Yesterday I was channel surfing and came across the movie "Gangs of New York". I really love the historical value of that movie in showing the start of, and the struggle that existed to build what would become New York City. The movie is long, but my favorite part comes at the very end as Amsterdam Vallon states, "My father told me we was all born of blood and tribulation, and so then too was our great city. But for those of us what lived and died in them furious days, it was like everything we knew was mildly swept away. And no matter what they did to build this city up again... for the rest of time... it would be like no one even knew we was ever here." As the words are being spoken and the moody music starts to rise, the camera stays stationary on a cemetery, and the skyline, as New York transforms from decade to decade as buildings start rising and the modern era is ushered in. As New York transforms to modern times, the cemetery slowly disappears and is no longer visible being buried by human progress. It is a sad and sobering reminder that we are expendable and one day we will face certain mortality.
That part effects me for days after watching as I question my own life, and probe as to what my legacy will be here on planet earth. Yesterday I felt as if I could see what I would leave. I was privileged enough to be part of an academic council meeting where 6 new courses were approved for the start and possible future of a commercial music/music business degree at Houghton College. We have been laying the ground work for such a program for the past five plus years, but it needed time and the right people to bring it to fruition. All of that happened this past year when Houghton hired a new dean in the school of music - Stephen Plate. Stephen (Dr.) Plate brought with him vision and experience in building successful programs in other institutions. His vision and experience has been a driving factor in bringing this program from border-line obscurity to the spotlight.
As I listened and observed yesterday, my heart became full of joy as I finally felt that maybe my legacy could be more than just laying the ground work for a program, but actually seeing a program launched that would train future musicians and tech people in the creative field, thus allowing them to impact their world with their art and lives. The question then is; what will your legacy say about you? It is a question that can not be taken lightly or answered quickly. It requires deep thought and time to process. Will it be beautiful music that lives long after you have left? A film that still impacts decades later? A painting that will hang in a home or museum long after your last breath? Just like in "Gangs of New York" we will all become part of the earth again, and slowly be forgotten - but the legacy we leave can be the one thing that memorializes our memory for many decades. Is your legacy one that will impact others for ages - or will it be easily forgotten? My hope and prayer is that my life will be the first.