My high school 20th anniversary looms...

From the letters flying around between classmates, I can tell that many, if not most, of my classmates have been spectacularly successful.

So what does that spell for me? Nothing. I am not insecure about it in the least. In part, this is because I have not been unsuccessful in life. I have done many things personally and professionally that look good even on paper. But the older I get, the more I realize how unimportant that is.

The well-lived life is an ideal that I picked up for myself from funerals, of all things. In the last few years I've been to the funerals of my grandmother and both my in-laws. And you know what? Nobody mourns the mechanic, or the homemaker, or the saleslady; nor even the scientist or lawyer. At funerals, it is the dear grandfather who played silly games with the grandkids who is missed; the grandmother's loving patience; or her funny sayings.

It is not what we do that makes us memorable. Aside from the gilded few, our professional work will be surpassed, probably by coworkers right in front of our eyes. There is no personal saintliness we can achieve that will dim the humanitarian accomplishments of Mother Theresa or Bono. :-)

No, what people remember is who we are. That is our accomplishment, each one of us. Nobody will ever surpass you at being you, for better or ill.

So be the best "you" you can be. That is what I hope to do this weekend. Of what purpose would it be to boast of anything I have? I can only count myself fortunate to have it. Rather I would do well to listen, learn, and admire. I will try not to envy those who have done better than I, and I will try not to be smug concerning those who have not.

Dear Lord, I ask that I may see you at work in the lives of my old friends. May I take joy in their journeys, laugh at our shared memories, make happy new ones, and reacquaint myself with some of the people of my youth.