August poses the question – “What Will Your Legacy Be?”
I’m spending a couple of days on the farm where I grew up. Three generations have farmed here. My father took over farming it from his father. My brother and his son farm it today.
The land is their legacy.
My sisters tease me about my lack of expertise when it came to various farm chores. The majority of my chores were in the house doing the dishes, setting the table, dusting, and cleaning our bedrooms upstairs (one small bedroom for my two brothers, and the other larger one of my three sisters and myself). My outside chores were limited, but I did have some responsibilities like most farm kids.
I hated being pecked by the chickens when I had to gather eggs. I just never developed the knack to not ruffle feathers!
I lacked upper body strength, so my job during baling was driving the little Ford tractor back and forth to pull the bales into the hayloft. It was a treacherous job because I had to go in reverse about a half a short block in a semi-straight line making sure to miss the pump house, a tree and stop at the back door of our house. That was the only time I was trusted behind the wheel of a tractor.
In the era when I graduated from high school, the college track was not the norm as it is for this generation. Only a few of us had aspirations that required a college degree or specific education: doctor, teacher and nurse. The rest of us would get a job and get on with the business of life. We were eager to make our mark on the world. Since then I’ve come to realize that we’d already begun the process of creating our legacy as soon as we drew our first breath…the story of our lives. Our legacy isn’t the “stuff” we accumulate; it’s the stuff we do every single minute of every day. Our legacy is how we treat each other, our loved ones, business associates, Mother Earth and ourselves with respect, compassion and kindness. Sometimes it may take every ounce of creativity and inspiration to keep our stuff together for this challenging part of our story, but having faith that whatever it bugging us will pass helps to stay focused on living our beautiful legacy of the story of a life well lived.
My legacy is sharing on-going stories…my own and helping you share yours.
A legacy can be an inheritance, heirloom, heritage, birthright, money or the gift you leave behind which defies naming a monetary value.
How will you be remembered?
- for making fabulous birthday cakes?
- for making a house a home?
- for inspiring young minds to explore new worlds?
- for planting seeds that grow to feed hungry minds and bodies?
- for writing about the issues to cause great change?
Hop over to my Facebook page to share…what is your story?