Leaving a Legacy.
Have you given much thought to the idea of "legacy"?
I was talking with someone a while ago and this topic came up in our conversation. So I began thinking about what legacy I might be leaving behind one day.
What is it?
How might that legacy look?
What might people think when they hear my name in future generations?
Does it really matter?
Let me tell you, your legacy that you leave behind when you are gone does matter.
Why?
Because we will all leave a legacy when we are gone.
How?
By the way we live our lives, treat other people, and impart ourselves to the next generation. And the choice for how you live and what you accept and pass on as good or evil, right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, etc. will be your chosen foundation. Do you believe there is an absolute truth and an intentional purpose and meaning for life, or do you believe in pluralistic truth and a random purposeless and meaningless creation to life?
"Your character will be the chameleon with which the next generation will emulate because it is what you have allowed to cultivate."
Josh C. Jones
There are people who are always watching you.
If you think this isn't true, think about yourself and your own life. Who do you keep watching, looking up to, or thinking about who you might even be saying to yourself I don't want to be like them. Why? Because you are looking at the legacy they have been leaving behind.
There are always people who will learn from you--learning behavior, morals, ethics, and "truth," which they will bring to society and influence their culture and future generations with.
Your legacy will live on through other people.
Some things to think about for your life and legacy are:
What will that legacy be?
And will it be one of good or bad?
Granted, you can’t always control what people will perceive...unless you can control the very thoughts of people.
Interestingly, this is in the works. I watched a documentary not long ago where they were using technology and implanting chips in people's brains to help with curing disabilities but also to transfer one persons thoughts, feelings, and commands into another person's brain. They talked about being able to control people's thoughts.
Anyway. Our perceptions will vary just as our beliefs and levels of faith do, but the legacy we choose to leave behind could very well be built upon a similar foundation.
Our perceptions will always be based on the foundation we choose for our lives, and what had a part in us seeing this foundation and choosing it was the legacy of those whom we watched, associated with, were taught by, and who imparted themselves to us.
You can choose the legacy you will leave. How people will perceive it and act upon it will be up to them, though.
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