Living Your Legacy
Do you ever think about what your gravestone or a bench dedicated in your name might one day read? I read a plaque on a bench recently that said: “A gentle man who was always singing”. How tender is that? I could feel his compassion, his spirit, just through those words – always singing.
I don’t think about this all the time, but I do think about it. The first time it crossed my mind, it was because I had a horror flashforward moment. I hadn’t called back or checked on a dear friend of mine for months. After finally apologizing and reaching out, she replied to me “It’s okay Alli, you’re the busiest girl I know.” And like a dagger to my heart, a picture of those words carved into my gravestone flashed before me - “The busiest woman we knew”. Wow. How tragic would that be? That was not the legacy I wanted to have or the impression I wanted to leave on those who meant the most to me.
Like myself, if we were to take an honest look at our lives right now some of our gravestones might read something similar: “Burned out & constantly consumed by work” or “Full of pride & arrogance. Impatient with his family” or “Dreaded getting out of bed every morning”. Harsh and morbid, I know, but I’m serious because this is serious.
Your days turn into your weeks, turn into your months, turn into your years, turn into your life which then turns into your legacy. What we don’t always realize is that our legacy doesn’t come once we are retired and the end of life is nearer than the beginning. No, our legacy started yesterday. You are living your legacy right now.
So, what do you hope your gravestone will say? How do you want your life to be remembered? And are you currently living a life, making decisions, showing up for others, and prioritizing the things that will reflect that?
What a wonderful opportunity we have to shape our lives to reflect the legacy we hope to leave. It’s becoming more apparent each day that life is truly precious. We cannot afford to push off forming our legacy until our later years. No, we must start today, in simple and small ways, truly living out a life that we will one day smile at and be proud of.
