services through singing – what we
would call today a cantor (Chazzan). Many
years later, when his son came to this country, he followed that love for music
and learned the violin and later some basic piano. His son then learned piano quite well until
he came face-to-face with the Warsaw Concerto, which caused him to stop. His son learned the accordion, piano,
saxophone and a few other instruments and played in a band with his
brothers. Of his two daughters, one loves
going to concerts and one has learned a series of instruments and is studying
music education. The one that is
studying music entered school as a vocal student. With music education, after five generations,
the love of music has been passed down to potentially influence many people,
and, what started with a vocal talent came full circle back to vocal education. The first person had no idea what his love of
music would do.
This past weekend, I attended
the Brandeis Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies to receive the award for Ace
Weinstein. My great uncle was
instrumental in bringing the athletic program to Brandeis in its early days by
recruiting athletes, paying for clothing and food, and supporting the growth /
development of their programs. It ended
up that he was involved with football legend Benny Friedman and winning Coach
Henry Stein. Until I had the opportunity to meet the recipients of his
generosity, I would not believe that a family member would have the capacity to
identify the potential in young adults that most of us would miss within
ourselves. His generosity and capacity
to provide the opportunity for success in others was phenomenal. Here are some of the words (paraphrased) from
the benefactors of his help, and participants in the event said:
- “Your uncle was the one that recruited me for Brandeis.”
- “Your uncle bought me my first real winter coat.”
- “…the scholarship provided by your uncle…”
- “…let’s have a moment of silence for our fallen team mates and Ace Weinstein…”
- “He was the fastest person ever to be processed through the nominating committee.”
- “I learned how to play golf because he asked me to teach it at camp.”
- “He catered the meals while the (basketball) was team on the road.”
- “Your uncle drove me up to Brandeis for my interview in his Cadillac.”
- “My first time on a plane was with your uncle.”
Legacies are created through
our interactions with others, whether through our words or actions, that
hopefully have a positive impact on others.
We can, we should, and it is important, that we all do great things with
our lives to build our own legacies for the future.
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