Creating a Legacy of Remembrance

We all leave a legacy. It may be a good one, it may be a poor one, but without a doubt, we leave a legacy. Our legacy may not have the breadth of a George Washington, whom Americans call the Father of Our Country, or a Mother Teresa, the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. But to those whom our lives may touch, our legacy will be just as monumental. The legacy we leave will be inescapably vital to the next generations. Legacies don’t just happen. They don’t fall out of heaven, materialize in the middle of our living rooms, or appear on our doorsteps accompanied by a knock and a note. Legacies are created. It requires thought, preparation, and action. What we do today becomes our legacy tomorrow—either positive or negative. However, a legacy finds its birth in the most unexpected place: the past. Creating a legacy begins with looking back on where we came from and how we became who we are. That’s the purpose of this first lesson: creating a legacy of remembrance.