The Art of Being




LEAVING A MARK—The ancient stone ruins at Stonehenge in England, although mysterious, can teach us many lessons.

LEAVING A MARK—The ancient stone ruins at Stonehenge in England, although mysterious, can teach us many lessons.

What kind of a mark will you leave?

“We all desire to have others witness our lives. We want to know that who we are matters. There is something sacred that lies deep within us that seeks to connect us to our oneness with others and with eternity.”

—Dennis Merritt Jones

On a trip to England I had the opportunity to visit the ancient landmark known as Stonehenge. I was invited to share a Mindfulness Practice honoring the moment at hand, so I suggested that the small group I was with stand in the center of the circle of stones and enter into the silence, allowing the energy of Stonehenge to wrap itself around us.

While standing in silence, I began to contemplate the meaning of the site and the intent of the people who, 3,000 years ago, built and left this amazing monumental puzzle for future generations to solve. What were they trying to tell us?

My intention was to be a student in the presence of the ancients and garner whatever lessons these stones would reveal to me. However, what I learned was quite different from what I’d expected; it had more to do with the 150 generations who have come and gone since its beginning than with the people who actually built Stonehenge.

Mindfully selecting one of the large stones, I paused and stood before it and considered the countless people who, over three millennia, stood in that very same spot. Who were they? What were they thinking? What kind of life were they living? It was then that I noticed that names and dates were etched in several stones.

At first I rushed to judgment and was disturbed that others would deface such a significant historical monument. Then I noticed the carvings dated back many centuries and I had an instant flashback to a time when, as a kid, I carved my initials and the date in my granddad’s maple tree, which had been on the farm for four generations. This was not intended to deface the tree. It was a ritual of remembering my roots: Adding my initials next to his initials and his father before him made me feel part of something larger than myself— a family that would extend far beyond my years.

In much the same way I imagine that whoever “left his mark” in the stone wasn’t trying to deface it. He was affirming that he knew he was one with something larger than himself. He wanted others to know that he “existed” at a specific time on the planet, that he mattered.

Let us be clear that to “leave our mark” does not mean destroying private or public property. It is a metaphor regarding the imprint we leave on the soul of humankind that reminds us we are all connected even beyond time and space.

We all desire to have others witness our lives—to know that we matter. There is something sacred that lies deep within us that seeks to connect us to our oneness with others and with eternity; to confirm that our presence here has purpose and meaning and that those who live downstream from us will receive the benefits of what we add to that stream by means of our consciousness.

By our mere presence on the planet we shall leave our mark. Every moment of every day we are energetically imprinting some part of ourselves in our world. The question isn’t “Shall we leave our mark?” but rather “What type of mark shall it be?”

Some might argue that it is only the egoic-self that wants to leave something of ourselves behind, but I think it goes far beyond the ego. To leave your mark does not mean you have to, metaphorically, erect huge stones upon which you can inscribe your name, knowing it will stand for thousands of years. The mark you leave doesn’t have to be monumental in size, just mindful in approach. With mindfulness, the mark you leave can be inscribed more deeply on a daily basis.

The practice may be to remember that every time you act with compassion and loving kindness you leave your mark etched on the minds and hearts of others. The same could be said for those times when you may speak or act mindlessly, thoughtlessly or with cruel intent. You still leave your mark, but not in a way that beneficently serves our world or those you love.

The legacy of passing down the imprint of our existence to those who follow us serves a purpose: It helps us remember that we are connected to one another, which, in kind, tends to alter how we treat one another.

At the end of the day, whether you are remembered 30 years or 3,000 years from now is not all that important. What’s important is that when you leave this planet you know the mark you have left on the soul of humankind bears the imprint of one who cared about the past, present and future of this family of the earth. You really do matter.

Copyright 2014—New Reality Press. Dennis Merritt Jones is a local spiritual mentor, keynote speaker and author. Contact him at www.DennisMerrittJones.com.


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