Today is Yom Haatzmaut the day that Israel declared its independence and marked for the first time in so long that the Jewish people had our own homeland again.  Unfortunately, the world is not kind to the Jewish people.  War was and is inevitable so long as Israel exists.  As a result, the day before Independence day for the country is known as Yom Hazikaron.  And exists to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

 

It was at one of these memorial services last night where I had a startling revelation. All of these people were in one place, to commemorate heroes.  And to ensure that these men and women would never be forgotten.  And what better way to remember them than to ensure that in some form, these individuals never truly die in our hearts.

 

And realizing that this form of immortality is not limited to soldiers, lost in conflicts around the world, I have come to the conclusion that true immortality is legacy.  And in this way, we are all truly immortal.  We continue to exist long after we have passed by the memories we have shared with those that care about us.

 

Almost every person I have ever met desires to be remembered for their deeds.  Or if they regret what they have done with their lives, they wish to fade into obscurity and be forgotten.  As i reflect on these two types of Humans, I realize while they feel differently about whether memory will bring them up or whether darkness will consume them in its infinite grasp, there is indeed a third group.

 

This third group of people are Suicide Victims.  Those who could not handle how their legacy was playing out to the point that they wished for the story to end abruptly, not caring in some cases how they were remembered.  Though this is not always true, in fact there are differences even within the individuals who make up the suicide victims.  Some see their deeds as the ultimate in noble, while others just cannot tolerate existing in this world for even another moment.  What saddens me as I think about these countless people who cut their tales short because of pain is that only after death, do they truly live.  Their legacy both good and ill is created forever.  The loved ones of these lost souls will never forget them.  Even when they chose to forget themselves.

 

But like it or not, all of us are doomed to leave a legacy of some sort.  What we all must do then is decide how we will be immortalized.  And what i learned when learning about these heroic soldiers is quite simple.  While Empires rise and fall and Dictators rule and then die, the legacies that truly live on in our hearts forever, are heroes.  Villains strike terror, but the truth of their deeds is lost to the stream of time.  But those who pursue goodness, are never forgotten.  Their deeds are too incredible to exaggerate.