As a wise person said even good men must die, but death cannot kill their names. Cory has etched a name in history, and even in her death, she lives on. But if we chose to busy ourselves with harmful activities or non-essentials- like the frog in the video or Imelda Marcos- indulging on the flies and insects this world can offer, we’d have wasted a potentially rich life; we will fail on our intergenerational responsibility- the need to leave behind a legacy to our descendants on this planet. The more we busy with our selfish pursuits, the more disconnected we are with the universe, and with no contribution to successive generations, our life is all for naught.
Giving back to our children
While living, if we also chose to give back, then our eventual death is nothing. Napoleon Bonaparte said to live an inglorious life is to die daily.
The Palestine tradition speaks the story of an old man who trembled as he planted a carob tree. A young man who observed the scene was intrigued and walked up to him.
“Sir, I can see that you are barely able to balance yourself, yet you are planting a carob tree.” The youngster probed, “Do you know this tree would take 50-70 years to fully mature and give you the fruits? And you would be dead and gone when the tree reaches its splendour?”
The elderly man replied, “I know I won’t get any fruits. I am doing this so that my descendants could enjoy the produce from this tree. You see I enjoyed Carob my whole life, from trees planted by my ancestors. This is my small contribution to my grandchildren.”
Both life and death offer us a choice. The experience of Death lasts a short time and has less variety, but the adventure of living is longer, and offers us more options.
We can make the right choices now when we are alive. Corazino once said, “I would rather die a meaningful death than live a meaningless life.” While she surely left behind a legacy for the Fillipinos, only God knows if Imelda will meet her in the heavens.
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