///Balance///
Video Length: 1:05 min
The final scene of the 1970 movie "Patton" (a bio of U.S. Army General George S. Patton's ordeals during World War II) observes the General walking his dog, across the German countryside. The scene gives a view into Patton's thoughts with the war ended and he ponders his purpose in a peaceful world. He relates the intended purpose of the Ancient Roman tradition of giving a "triumph" to a returning hero, to echo a warning concerning fame and fortune.
Description & Discussion:
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever" is attributed to Napoleon. It means that fame or glory is transient - that when someone is forgotten, it is forever. In short, people tend to remember your good deeds for a short time, however once they are forgotten, your gone. Compared to: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Authenticity in a life well lived is sharing what we have learned to the next generation. We may be a forgotten generation in the near future, our original sayings attributed to someone else, but if we can spare others difficulty or pain through our expereinces or knowledge even from an unknown source, then we are remembered, even if the name is not.
Decision, Design & Discipline:
We all reach that crescendo in our lives, that highest of points in our progressive intensity to achieve success, where we stand at the peak of our life. It's only when we enter the twilight of that life and we reflect on it that we see truly see our true accomplishments. Time and again we should reflect on our success, but also how troubling issues from the past may have application with ongoing events.
It is said that the wisdom of one generation is the common sense of the next. Ask yourself "What has been the pinnacle of my life and its lowest point to date?" More importantly "What can I do to ensure that what I've learned lives on even if a name cannot be placed with the context of the lesson?"
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