Lake City Photo-credits: Buzz Feed
A hundred years from now, the year will be July, 2120. By then, every one reading this article will have journeyed to the great beyond, including myself. By that, i mean our bodies will be part of the soil, part of mother natures infinite landscape.
Meanwhile, above the soil, our houses that were left behind would have become either homes for others or demolished for better structures, or converted into zoos. Our clothes would be used as rags for floors; our cars will be on display as historical artifacts or recycled for more advanced technology.
Pretty sure automobiles will be defying gravity and people would be having parties in six hundred foot tall skyscrapers, mobile phones would have evolved to just single headsets and holograms and many more things too wild for my imagination to comprehend.
But more importantly for us, we will be, for the most part, never thought about by anyone again. Think of it, —how often do you think of your great grandfather? How often does your great grandmother cross your mind? Or even our grandparents?
I paused for a long moment and thought for a long period of time.....to think that we would be forgotten just as the countless generations before us and after us is...disheartening. Our lives are, in reality, far shorter than we imagine.
However, there are things we can do to make our lives worth living. There are things we can do that will ensure that our footprints remain etched in the sands of time. One of them is leaving behind a legacy.
What is a legacy? A legacy is a gift or a bequest, that is handed down, endowed or conveyed from one person to another. It is something descendible one comes into possession of that is transferred, inherited or received from a predecessor.
The beautiful thing about leaving a legacy is that it doesn't have to be a grand gift, or something tangible, (like money). or a great castle or estate or a large fortune. It can be a small object, from a grandmothers set of pearls to a continuous kind gesture.
It can be a lifestyle, a series of traditions left behind for your loved ones, a dream, or even a code of conduct.
Knowing this, it is important to plan early on what we would like to leave as a legacy here on planet earth. I know someone reading might say: "one hundred years from now? What kind of stress is that? I haven't finished worrying about Nigeria's problems, then it is now my legacy i will start worrying about."
Well, it is important to plan early. If you really ask yourself, "what will i be remembered for after i have sailed away to the great beyond?" then, you will begin to reappraise yourself. You will begin to be kinder to your neighbours, to be nicer to your colleagues at work, to shun nefarious activities and uphold moral values, etc.
A good name is better than riches, and this is a cornerstone in building a lasting legacy. The name of whoever leaves the legacy remains forever. Look at people from ancient history, like Aristotle, Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Einstein, William Shakespeare, etc. Even in recent history, people like Wole Soyinka, Asa, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Abraham Lincoln, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Chinua Achebe, Ladi Kwali, Queen Idia, Florence Nightingale — have all left legacies behind that still continue to live on, long after they have passed on.
It is therefore vital to plan ahead, start with something small, build on it, develop it, and bequeath it to the future generations. Even wisdom is a profitable legacy to transfer to others; look at the lives of King Solomon and our Lord Jesus Christ. They have impacted and still continue to impact us positively, years after they have gone.
Finally, it is salient to note that leaving a legacy is not just about leaving something for people, it's about leaving something in people.The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money, treasures or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.
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