Of life, legends, and legacies
EVERY All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day is an opportunity to get together with family to reflect on fond memories with our beloved departed, and celebrate their lives. And each time we do, I cannot help but think about how well my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and even cousins, who have gone ahead have lived their lives. While some may have have undoubtedly touched more lives than others, all have equally shared a bit of and imparted themselves with us, that forgetting them is just impossible. They lived their lives in the way they knew best, and in the end, it is what matters most.
When I think about my grandparents, the memories are still so vivid it’s almost like I just lost them yesterday. It is so hard to believe that in fact a decade has passed, and what I would do to be able to jump back into a time capsule to visit those yesteryears. In my eyes growing up, they were their own sort of living legend. I always knew that they were greater than life itself – my grandfather and grand aunt who I was particularly close to, most especially. It is definitely with no surprise then that with their passing came the celebration of their lives. And in the case of my grand aunt, because of that very strong legacy of philanthropy she has left behind, she continues to live in the heart of all her foundation’s beneficiaries. And is celebrated every single day by so many people – some who she never even had the honor of meeting. Even after her death, she is in fact, larger than life itself.
A legend is a story told through time, generation after generation, which therefore makes a legacy. The impact of that story that continues on, one generation after the next. A legacy is essentially only as strong as the legend makes it, and becomes more influential if the legend was a living example. While there are definitely greater legends than others, each of us has the opportunity to become one, and create our own legacy. All it takes is some mindfulness and the determination to pursue a purposeful journey through life. One that does not necessarily need to call attention or bask in the limelight, but that has a greater mission it slowly fulfills day after day.
Oftentimes, we tend to celebrate the life of someone more after their passing, when in reality, we do not quite know whether or not they realize this – we only have our own faith, and what we believe in to cling on to and believe that they are in fact aware. Because of this, I have come to the realization that we should really celebrate life while we can – every milestone, big and small – because time can just really pass us by and while someone is alive, they really do deserve to feel the love. In the same light, someone’s death is always a reminder of how precious time truly is, and how we should choose to spend it with those dearest to us.