Legacy: What's Yours?

Instant gratification seems to be the theme of our generation. Let’s all just live for ourselves and the current moment; YOLO right?

Yesterday I had a bout of spare time, and found my mind strolling down deep avenues of thought. What led it there, I cannot recall, but nonetheless I caught myself mulling over the word legacy. As a girl of nineteen and three quarters, I’d probably be told by people of my age to stop acting like a retiree and concern myself with more trendy avenues of thought like what filter to use on my next instagram. This just goes to show, that my generation (myself included) pay little or no mind to the concept of legacy and the taste our lives will leave in the mouth of this planet once we are no more.

This is not about ‘save the trees’ or ‘go green,’ but the reality that whether we live like it or not, every one of us will leave our footprint on this planet in some way, shape or form. For some it will be a bloodline of beautiful children and grandchildren, for others it will be a worldwide business concept that changes the face of the globe (think Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg), or perhaps a series of novels that will make their way onto the bedside table of children everywhere.

Yesterday, I was caught up with identifying the legacies that have been left behind for me; the ceilings of previous generations that have become the floors on which my generation stands. There have been people throughout history that have fought for a day they would never see. Paid prices for things they’d never taste, and given their lives for people they would never meet. Think of the freedom fighters who shed their blood on the battlefield of human rights. Think of the 15^th century bible translators that traded their lives in order for the word of God to be read by every nation. Think of the inventors that stared in the face of failure and said “it can be done,” just so we could switch on a light, or pick up the phone, or hop on a plane.

Then there are legacies that live on in the hearts of men and women. The legacies unseen and untold that have their substance in the deep inner places of people that span the generational gaps. Legacies of love, of peace, of undeserved kindness. With every measure of oxygen inhaled, we are writing our stories, creating our legacies. A child is born onto a blank canvas on which he paints the picture of his life that will only be seen in it’s full measure by those who will one day stand at a distance and observe the portrait.  I want the canvas of my life to be an invaluable masterpiece that warms the heart and moistens the eyes of all that will one day enjoy its colors and brushstrokes.

If my life were to know no tomorrow, I want my head to rest assured on my pillow tonight in the knowledge that I lived a life that was a sweet taste in the mouth of this world and all it’s people.

I am creating my legacy, are you?

{Background image from emilymcmanus}