Planting for the Future
In this story, we're reminded to also look forward. What will endure after we have moved from this world to the next? What will we be remembered for? What is the legacy we are leaving behind for the next generation?
It is not unusual for humans to spend a significant amount of time thinking about the past. Spiritual gurus often try to coax us back to the present, but this can be fleeting if we are not diligent. There is great wisdom in focusing on the here and now.
In this story, we're reminded to also look forward. What will endure after we have moved from this world to the next? What will we be remembered for? What is the legacy we are leaving behind for the next generation?
Once, the Emperor Hadrian was walking along a
road near Galilee, and he saw an old man
working the dirt to plant some fig trees. … “How old
are you?” Asked Hadrian. “A hundred years old,” the
man answered.
“A hundred years old, and yet you stand there working
the soil to plant trees?!”. “If I am worthy, I will eat,”
said the old man. “But if not, as my father planted for
me, so I plant for my children.” – Leviticus Rabbah 25:5