We’ve made it to a new month, November! It’s a month to think about being thankful for life, and in addition this month we’re going to focus on what it means to create a legacy. When I think about legacy, I think about what we leave behind for the next generation. Christine Gregoire said:
“It is up to us to live up to the legacy that was left for us, and to leave a legacy that is worthy of our children and of future generations.”
Her perspective is that legacy isn’t just something we leave behind, it’s something we have to deal with from the past as well. Our legacy is impacted by the legacy left behind the people who came before us. Their actions have created the reality that we live in today, and we have to create our legacy based on that reality. It means that if the legacy left for us isn’t a helpful or positive one, we’re forced to resolve those issues before we can move on to create the legacy we want to create.
Part of the problem is that people aren’t as intentional throughout their lives about how they want the world to be when they leave it, and as a result the legacy they leave isn’t as great as it could have been.
My challenge to you this month as we think about legacy and gratitude is to actually consider what you want to leave for the next generation. Are you planning your legacy? What would you like it to be?
