As we look around the world today and all its challenges, I often wonder what sort of world we are leaving behind for our children.
Whilst most of us continue to live as if there is no tomorrow and we use up our natural resources like they are ever lasting, pause for a moment and realise that there is only one certainty about our life. Sooner or later we are all going to die. Accept it or not, every day brings us closer to that day.
Our life will then only live on in the memories of our loved ones and in a generation or two we will be remembered as grey ageing pictures or more likely nowadays preserved in the annals of any number of internet websites (I knew there was a reason for me to one day store my video clips on YouTube 🙂 )
The only time people truly begin to live fully live their lives is when they have faced death. Recall the example of people who have had near-death experiences – life for them really began after seemingly being given a second chance. Their priorities change and they begin to make the most of everyday.
I have 5 young nephews and a niece and sometimes when I see them I wonder what sort of world their children will grow up in. The eldest nephew is now 19 and he goes to college this year, with the usual wide eyes enthusiasm and naivety of the young. I know they will all survive and prosper but you wonder what challenges they will face in the years to come.
So what legacy can you leave behind for the children in your life and those to follow? What can you do for your descendents? What can we all collectively do ensure that our children and their children can have a future to look forward to?
I believe that the answer is that each one of us does the best we can on our individual paths.
We must begin to live our lives in a moral, ethical and caring way.
It is all about leaving behind for the children of the future a legacy of a life well lived.
By a legacy, I do not mean we leave behind something material such as an inheritance in the form of property, a company or wealth. I mean about something that will improve this world and make a positive difference to the lives of our children, no matter how small or big. It is not about our fame or rewards but simply about helping others.
Legacy is all about showing the young a path to follow and setting an exemplary example. It all comes back to you living your life so well from the highest possible moral grounds that all those who follow will be inspired and follow your example.
A few years ago, we threw a birthday party for an uncle who had reached the age of one hundred. He was probably even older, as a century ago in India no one kept accurate records.
At his party there were five generations present and in total my uncle had over eighty direct descendents there. He certainly had a lot to celebrate in his life – his legacy to us was an example of a life of solid graft and helping others. He remains a role model for the four generations that shared his life span.
It is all fair and proper that we do this. Think of all those people who have gone before us and who have shown us the way to live – they left a legacy and it is now our duty to leave a legacy behind for others.
Make it your intention from now onwards to create a legacy worthy of you.