john was here

there’s a car in my parking deck which has been sitting around in the same spot for some time now, gathering up dirt and pollen in a rather thick coating over the entire vehicle. i pass by it every day, but today i noticed ‘shake was here’ written in the grime of the windshield.

it struck me simultaneously as a profoundly important statement and a poignant note on the ephemeral nature of life.

how lucky we are to be ‘here’ to make a difference in what we do and in the people we meet. how great it is to follow in the footsteps of those before us, determined to build off of their successes and leave things better than when we arrived. knowing that the universe—space and time—conspired to bring you to the place you currently stand, for a purpose.

yet how heartbreaking it is to know that it’s all just temporary. that in the lifetime of the universe we’re merely a fleeting thought. a brief spark from a neuron which terminates as quickly as it was created.

my hope is when the rain comes and washes away all the places i’ve ‘scribbled’ john was here that somewhere along the way it came to mean something.