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Carpet marks:

What is life about, really? Recently, as I entered my bedroom I noticed, more than before, a well-worn spot over in the corner by a cabinet. And for some reason the thought occurred to me that if I dropped dead what would people make of the trails in my carpet? What would those marks say about my life -my favourite spots in the living room, the best path to the bathroom, the frequency I used the stairs.

Would people deduce that the bare spot in my bedroom carpet was where I stood to sort the contents of the cabinet? Would others say it was where I stood to look out the window? Would others pronounce that I performed some kind of ritualistic ceremony there, hence the less dense patch? As it happens, the last reason would be correct. The bare spot is my alternate working out location -my habitual ritual. It's where I exercise when the downstairs neighbour is in, so I do not make too much noise. That spot represents one facet of my life. It's an important spot to me, but that meaning would be lost to everyone else. My carpet marks would count for nothing after I am gone. They would just be anonymous traces, just a regular feature in the fabric of life.

So what do I have to leave the world as my legacy? I have no children. I am not rich or famous. I've built no grand memorials or written or painted a masterpiece. I am but the sum of my mind, body, and soul. My path through life is marked by fleeting friendships, academic and career records, and internet traces, but I find that my carpet marks must also say a lot about my life and other paths I take. If the carpet marks could be examined in minutiae you would see my 'sidedness' (the preference to sitting down on the left or right hand side on a chair), my favourite side of the bed, the lack of footmarks where I avoided creaky floorboards, the central thoroughfares in the living room or to the bathroom. My private life revealed down to its threads.

So, what is life about really? Well, carpet marks can represent anything. Where are the carpet marks of your life? What would they say about your life? Are your paths straight forward or have you had to take a detour to get to where you wanted? If you want to be rich and famous, you will still leave carpet marks in your luxury homes (or scuff marks on hardwood floors). Just make them count for something. If I was gone tomorrow, I would be proud of my carpet marks. They represent me, my life, and my paths. All I can do is to live well in this world and know that I left the best carpet marks that I could.

Learn more about this author, Ray Burke.
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