Holidays give you perspective on life. So do funerals.
I arrived home from a joyful holiday and immediately was back on a plane to sing at a memorial honoring a deeply loved woman and to support my friends who are FAMILY.
I’ve attended two funerals in the past nine months and they were completely opposite of each other. The one in the summer was literally five minutes long and was void of any love, joyful memories or a deeper connection to the people he left behind. His legacy was empty, only leaving scars, wounds and pain. The one story shared was by someone who hadn’t known him long. The people who did know him, remained silent…
The more recent memorial was the complete opposite. It was a celebration of life with so many happy, loving and heartfelt memories. There were countless stories, laughter, tears, wonderful photographs and a connection of family and friends. It was a LOVE based celebration, clearly representing how she affected the people in her life.
Being a part of that celebration was an honor for me and it made me think, how do I want people to remember me? What kind of legacy do I want to leave?
It’s an interesting question to ask yourself.
By definition, legacy means something that is handed down by a predecessor. I also think it not only includes what you DO regarding your job, hobbies and community service, but also who you ARE and how you REACH people. I have witnessed people who have a conflict of inner world versus outer world. Because there is a large part of their life that is not authentic, they can’t celebrate the accomplishments they leave behind. I know from my past that when you are living an exterior life that isn’t matching your interior life, true joy isn’t possible and the legacy gets lost.
I have many goals I will achieve and those goals are important to me. My highest priority, however, is being remembered for how I make a person feel. I want to touch lives in a positive, loving, nurturing and supportive way. I want people to feel LOVED when they are in my life and that is the feeling they are left with when I am no longer on this earth.
My goal by honoring my instinct, living authentically and sharing what I’ve learned, is that I help others.
My legacy will be my open heart and my open arms.
What legacy do you want to leave? What is important to you? How do you want to be remembered?
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite sayings:
“We are each of us angels, with only one wing and we can only fly by embracing one another”.
So, what will YOUR LEGACY be?
With a smile,
Tina
