Leaving a Legacy

A Legacy Lives On in Many Ways

The dying experience is often a time of reflection on the meaning and accomplishments of one's life. You may wonder about the world that you are leaving behind and how you will be remembered. A legacy is what you hand down to the generations that follow. It is the mark that you leave on society.

Although you may automatically think of a legacy as money or property, a legacy may be anything of a less concrete nature. Examples of important legacies are the children that you have raised or the students that you have taught. You live on in their knowledge and experience. A legacy lives on in the ways that you have acted as a role model for others or touched others with kindness, patience, generosity or love.

You may leave a legacy for your family or community through the gift of sharing the stories that make up part of their history. The urgency of a near death is often the time when families finally sit together quietly and talk and share. Many a great cooks are remembered through their legacy of recipes. Families share pride in the stories of the strength and bravery of immigrant ancestors.

Reminiscence of past achievements may help you to appreciate the legacy that you will leave to others and bring comfort, meaning and closure to your end-of-life experience. Many people record these thoughts in a document called an Ethical Will.

Ethical wills are a way to share your values, life lessons, hopes and dreams for the future, love, and forgiveness with your family and community.

Ethical wills are not new. The Hebrew Bible first described ethical wills 3000 years ago. References to this tradition are also found in the Christian Bible and in other cultures. Initially, ethical wills were transmitted orally. Over time, they evolved into written documents. "Ethical wills" are not considered legal documents as compared to "living wills" and your "last will and testament" which are.

Today, ethical wills are being written by people at turning points in their lives: facing challenging life situations and at transitional life stages. They are usually shared with family and community while the writer is still alive.

Ethical wills may be one of the most cherished and meaningful gifts you can leave to your family and community. For more information and the tools to create an ethical will, please go to www.ethicalwill.com.