LEGACY

Death. Let’s talk about it. It’s not something you so openly talk about on a daily basis or casually talk about around the dining room table. It’s a subject we all avoid yet it’s something we’re all going to experience. Why does it scare us so much? Maybe because it is inevitable and that no one truly knows what exactly happens when you die. Will I go to heaven or will I go to hell? Have I accomplished everything I set out to do? Will I leave a legacy and will people remember me long after I’m gone? What’s my family going to do without me? How much sorrow is my death going to bring? There’s just way too many questions. Death scares the hell out of most people in our society. So let’s try to look at death a little differently. Let’s let at a life that prepares us for a beautiful death that can be celebrated.

How can we look at death and have an appreciation for what it is? Often times people will have a celebration of life when they die yet no one in that room is crying tears of joy. Imagine a true celebration of life. A room full of people reflecting back through the life of a loved one and truly appreciating their presence on earth. Not a room full of people sitting in sorrow imagining life without them. When I die I want just that. A joyful reflection for all the good that I brought to this earth. When people die we should reflect on the lessons they have taught us so that we can carry their legacy forward. If we truly celebrated death in this way then with each death we would move forward as a more prosperous and understanding society. Each individual person on this earth was created for a unique reason. So at the moment of their death take time to celebrate that reason and to celebrate everything they brought to this earth. If we can create reasoning at the time of death for why exactly that person came into existence and why it was time for them to leave this earth, then we are much more likely to create closure and the morning process will be much shorter.

While we are alive, we all want our lives to have a purpose. No two people are going to have the exact same purpose. Also, no single person is going to have just one purpose. Your purpose can change every single day. One day you’re going to be needed in one place and another day you are going to be needed in another. You have those close to you, your loved ones, that are going to need you every so often. Some days you may be able to be there for a random stranger. You may say something to a random stranger that changes the course of their day or even their life. I believe that we are all interconnected. I believe that nothing happens by chance. That each person comes into our life for a reason. That each person sometimes does not stay in our life for a reason. Every interaction you have gives you the opportunity to make an impact and it doesn’t matter how big or small that impact may be. It could be something as simple as saying hello and smiling or creating small talk to or with someone that looks lonely on the street. That may just change the course of their day.

I feel that as long as we practice positivity in our daily lives we can act as a force of good in this world and create progress to move society forward that will leave a lasting impact on this world when we pass. A smile is an extremely powerful force of good. Smiling at a random stranger is a way of showing them that you accept them for who they are. Taking it a step forward and doing simple things such as saying hello with a smile on your face or taking a genuine interest in the life of a stranger and asking them questions can go a long way. We can move through life isolating ourselves from the rest of society or we can choose to embrace the people around us. We all have the ability to leave little lasting memories each day with the people around us. Do you want to be remembered or do you want to be forgotten? It’s not so much doing it for yourself, but rather doing something to create a positive memory within another person’s mind.

When we think about the small day-to-day interactions that we have and compare it to a long lasting legacy it doesn’t really make sense. The reason for this is because a legacy is something you build on. If you practice positivity, spreading peace and human connection on a daily basis then you will work towards building your legacy. If you practice this every day then the number of people that you are going to impact is going to grow astronomically. Never put too much focus on one single person. We all have too much love to spread around. Love is the powerful force of good that is going to allow you to leave a legacy behind. If you go throughout your life truly loving your life, loving the people around you and having a love for the world itself then you truly are going to create change.

But still what about that legacy? What about that one thing that people are going to remember you for? People want to be remembered for bringing something special to this earth. Whether it be a book that people will read for years and years to come, an invention that revolutionized our society or any other type of legacy that will never be forgotten. People are scared to be forgotten. Although not many people go on to be remembered forever. Your legacy is whatever you want to be carried on after you pass. Through every life, we all learn different lessons. So if we want to leave a legacy what we have to do is teach those lessons to the younger generations. You can teach lessons to your children that they will pass on to their children. You can teach lessons to strangers that they will pass on to the people around them and those lessons will carry on.

If you really want to leave a legacy behind look no further than a child. It doesn’t mean that you have to have your own child. We are all capable of making an impact on the life of a child. There is no greater impact you can make than the impact on the life of a child. Children are thirsty for knowledge. They are new to this world. They have so much to learn. So if you can mold a child and prepare them for the future that lies ahead of them then that is a very powerful legacy you can leave behind. That, in turn, prepares that child to have the ability to leave an impact on another child and that cycle can continue.

So we’re all scared that we’re not going to leave this huge legacy behind when we pass, but as I’m trying to explain is all you have to do to build your legacy is living each day one by one with positivity, spreading love, learning through your adversity and teaching the younger generations that are going to be there long after you are gone. We can create change to people in the present while we are alive and to people in the future if we choose to teach our lives greatest lessons to others while we are on this earth. So does leaving a legacy seems so hard to do if we just spell it out in a few simple steps? I don’t think so. We all will leave a legacy behind in one way or another. It’s just the harder you work for it and the greater you love while on this earth the larger your legacy will be. It’s all about creating human connection while you are on this earth.

So death may still seem scary. Although when you do these things to truly leave something special behind to be remembered as someone that spread love and positivity to this world then it will be harder to be forgotten. That’s what we all want. We all want to be remembered. So if you don’t want to fear death then start living to spread peace and love and teach powerful lessons to those that are going to be there long after you are gone. In this way, you will never be forgotten and at the end of your life, you will be celebrated.