Passionately Immortal!!

I am often amazed at how passionate some people are about things they are passionate about!! It is almost something they stand for, something they will die defending, something they truly care about and live for. For some people it is their hobbies, for some people it is their principles, for some people it is just their collections of stamps or books or coins.

Just a usual Sat eve, my husband and me late for a get together but still sitting on the couch discussing a graduation and how I did not even know where exactly my graduation certificate was, having already misplaced it once. $5 and numerous calls to the university got me a duplicate but anyway I tell him, "You know, my grandfather was so organized. He had so neatly preserved my dad’s engineering certificate, laminated it in the 70s, framed it and hung it in his house for years together. It still looks so new!" And then I got to thinking..

It is interesting to analyze what those things are that a person close to you is remembered the most for. When you talk about a dear one who is no longer in ur life to a loved one who has never met them, what are those instances that trigger a thought about them.. What is that 1 context which brings out a mention about them all the time?

Isn't it usually the things they were very passionate about? Our library is so messed up - my grandfather was so organized he had every book labeled and covered since time immemorial. This is such a great shot of our son! My uncle was an amazing photographer. I remember he captured a similar expression of mine when I was little! At the temple today the priest recited this prayer - my grandfather would recite that every day during his puja.. My coworker had this yellow flower in her vase today from her garden! I remember I used to go every morning to the park with my grandfather and pick this flower for him for his puja every morning.

My grandmother who loved me a lot - I am oft told by my mom - she thought I was the smartest, passed away when I was 12 years old - much before I realized what she was really passionate about. To think about it, there has hardly been an instance when I have mentioned her to my husband wrt something else that was happening in our lives. I was the apple of her eye, she taught me how to make a flower garland with those yellow flowers, she would tell me stories for hours together, spend so much time with me - but there isn't yet an occasion where I mentioned her to my husband.

There are so many dimensions to a human beings personality. There are so many memories that are built up over the years of your loved ones - the unforgettable vacations you spend together, the quality time you spend together or maybe very small incidents that leave a lasting impression on your mind. However when they are no longer around, is their identity defined by what their hobby was or what they were very passionate about or what they were really really good at?

Then is this just one more reason why it is so important to be passionate about something in life. Passionate about photography, movies, or maybe even cleaning, cooking or shopping. What are we leaving behind that our great grand children or grand children’s spouse who we could never meet will know us by...

What is going to be our identity after we are long gone.....