Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I go to a big church and we have a Tue morning 100 people senors group. So I go to memorials, I kind of doubt that there will be a memorial for me.
I had a pretty average life but I am happy.
The vast majority of us, and I include myself, are not smart enough to invent a longer-lasting light bulb or cure some disease. (Remember that line from "Saving Private Ryan"?) Nor are we talented enough to have led the New York Philharmonic or the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Therefore, our hopes for leaving some sort of legacy, if we dare entertain such hopes at all, have to be much more modest so as to be in line with our limited talents and capabilities.
In my case those hopes revolve around giving a helping hand to young people. Presently I work with fifth graders by reading aloud to several classes one day a week for 30 minutes each and conducting a lunch-time chess activity the day I am there. If I can make books and ideas come alive for them, it is a worthwhile legacy. In addition I try to be aware of opportunities to reach out with a helpful hand. If I notice a student during lunch time who is always alone, never with any friend(s), I reach out and try, over time, to remedy that.
Once I became aware of a fifth grade boy whose parents were going through a very nasty divorce. I talked to him in private for 10 or 15 minutes - just the usual stuff about he was not the cause of it and that he shouldn't worry about trying to fix it. When we stood up for him to go back to class, to my great surprise, he gave me a big hug, which meant to me that he found our talk meaningful and helpful. A small matter? Yes, a rather small matter in the overall scheme of things, but I am not capable of more than that and to me such things are extremely gratifying.
I also do chess at the middle school to which most of those fifth graders continue, so I get to follow them and be (hopefully) a supportive presence offering some unconditional postive regard.
Back when I used to teach full-time I sometimes went out of my way (beyond the job description). I'll never forget certain cases, such as the 13-year-old whose mother died and the only person to take him was an older (adult) sister with two kids of her own. She took him into her home with no hesitation, but funds were limited. I bought the boy a bicycle and followed him for several years.
I am sensitive to the sufferings of children perhaps because I had a difficult childhood myself. Not saying I'm special because huge numbers of people had difficult childhoods. My point is that I see that concern, awareness, and sensitivity as my chance to leave a legacy of sorts despite my rather modest natural mental endowment. No longer-lasting light bulbs or cured diseases for me, but I am grateful beyond words for the chance to make a small difference and a genuine (if small) impact. I find it fulfilling and gratifying. That is my legacy. May it live on in the lives of a few others.
Last edited by Escort Rider; 02-20-2017 at 11:24 AM..
Because of a combination of jokers in the genetic deck and a recognition of my own introversion, I long ago decided never to hake kids; but I have been befriended by several remarkable people along the way. I myself was favored by a career-educator bachelor uncle who filled in many of the gaps in my personality and rounded me out.
I'm not particularly wealthy, but managed to save up a nest egg -- and apply it to things like long-term-oriented common stock and a house in a small rural community that's mostly rented out. And I might be able to help if some of the folks in my circle, which includes a family of hard-working legal immigrants, come up with a serious business plan.
When I'm gone, I want nothing more than a group of people who'll say I did my part -- just by a different path.
I remember what an old man told me once........"the greatest tribute that can be made at your wake is for people to say............He was a good man ..."
Legacy: An independent, confident, and well adjusted daughter who feels extending love, kindness, warmth, and generosity towards others is an important part of her sense of purpose.
I honestly don't think I will be missed. People who remember me at all will suppose I am somewhere doing something.
I paddled my own boat. If I was meant to have a purpose, I hope I fulfilled it, but I don't spend time thinking about it.
A friend asked me something similar just recently and I didn't have an answer for her either
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
