It is very human nature to want to leave an impression and impact on people. This is particularly relevant for people after they die. No one wants to be forgotten. No one wants their life’s work and who they actually were be forgotten or disregarded. Instead, we all seek to impact our families, and friends, and the world through our life story and the impression we have on others.
The impression that we give based on who we are, what we do, and what we strive to become. All of it. The ambitions, the dreams, the work, the way we talk, and the way we dress. The way we carry ourselves in a conversation or how we enter a room. The traditions we honor from our ancestors. The company we choose to keep. The car we drive and the very clothes we choose to wear. All of it sends a message. All of it leaves an impression on those around us.
Societies all across the world honor their departed in the ways that are familiar to them and their cultures and beliefs. They honor their loved ones and friends. They honor their memories and the impressions they left on their life. They honor the impressions they left on their hearts. Impressions are eternal in that regard and passed down from generation to generation through the stories and photographs.
People leave this world at some point due to death but what remains, what always remains is the impression they left on others. The things they said and did that make people remember them for who they were and who they wanted to be.
The impression is very important. People often talk of a first impression and how that we all get exactly one shot at making a good one or spending the rest of our life trying to redeem ourselves from a bad one. Impressions are human, and impressions are lasting. Impressions are powerful, and impressions are humbling. Impressions make us strive to be better than we currently are.
We are impacted by those in our society who leave positive impressions. They challenge us to be better. They challenge us to challenge ourselves. They show us the way that things can get better. They show us the way that we have it inside ourselves to succeed too. They leave an impression. Impressions are lasting, and impressions are memorable.
