Footprints We Leave Behind Us

Today is the birthday of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women and many more classics. Miss Alcott wrote that she wanted to do something splendid that wouldn’t be forgotten. She certainly accomplished that!  The footprints she left through her books are indelible. Her stories are warm and pleasant memories that have lasted more than a century. She has been an encouragement to many.

We all leave footprints as we journey through life. Some, thankfully, are lasting; some, thankfully, are not. Our footprints show the directions we’ve taken and the choices we’ve made, whether good or bad.

My brothers and I often remark, “Dad said …” or “Mom told me…” My parents are gone now but their words and the imprint they left on our lives remain.

I don’t think there’s any way to get through life without leaving impressions. The funny thing is, we may be remembered one way by one person and quite another way by someone else. In fact, as well as being an inspiration, our footprints may well serve as a warning. I wish we could post little signs of our passing as in, “Warning! Danger! Don’t go here” or, “This is a dead-end; turn around quickly” or “Good, solid footing leading to a happy destination.”

Then, there are the trailblazers, those who explore new territory, those whose footprints may lead through some heretofore unknown places. I wonder, for example, who wrote the first cozy mystery? And, by whose definition was it a cozy? Edgar Allan Poe wrote hair-raising mysteries but in no way did they leave me with a warm feeling.

Life, as we travel along, keeps us busy and we don’t think about the footprints we’re leaving. We are just living, day by day. However, those impressions are there in our words and our deeds. I don’t think we should live just to be remembered, but we are remembered as we have lived. Whether the paths we’ve taken serve as an encouragement or a warning is pretty much up to us.