4 Legacy Questions That Will Crack You Wide Open
Jan 31, 2022Legacy is on our minds.
The Glasgow Climate Change Conference just ended in disappointment for many, particularly those who are the most vulnerable, and for the young people in our world, who’ll be living with the consequences of the decisions for the longest.
This past Friday, we facilitated the Willow Workshop™ How to Create and Live Your Legacy (inside the Willow EOL Educator™ Program). As we reflect on the rich conversations we had, it dawned on us that all of our work is legacy work.
No matter what kind of life you live, how much money you have, or what you think of your accomplishments, consider that you have a legacy. The original meaning of the word “legacy” was “a gift of money or other kinds of personal property or asset granted through a legal will.” Today the word is used more broadly.
We believe that legacy is anything handed down from the past or any impact we’ve made on people and the world that continues to exist after we stop working on that thing, or after we die.
Willow’s legacy is changing the conversation around death and dying to include life and living.
Willow’s tools and resources are designed to change the conversation around death and dying to include life and living. We don’t help you fill out advance-care planning forms—though this is important and essential work. Rather, Willow’s heart-centred and inquiry-based approach to all things end-of-life, creates opportunities for you to reflect on the life you’re living and connect deeply with your sense of who and what matter most.
When considered from this perspective, our relationship to legacy shifts from a fuzzy, future-based concept to, as one participant put it, “thinking about your legacy day-to- day.” Another noted that whatever they get up to in life, “my legacy follows right behind me.”
To live with clarity and intention, start thinking about what you want for yourself at the end of your life, and watch how that changes the way you live your life today!
4 legacy questions that will crack you wide open:
- What are your hopes and fears about the legacy you’ll leave behind?
- What do you want people to remember you for?
- What do you think people WILL remember you for?
- How does the way you’re living now align with your desired legacy?
Perhaps if all the delegates at the Glasgow Conference considered these questions, the outcome would have been different.
With all our love,
Reena + Michelle
What about you?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on any or all of the legacy questions above.
