If You Were Going to Put a Message in a Bottle, What Would You Write?

Builders working near the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland found a message in a bottle written by seven former prisoners and buried in a cement wall.These men left a simple message written in pencil: Just their names, the numbers that had been tattooed on their arms, and their home towns in Poland and France. They just wanted someone to know they had existed.

 

This made me think. If I were to put a message in a bottle, what would I say? How would I represent myself and my life? Would it suffice to just let people know I had lived—and died—or would I want people to know more? What would that “more” be?

 

Have you ever thought about creating a time capsule or putting a message in a bottle and sending it out to sea? My kids tried this once at the beach in Florida; unfortunately, it arrived back on the same beach just about where it started, and our neighbor there sent us an email to us to tell us she had found the bottle and the note, which included an email address!

 

If you have ever thought of doing this, I suggest you ask yourself these same questions: How would you represent yourself and your life? Would it suffice to just let people know you had lived—and died—or would you want people to know more? What would that “more” be? Better yet, go through the exercise of actually writing a message you would consider putting in a bottle or time capsule. By doing so you might discover some important things about yourself and your life.

 

Number one, you might discover that you are a pretty neat person who has contributed significantly in a number of ways. Or you may discover the opposite, in which case you might want to think about how you might like to change how you are living and expressing yourself.

 

Number two, you might discover that you have a lot to say, because your life has been so filled with interesting things and events and experiences, making you an well-rounded and dynamic person. Or, you may find you don’t have much to say in your note. In other words, you haven’t done as many things with your life as you wish you had done. This may feel a bit like looking over your “bucket list,” (If you don’t know what this is, watch the move by the same name.) You may need to begin doing the things you want to do to feel your life has been a bit more significant or filled with the experiences you desire.

 

Number three, you may feel very satisfied with your simple existence and the simple way you have been a part of this world. Or not…in which case, again, you will need to take a good look at yourself and reassess your life and how you choose to live it.

 

No matter what you find, this exercise can be quite powerful. You don’t necessarily have to put anything in a bottle or time capsule, but you can. Other ways exist to do this as well. For example, when we have moved, my children have left notes hidden under the edge of the carpet in their rooms for other people to find. The notes simply told the new residents who they were, much like the note left by those in Auschwitz (Two of the prisoners survived, by the way. To read more about that, click here).

 

When I was in high school, one of my teachers had us write a letter to ourselves that we weren’t supposed to open and read until we were 20. The letter was comprised of a description of who we thought we would be by that time in our lives; in other words, it contained our expectations for ourselves. You could do the same for five or 10 years into the future. Knowing the letter is waiting for you to open it might drive you to meet your own expectations for yourself.

 

If you would like to read more about the letter in a bottle left by the Jews in Auschwitz and the one survivor left to tell about his experience, please read my San Jose Jewish Examiner column.