WHEN THE TEMPORARY BECOMES LEGENDARY

It wasn’t meant to last.

When Gustave Eiffel’s team won the heated bid to construct the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, it was meant to be temporary. Still, for two years they employed their bridge-building skills to fashion the wrought-iron lattice tower, hoping their precision would combat any destructive winds. The temporary exhibit was designed with permanence in mind and soared 81 stories high.

Critics were quick hurl insults, labeling it ugly, daring, impossible, and rebellious, even to the point of circulating an “Artists against the Eiffel Tower” petition. They must have found some solace in the fact that it was at least scheduled for demolition in 1909. No one expected it to change the Paris skyline forever.

After all, it wasn’t meant to last.

And yet it did.

In World War I, it intercepted enemy radio transmissions and dispatched troops. The next world war saw Hitler’s unsuccessful attempt to demolish it. Today, it continues to inspire us, creating moments of international solidarity when its colorful lights reflect triumphs and tragedies around the world.

It wasn’t meant to last – and yet Eiffel’s team built it as if it would stand forever.

Your season may be temporary, intended to last but a moment here, but how are you building it? How will your legacy outlive you when your critics and naysayers are long gone?

Temporary seasons in lives lived with a legendary outlook cannot help but change skylines, worlds, hearts, and lives.

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CHERI GRISSOM
Cheri Grissom works with music and media at Gateway UPC. Read her bio here.

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