Your gifted legacy

Young and old people often have very different perspectives on life. When we're young we may be concerned with where we have been, but are often more interested in where we are headed, seeing our whole life as unfolding in front of us. As we get older, we are often more compelled by where we have been and begin to think more and more about our legacy.

What am I Ieaving behind?

What do I want to accomplish with the time I have left? 

The desire to consider legacy usually comes into view in the “third arc” of life, generally after about fifty years old.  We may try to urgently rise further in our profession, push ourselves harder to accomplish something outside of our job, consider our financial resources and/or our will and what we might leave behind. All of these goals and wonderings are surface-level, visible strivings that cloud our vision of our more urgent legacy. 

The overarching purpose of legacy is for others to carry on the "work" that has been so important to you.  This work may be the underlying mission that drives a career you are passionate about, a vocation you’ve chosen that’s not thought of as a job, a Core Gift you would like carried forward by others, or a principle for living that is urgent in you.  Legacy, in this sense, is carrying forward the “why” and the “how” you have chosen to serve others and the world around you. 

Hints of genuine legacy often begin with a small, quiet voice inside asking us if we feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves. What would that be and why?  Or, are you engaged in something in your life that you feel compelled to do—there’s not really a choice to be made? What about the common threads in your life? What have you kept coming back to all these years? Or, are you noticing you are more interested in what people think about you as a person, and less about what you have done or plan on doing? These questions, and many more, are slowly building clues that your legacy is calling.

"All this personal work I’ve done. Will it matter at all that I have wanted, more than anything, to change me? Now at midlife, and facing the truths of the present, I’m at a crossroads. 'What now?' my legacy asks."

Jenn Reidel, photographer and writer, Washington

Format

This session is a mix of 1) information about legacy from a gift-centered and human-development perspective, 2) discussion time after each section of content for you to consider your perspectives and the perspectives of other participants, and 3) simple worksheets and reflective time for you to put some thoughts and words to your aspirations for your legacy. 

What can you expect?

This time together will provide you with content you can use to think about, plan, and pursue your legacy from a perspective that is outside of the usual financial, career accomplishment, and “what will they say about me at my funeral” perspective.  

• Understand the roots of modern-day legacy definitions and how a return to a more historical and multicultural definition of legacy can be energizing to you in understanding and furthering your legacy.
• Learn more about and discuss the four primary components of legacy-building.
• Discuss with others how they view legacy so you can further build your perspective in new and wider ways.
• Reflective time to put words to your aspirations for legacy and hear what others will be pursuing.
• An increased feeling of comfort and accomplishment as you think about your legacy from these perspectives.