Leaving a Legacy

My husband and I, for the last ten days, have rested with love in the arms of family and friends as we said goodbye to a phenomenal man in all of our lives. This man, this amazing man, was one who watched my husband grow up, who taught everyone around him how to love more deeply and give more freely of themselves, and who touched my life personally in a deep and profound way. Last summer, my husband and I were privileged to have him perform our wedding, bittersweet with the fear that we may soon lose him to pancreatic cancer. That fear became a reality on Friday evening at 6:00pm. And while our sadness is real and painful, I take great comfort in knowing that his legacy is long-lasting and ever present in the lives of everyone he met.

Yesterday, we celebrated his memory, surrounded by his friends and family – relationships built over the course of a beautiful and full life – I looked around and learned a little about what’s really important in life. At the end of the day, it’s about the relationships you create, and the legacy you leave. He will always be remembered as a man who gave of himself to others, who healed the pain of his patients, who loved with reckless abandon, and who lived life to the very fullest.

We work all our lives…for what? For money? For recognition? For promotions? No. We work so that someone will say this, “I am inspired to be a better person because of you. I believe I will live a better life for having known you. I have learned more about myself because you have been in your life.” Those are the things I heard yesterday, and that is exactly what I want to take into consideration when making choices in my life. I hope we’ll all consider our legacies when making choices in our lives, and to fill our legacies with love and kindness (and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of ambition).