“Don’t track in mud on my clean floors!” How often we may have heard that from our moms as kids growing up?
There is a great saying that was left over from research on Native American sayings that I did for an earlier post –
“We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” – Dakota
Yes, we do leave tracks in life; not on the floors so much, but on other people’s lives. The tracks that we leave are made by the impressions that they have of us in those encounters. What tracks will you be known by? Will they be the tracks of a caring, kind and empathetic person who took the time to listen and offered help; or will they be memories of someone cold and uncaring person who turned their back in a time of need? Will they be tracks of a leader showing the way forward or the retreating tracks of the coward running from adversity? Will they be the deep tracks of a person willing to shoulder the load of others or the shallow tracks of the self-centered, unable to see the needs of others?
Some tracks left behind can be more like bruises – hurtful, painful and slow to heal. Those are the tracks of hate or prejudices that cause harm to others. Some tracks are more like gentle kisses, leaving fond memories in their wake. Those are the track left by love, empathy and inclusiveness.
As you finish each day, look back over the tracks that you have left that day. Are they tracks that you can be proud of or are they reminders of things avoided or left undone? Tears of regret aren’t the only thing left behind when reviewing the tracks that you left today on the paths of the people that you crossed.
Think about the opportunities that you will have to make tracks tomorrow and resolve to do a better job then. If you consciously approach each encounter with another as a place where your tracks will be left, it may help you do a better job. You don’t want to be tracking mud all over the place.
Are you tracking up the place? What kind of tracks will you be leaving behind? Tread carefully and thoughtfully into the future, remembering that you will be forever known by the tracks that you leave behind today.
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