Footnotes

As we age, hopefully we gain wisdom. Knowledge can be taught and referenced. The facts are before us , in most situations, if we but look for them. This quest for knowledge has been made easier by the internet. The retrieval of fact and opinions resting beneath our fingertips. For me, the older I get, the more I begin to read the footnotes. I find myself studying that additional information at the bottom of the page. More correctly I am becoming aware of the authors of those footnotes. Those people that have made a lasting impression on me. Some people would call them their heroes but not I, they are/were my motivators. It was those people that influenced my decisions. Some I knew my whole life and others have just brushed against me. The contributions made by them are equal. I was not always aware of that influence and now give credit to them. This credit is extended, if only in my own mind, as a thank you. Reading the footnotes and appreciating their value is part of gaining wisdom. To understand the why of it.
In a larger sense I think the best any of us can hope for is to become a footnote. We may gain fame in our lifetime but what about after our passing ? What will we be remembered for, and for how long ? Maybe you will be in a Hall of Fame somewhere, remembered and honored for some accomplishment. Most of us will not. That doesn't mean we can not become a footnote in someones life. I would hope to be remembered by family and friends. I would also hope that I have at some time offered encouragement or support to these people at a time in their life when they needed it. To have made an impact. To become that footnote that provides the insight, the understanding. That is the greatest compliment of all, to have another say that you were a compassionate person. Compassion is understanding. Compassion means to suffer together. To share misfortune and pain with another creates a lasting bond. If your compassion can ease the suffering of another that is a noble deed. It is those deeds that create those footnotes in your life.
It has been said that when we get older we begin to understand what is important in life. I agree with that statement. I do think that wisdom is gained by searching those footnotes. The main text is the story but the footnotes are the explanation. If we strip away the minutiae of life and get to the heart of it, read the footnotes, understanding comes. The proverbial light comes on when we begin to understand the question.
I will say this, it is my hope that one day I will be referenced, a footnote. When someone, somewhere , one day finds themselves questioning and discovers the answer in words I have spoken. That would confirm my existence and worth. It is not necessary that I know this, only that it is. I think we all want that. To be remembered as a positive force, as good.