Living Deliberately

A Thanksgiving vacation in Maryland provided a short opportunity to visit Washington D.C., and staring at the Lincoln Memorial was non-negotiable. But, with only six hours to spare and a multitude of options to pick from, a walk through the Holocaust museum also seemed like a responsible, mature decision.

After our visit, we walked onto 14th Street flooded with emotions. To be honest, we weren’t sure which feeling registered as appropriate. Humbled? Scared? Grateful?

For me, this period is nostalgic, as I first fell in love with studying history by way of this dreadful war. But after earning a graduate degree in history, and learning to question events differently, I began to see things differently. After this visit, I felt something unparalleled to any of my studies.

Yes, there are too many lessons and takeaways from World War II to summarize in this post. An entire field of academic study is dedicated to this period and piece. But after walking through a train cart used to carry Jewish prisoners, and after reading the timeline of small actions that evolved into Nazi Germany, and after listening to stories of survivors who went on to exude purpose and prosperity, I am left with one thing: humility. That is all. And for now, that is enough.

This publication focuses on wealth. What does a visit to the Holocaust Museum have to do with money, compounding, or financial planning?

I’m not sure, and I wouldn’t dare draw lines of intersection comparing these subjects. Here is what I know and feel.

The stories of the Holocaust survivors are inspirational, if I may even use that description. For certain, the experiences of those victims are teachings from the highest degree. I am beyond fortunate to live in a time and space where my biggest concern at this moment is managing disposable income and building a strategy for retirement. Again, nothing new nor breathtaking. But right now, in some kind of way, after this museum experience, I feel more responsible. For what exactly, I cannot pinpoint.

But I would be amiss if I did not take advantage of the opportunities given to me by those who sacrificed or those who did not have the time to be mindful of that very thing we call Wealth. I feel as though I need to be deliberate.

There was a quote from General Eisenhower at the museum. I’ve read it every day since. It keeps haunting me.

“The things I saw beggar description....the visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were....overpowering....I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to “propaganda.”

Yes, living deliberately feels right, for now.

Let me live deliberately with the small and the big things alike. May I not waste my energy on items that do not deliberately pull me toward a larger sense of myself. May I not be silent on those things which need deliberate language.

Thank you for the words, President Eisenhower. May we be deliberate, and caring.