YOUR Legacy

Celebration of One's Life

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Many of us have attended memorial services of friends/family members over the years. My uncle would walk around with a positive emphasis of "celebrating a life today". Oh, the parties we'd have that evening in that person's honor. They were AMAZING!

The lives of those have been reflected upon over the period of that day. Many of us tell stories about either specific instances or general statements of what those people stood for. Usually their time on earth makes up a good story worth of that reflection.

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My great grandfather, Walter, came over to the United States from Warsaw, Poland.

 

He may have had dreams and goals that led him here. But it wasn't by some revelation that led him to pursue this. He didn't storm in and have a "come to Jesus" meeting with his parents, stating he was heading off to greener pastures.

 

His father sent him.

 

Why? Well…he got in a fight.

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According to family history documentation, he got in an altercation with two men over a girl at a bar. His father, a policeman, covered for him and then sent him to America in hopes to protect him. I’m not 100% sure if this is the reason but it makes for a good story, right?.

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Walter settled in West Virginia and found his way. While there, the government sponsored a dance in 1930 that was attended by the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Walter attended and, after persuading the bodyguards, was able to talk to Ms. Roosevelt and asked her to dance. She accepted.

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Yes, my great-grandfather danced with The First Lady of the United States.

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These are the kinds of stories that legacies are made of!

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What Would People Recall About Your Legacy?

 

If reflected upon your life now...What would people say about you? What would they share? By reflecting on this, one can guide through how one should live life - what is important compared to what is trivial.

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Stephen Covey's book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" applies a set of guidelines for those who look advance one's life. One of those principles is "Begin With The End In Mind". This principle can be applied in many ways, looking at a number of short and long-range tasks and goals. If one can focus on the end game that is life's passing, he/she can set goals and make decisions that set an example for all.

 

Generations Before And Yet To Come

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Most of us have parents or at least figures of parenthood. For most, those people are fond in our memories.

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From there, most of us would remember their parents - our grandparents. Some are blessed enough to know their great-grandparents, perhaps as a young child with them in their final years of life.

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What about their parents? Most likely, no. Or the generation prior to that? Or the one before that? Most definitely not.

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When looking at this in the other direction, ultimately I will have generations beyond me that I will never know.

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Did generations before me work, toil, lead, and love so that I could live the life I lead and enjoy the privileges I do today? Yes! Will I have a chance to thank them? Not unless I meet them in heaven and shake their hand. But I can learn about them.

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Over 26 million people have accounts on such websites as ancestry.com and 23andme. As staggering a number as that is, it is less than 0.8% of the overall population which has access to a computer or mobile device.

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I doubt most of us have thought much about how we got where we are beyond what our parents have shared. Have you ever had a talk with a family member about ancestry?

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I recently started learning about mine and have found this extremely fascinating and rewarding. I look forward to exploring it further and connecting with other family members, close and distant.

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A famous scene in the movie Dead Poets Society cites the classroom of students viewing old pictures of previous classes at Welton Academy. They were given a message through their teacher's voice "Carpe Diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

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As much as it is about reflecting and thanking those generations who worked so that I could live today, it is also about my goals to give my very best so that generations way far down the timeline may thrive. 

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Write a story that is worth reading. This is the first step in developing life's purpose - the WHY!