justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Legacy

From time to time, the news media will pose a question about someone’s legacy, especially when it comes to the lasting impact of a public figure or a politician.

As I enter my golden years, I ponder what my legacy might include. Just what is it that might last beyond my time here on earth?

I’ve spent most of my life working in the service arena as a teacher, youth worker, coach, and manager. Perhaps my legacy would include any ‘life lessons” someone may have learned as a result of my work.

My time spent in the not-for-profit world has provided me with too-many-to-count blessings, both large and small, more than compensating for any lost remuneration. Even many years after working with youth and adults in a variety of learning environments, I occasionally receive words of gratitude for lessons learned, and, in some cases, changes in life.

Although those contributions may not have grown my bank account, the return in my bucket of good deeds is beyond counting. With that in mind, I am pleased and at peace with my “legacy”. It is heartwarming to hear that I have helped others.  

Emily Dickenson celebrates the question of what difference one makes in the lives of others in the poem:

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.’