There’s a labyrinth in my mind that I walk, reminding me life is about each step.
Some will be easy. Some will be hard when I need more effort to move forward. When I look too far ahead, I lose sight of the process, focusing on the horizon instead of the step in front of me.
The beauty of peace comes from fulfillment, finding satisfaction in the effort, and meaning in the result, even without victory. True triumph lies in transformation; it rises above winning.
Every day is a step.
Most of us will spend our lives working in one form or another.
It’s easy to lose oneself to a daily grind, running on autopilot for much of a week, getting lost in distraction, whether by a screen or despondence.
Be proud of your work, your life. Feel excited about the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year. The culmination of efforts becomes something larger than ourselves.
Legacy isn’t what most set out to achieve. It happens over weeks, months, years, and decades.
I never set out to create a legacy when I came to Haliburton County. It came with the newspaper job, writing about and photographing life here.
My two decades working in journalism taught me respect for quality, attention to detail, and the importance of contributing to a community. The Highlands is my home and working for the newspaper allowed me to write about its neighbours, friends and stakeholders with care. Every line etched into memory, preserving the community’s history as it lived.
The term legacy carries weight, typically associated with well-known figures of industry, social movements or countries, but anyone can create one. It’s more than ego. It comes from care. From contributing to the lives of others. Like footprints in the sand, we leave our mark for however long and then they’re gone. If it has made an impression that lasts, it’s a signature to a contract of substance that enriches the lives of others. It hasn’t quite been a year for me in construction, but the buildings I’ve worked on will stand as a similar testament to the work I contributed – a living legacy for a life lived. As I develop my building skills, even small efforts become contributions and opportunities to leave my mark – stained boards, painted spindles, drip caps, a stone fireplace. Each piece matters because I cared.
“I have led a toothless life. I’ve never bitten into anything. I was waiting. I was reserving myself for later on. Now, I’ve just noticed that my teeth are gone.” — attributed to Jean-Paul Sartre, source unverified.
What would the 90 year old me think of me? What would the 10 year old me think of my life? What would they wish I did more of? My father’s life has given me a quiet answer to that question.
Seeing my father in his twilight years, I see a man that led an honest life where hard work was the bedrock of his legacy.
He can’t say he’s proud of his life, but I can. I’m proof he existed and embody the qualities of generosity and kindness because of him.
The labyrinth ends for all of us eventually. What matters is how we walked it.
What we leave behind doesn’t need to last forever – only long enough to matter.
