What kind of #legacy can you leave when you're a couple with no children? Aren't progeny required? Isn't there some unspoken rule that the American Dream requires 2.5 kids and a house in the 'burbs'? Aren't we all supposed to go forth and multiply?
No. No, we're not. That path isn't right for everyone and leaving a legacy doesn't require having children.
All you need is something worth doing and someone worth doing it for.
A legacy used to be something along the lines of land, livestock, jewelry, castles, and most importantly, a name. The material things equated to wealth and the name signified you as part of a clan or family (and families...no matter what...are supposed to stick together).
So what happens when you have no one to leave your name to? Is it possible to be a "family" of only two people? What if you don't have any "things" to leave behind?
These are things we think of often. During our journey of minimalism and downsizing so many emotions have come to the surface.
Who are we keeping these things for? Who would care about our lives a hundred years from now? Who is going to want my artwork from third grade? Probably no one. So why am I keeping it? Why am I paying a monthly amount to store it?
This leads into the question of: if no one wants my "stuff" does that mean that I am not wanted? What if I'm not doing "enough" for the world? When I pass on, will my name and deeds be forgotten?
The answer is: Even if you don't invent the newest billion dollar widget or find new land or develop something amazing to get you in the history books it doesn't mean you can't still leave one helluva legacy.
The most powerful legacies any of us can leave are #empowerment and #kindness.
Empowerment is teaching others how to survive and that they can be/do/have anything they put their mind toward. Learning to be kind toward yourself and others is so very underrated.
The truth is: hurt people hurt people.
The best thing you can do for your family, your spouse, your kids, your neighbors, your coworkers...the planet...is #heal yourself. THAT is your legacy. You're going to get up, get real, get raw, own your own toxic traits and then? Then you're going to get out there and do epic shit. After that? You're going to help others heal and do epic shit.
THAT is your legacy. THAT is worth doing.
THAT is worth doing for EVERYONE.
I have recently come up against this theme, myself. Last month, I moved from a larger house to a smaller house.I had lived there for 25 years (that length of time being the longest I have ever lived in one place). Save for my bicycle, and a few knick-knacks around the house, I had everything that I would consider to be "Mine", in my bedroom. When I moved into the house, everything that I owned fit into the back of a small car; I expected that packing would be the work of an afternoon.
I was surprised by how much crap I had accumulated in the previous 25 years. I was also surprised at how much "clutter" I still had…