Living and Leaving a Legacy

Finally, some peace and quiet. It's been a rowdy couple of days for me, and that's to say the least. I'm not quite sure why I'm writing this now, but I have learnt that some things in life just can't be explained. They just are. So I'm content with letting my thoughts flow at this quiet moment of mine.

My maternal grandmother was just laid to rest two days ago and the family house is finally cleared out and quiet. Not totally empty, but a whole lot more peaceful than it was two days ago. I can finally hear myself think. I can finally feel breath actually move through and within me. I wish I was some poet or some type of artist, so I could let out what  I feel in an artistic or wonderful way. But I have found that I'm not so flowery with words even though I would have really loved to.

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Could it be the burial of my beloved grandmother that's inspiring these thoughts? I'm not quite sure. I just know that I have realised that this thing we're in called LIFE, is quite deep. Deeper than a lot of people care to think about.

My grandmother is gone, and all I can think about is how much I miss her. How great a woman she was. I was born when she was already 78 years old, so I may not have gotten to see much of her in action. But I know I did see a lot, at least in my opinion(the previous generation, A.K.A her kids, would definitely not agree). And I heard stories. Oh, did I hear stories! True life stuff. Not something from the movies but equally as amazing.

Indeed, she left her mark in the sands of time. And I wonder how many of us actually leave our marks in the sands of time.

We live in a more chaotic world than she must have lived in, that much I know. Many people are really just trying to get by day by day without loosing their sanity or something equally as vital. People do the barest minimum so they can get this "life thing" over with and just go. Not everyone thinks about leaving anything in semblance of a mark or legacy, if I may call it that.

It is a sad thing though, because everyone ends up too wrapped up in themselves to even think about the next person, especially if they're not benefiting from them in any way.

Sometimes I feel being reminded of death is a good thing. Please don't get me wrong. I feel this way because I've come to realize that death informs life. It shakes you, gives you a perspective of what's important. Especially when it happens to someone close to you or yours.

It allows you to start doing what matters, now. Knowing what you want your legacy or mark to be will help you make better use of your time and many other resources within your reach. It influences your day-to-day decisions in a positive way. Gaining some clarity on what you want your legacy to be can give your life great meaning and purpose.

I don't know much about legacies anyway. I'm still trying to figure out mine as I'm sure most people my age are. We're barely even out of school. We have other things our great minds are focused on. When people  hear the idea of legacy, it may remind them of death. But it really isn't. It is about LIVING. Living a life we want to be remembered for. 

Most of us will not be a Micheal Jordan or an Albert Einstein, or anything that glamorous, with our accomplishments and names forever remembered in history books. But I don't think that should lessen the need to create some sort of meaning in our lives, to have all that we've done and said live on after us, to be remembered in some type of way. It's all from the small and simple things around us. Things like: Supporting the people around you, sharing your blessings with others in what ever way you can, reflecting on and deciding what is most important in YOUR life. And a host of others.

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I once read somewhere that: " The concept of legacy is a powerful life tool for all ages and a catalyst for great social change" and I thought truer words were never spoken. 

You hope your life matters in some way. I know I do. Still not sure what "way" that will be though and I guess you don't have to have it all figured out all at once.

But I know this. I will tell my children and their children that I once had a grandmother, who was the strongest and kindest woman I ever knew. How she mixed those two attributes, being very firm, yet so loving and supportive, I would never know. I know that was her legacy and so much more. But I can only hope and try that I'll be like her, perhaps even greater, carving my name on people's hearts and not just my tombstone. 

By my deeds and words, I hope to be remembered and I hope when people remember me, they'd smile and think good things of me. I definitely can't please everyone though. And I wish that everyone in the world would realise this, try to live their lives in the most positively impactful way possible. I guess the world would be a less harsher place than it is now.

But then again, What do I know?

Writer: Abiayi Angel .N