In my travels over the last couple of months, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing some beautiful monuments. Today’s poem is a distillation of thoughts driven by these experiences.

Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!
Monuments, thought over time, planned over time, built over time. In stone and steel they stand so tall, these things built to outlast us all. But what's a monument, d'you see? It's really just a memory. Some monuments are big and grand with statues stretching through their land. While others, they are small and neat, like plaques beneath our very feet. They're built by folks who want to say: "Remember this specific day!" Or "Here stood once a person who did something really good (or who did something really, really bad, which made a lot of people mad)." But here's the thing that makes me think (and sometimes makes my brain cells clink): A monument is just a guess at what deserves our "specialness." A special building was once made when special words were simply said. A tower stands where people thought, that change, together, can be brought. So then, the biggest monument is not one of steel or cement, it's made of all the things we do when no one's even watching you. The helping hand we lend a friend, the broken hearts we help to mend. The time we chose to tell the truth (even when it was not so smooth), The moment when we stood up tall for someone weak, or tired, or small. These monuments don't need a plaque, they grow in hearts and don't look back. They're built with kindness, brick by brick, and time won't make them vanish quick. So while we build some things in stone to make sure we're not left alone in history's winding, epic story, let's build ourselves a simple glory: Let's be the monuments that walk, that listen well and kindly talk, that make tomorrow better than the yesterday that we began. For when our giant buildings fall (and time will topple one and all), the monuments we are inside will be the ones that never died.
That’s it! Thanks for reading edition 217 of Hello Universe. Check out Some Fun Stuff below.
Which monument is your favorite and what thoughts does it inspire for you? Share your thoughts with me and the Hello Universe community in the comments below!
Some Fun Stuff
This is where I share something cool to read, something cool to listen to, and something cool to watch. The underlined words are links that you can click to visit the recommended content.
1. Check out PDFprivacy: I got tired of uploading my documents to random websites and never knowing what they do with my documents. So I created this simple tool to help myself change pdfs to images, split them, compress them, etc. but directly on my browser instead of uploading my document to someone's server. It's a fun tool and I use it often, I hope it is helpful for you too!
2. Listen to “Searching For” by Xinobi and Lazarusman: A chill, dark, reflective vibe for this cloudy May Tuesday.
3. Watch Asterix and Obelix - The Big Fight on Netflix: I hadn’t binged anything in 6 months and then I ran into this show. It is such a joyful, childlike piece of wonder! I ran through its episodes like there was no tomorrow and then went on to watch Pantheon which I recommended last week. This one’s great if you want to unwind and feel like you’re a child again, or to watch along with an actual child too!
That’s it for this week, see you next Tuesday!
Lovely poem punit!
"De onbevangenheid der mensen tegenover het leven" Hildo Krop