Legacies of the Heart: A Hallmark of Conscious Aging
Recorded on Mar 4, 2015
In this inspiring session, Margaret Newhouse reminded us that a legacy is far more than a tangible or material gift we bequeath to descendents; rather, legacy is the imprint of your life that lives on past your lifetime in the ways that your life impacted others.
We all receive legacies, positive and negative, from those who came before us and we are creating legacy throughout our entire lives. Our elder chapters hold as much opportunity to create a meaningful legacy as our years before retirement age. The size of the contribution we make to others as we age isn’t what is important, but rather the consciousness that we bring to everything we do.
The best way to live so that our legacies are life-promoting is not to worry about our legacy, but to live from the heart, and legacy building will follow. For those of us who fear that they have created a negative legacy they are not proud of, a powerful healing practice is to work on forgiveness of ourselves and others, which can help shift their relationships with themselves and others.
In the interview, Meg shared valuable advice about tangible legacies also, such as writing ethical wills, or writing legacy letters for our descendents or others who have been important in our lives, and having others do oral history work (using video, audio, or writing) with us and offering this service to them.
She stressed “Do It Now,” as we don’t know if we will have the health or opportunity later on.
She shared a short but powerful legacy letter written by Sam Levinson, which reads: “To children and grandchildren everywhere: Leaving you everything I have had in my lifetime: a good family, respect for learning, compassion for my fellow man, and some four-letter words for all occasions, like help, give, care, feel and love." (From Rachael Freed's Women's Lives Women's Legacies.)
Meg ended her session by sharing these words from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, which encapsulate the essence of creating a beautiful legacy of your life:
“Have I given and received love? Have I lived my life and not someone else’s?
Have I left the world a better place for my having been here?”
We all receive legacies, positive and negative, from those who came before us and we are creating legacy throughout our entire lives. Our elder chapters hold as much opportunity to create a meaningful legacy as our years before retirement age. The size of the contribution we make to others as we age isn’t what is important, but rather the consciousness that we bring to everything we do.
The best way to live so that our legacies are life-promoting is not to worry about our legacy, but to live from the heart, and legacy building will follow. For those of us who fear that they have created a negative legacy they are not proud of, a powerful healing practice is to work on forgiveness of ourselves and others, which can help shift their relationships with themselves and others.
In the interview, Meg shared valuable advice about tangible legacies also, such as writing ethical wills, or writing legacy letters for our descendents or others who have been important in our lives, and having others do oral history work (using video, audio, or writing) with us and offering this service to them.
She stressed “Do It Now,” as we don’t know if we will have the health or opportunity later on.
She shared a short but powerful legacy letter written by Sam Levinson, which reads: “To children and grandchildren everywhere: Leaving you everything I have had in my lifetime: a good family, respect for learning, compassion for my fellow man, and some four-letter words for all occasions, like help, give, care, feel and love." (From Rachael Freed's Women's Lives Women's Legacies.)
Meg ended her session by sharing these words from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, which encapsulate the essence of creating a beautiful legacy of your life:
“Have I given and received love? Have I lived my life and not someone else’s?
Have I left the world a better place for my having been here?”