--original post from 6/11/16--
If you haven't seen or heard, the famous athlete Muhammad Ali passed away a week or so ago. Perhaps I’m just oblivious to the fact that he was so famous and well-known, but I was really surprised to see the amount of quotes and photos that filled my social media surrounding his death. It made me think—this guy was probably a big deal.
If you haven't seen or heard, the famous athlete Muhammad Ali passed away a week or so ago. Perhaps I’m just oblivious to the fact that he was so famous and well-known, but I was really surprised to see the amount of quotes and photos that filled my social media surrounding his death. It made me think—this guy was probably a big deal.
I thought I'd take some time and write my first post in honor of Muhammad Ali, or, well, a quote that I saw by him posted by someone on Instagram. I've seen a trend. When a celebrity passes away I get flooded with those quotes and photos, but sometimes there are some really great and inspirational things through the noise.
The quote is titled: "How I Want To Be Remembered."
Bold. Beautiful. Powerful.
Bold. Beautiful. Powerful.
The words stuck out to me. They almost screamed at me as I passed by them. A little light switch that needed to be turned on was instantly flipped up. Wow. How do I want to be remembered? It's not a question we ask ourselves every day. Our tiny legacy. Throughout my entire day, I was constantly reminded of how I am leaving my legacy in life. Important note, these words to me don’t just necessarily mean how I want to be remembered when I pass away, but also how I want to be remembered every day. How do you want people to remember you after a lunch with friends? A parent-teacher conference? A drive-thru window? A checkout line? A restaurant? You get the point. Now, naturally, some people are just a little rude and never have anything nice to say…but how oh so gratifying would it be if you were the one person who they could never say a word about? Goals.
Every second of our lives shapes the time we are given. Our actions and our energy put into the universe pretty much makes or breaks our experience on this Earth. Our actions and energy also shape the little legacies we all leave. Good energy in, good energy out. WE can be that good energy. If you think about it for a couple of minutes, it’s easy to pick out a couple of people in your own lives who make you feel a couple of different ways. I know one person who I really cannot stand. They leave me irritable and put a cloud over my day when I hear their name—what do they do that makes me feel that way? I know a few other people who leave me feeling uplifted and joyful—what do THEY do that makes me feel that way? We, as humans, have this miraculous ability to mentally turn ourselves into the person who exudes joy and happiness. It is not difficult, and that is a gift. Sometimes, daily life, negative people, thunderstorms, etc. take a toll on us and create little mental blocks in our heads that prevent us from focusing on happiness. Even so, I personally want to be remembered as someone who TRIED to move past those road blocks. Someone who tried to be positive constantly, someone who treated others in a way that made them feel uplifted. That is a legacy to be proud of. That is the kind of legacy I want to leave. We are all called to release this legacy on the world. We can feel significant…it’s easy… we live on a planet with around 7.4 billion other people. How could OUR legacy even matter? That’s a good question. The way I see it is this—we are all given special gifts inside of us. Not one person out of those 7.4 billion people holds the same gift as me, or you. That’s pretty special. Without our individual gift, our world is lacking SOMETHING, however small or insignificant it may feel. It is our duty to harness our special gift inside us and live with a purpose. Be creative. Be humorous. Be bold. Be caring. Whatever has been put inside us has the right to come out and make a difference. Here’s why:
Every second of our lives shapes the time we are given. Our actions and our energy put into the universe pretty much makes or breaks our experience on this Earth. Our actions and energy also shape the little legacies we all leave. Good energy in, good energy out. WE can be that good energy. If you think about it for a couple of minutes, it’s easy to pick out a couple of people in your own lives who make you feel a couple of different ways. I know one person who I really cannot stand. They leave me irritable and put a cloud over my day when I hear their name—what do they do that makes me feel that way? I know a few other people who leave me feeling uplifted and joyful—what do THEY do that makes me feel that way? We, as humans, have this miraculous ability to mentally turn ourselves into the person who exudes joy and happiness. It is not difficult, and that is a gift. Sometimes, daily life, negative people, thunderstorms, etc. take a toll on us and create little mental blocks in our heads that prevent us from focusing on happiness. Even so, I personally want to be remembered as someone who TRIED to move past those road blocks. Someone who tried to be positive constantly, someone who treated others in a way that made them feel uplifted. That is a legacy to be proud of. That is the kind of legacy I want to leave. We are all called to release this legacy on the world. We can feel significant…it’s easy… we live on a planet with around 7.4 billion other people. How could OUR legacy even matter? That’s a good question. The way I see it is this—we are all given special gifts inside of us. Not one person out of those 7.4 billion people holds the same gift as me, or you. That’s pretty special. Without our individual gift, our world is lacking SOMETHING, however small or insignificant it may feel. It is our duty to harness our special gift inside us and live with a purpose. Be creative. Be humorous. Be bold. Be caring. Whatever has been put inside us has the right to come out and make a difference. Here’s why:
Let’s say you are a very caring person (if you aren’t, just play along… and maybe work on that a little bit tonight 
;) ) and sometime throughout your day, you strike up a conversation with a stranger (let’s say they were your waiter at Outback). You decide to intentionally be caring towards them. That has the potential to change their entire day. Your strength/gift may be something that they lack, have never been given… something that they NEED. Then, they have a new happiness or feeling that they can then continue to put into the universe. Have you ever seen the movie Pay It Forward? Well, if you hate crying, don’t watch it. It is sweet and thought provoking. The whole premise of Pay It Forward is this little boy who has the ingenious idea to start a domino effect of kindness. It’s easiest to explain by the little figure he draws in the movie (I’m attaching it on this post). It starts with “YOU”. Simple. You pick 3 people every day to do 3 nice things for. Then, those 3 people chose 3 people of their own to do nice things for. It’s some crazy statistic about how many people that this Mother Theresa conga line could reach. But it’s huge. I’m not big on math, but 3 people choosing 3 other people then those 3 choosing 3 more… every day could be massive. How about that for a legacy?
;) ) and sometime throughout your day, you strike up a conversation with a stranger (let’s say they were your waiter at Outback). You decide to intentionally be caring towards them. That has the potential to change their entire day. Your strength/gift may be something that they lack, have never been given… something that they NEED. Then, they have a new happiness or feeling that they can then continue to put into the universe. Have you ever seen the movie Pay It Forward? Well, if you hate crying, don’t watch it. It is sweet and thought provoking. The whole premise of Pay It Forward is this little boy who has the ingenious idea to start a domino effect of kindness. It’s easiest to explain by the little figure he draws in the movie (I’m attaching it on this post). It starts with “YOU”. Simple. You pick 3 people every day to do 3 nice things for. Then, those 3 people chose 3 people of their own to do nice things for. It’s some crazy statistic about how many people that this Mother Theresa conga line could reach. But it’s huge. I’m not big on math, but 3 people choosing 3 other people then those 3 choosing 3 more… every day could be massive. How about that for a legacy?
I’m not sure about you, but I want to leave a legacy of happiness. I want to be remembered as a good friend, a good listener, a good wife (one day), a good momma (one day), a faithful person, a loyal person, and a forgiving person.
I can do better. We all can. We are never perfect, and that is okay. What is more important than being perfect is stepping on that journey to be a good person.
I can do better. We all can. We are never perfect, and that is okay. What is more important than being perfect is stepping on that journey to be a good person.
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Perhaps my legacy can begin on this page. I’m not sure how many people my words will reach. Maybe just my best friend and family. But this has been a dream of mine that I am holding myself accountable to start. From here on out, if I want something, I am determined to make myself go get it. I’ll add that to my legacy too.
I want my words to heal, to inspire, to shed light on the parts of our hearts that need some attention.
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What do you want your legacy to be?
