"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference." -Tom Brokaw
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"No one will ask on your death bed, how many hours you spent at the office but rather what kind of mark you made, what legacy you left behind."
This got me thinking about mine.
People who create, raise or nurture something, human or inanimate, have tangible evidence for their efforts. Work that is fulfilling has one common thread: as you clean up or close down, at the end of the day you leave with a smile inside. An honest day's work feels good.
But that should not be the only defining factor or criteria which constitutes a legacy.
Career alone does not a legacy make!
The physical remnants we leave behind for others to examine will speak volumes about the contribution we made but they are just that: things!
The truth of one's value lies not in things left to sift through. It is in the quiet everyday courtesies extended to others along the way, including to oneself. A life serving others may be noble but it serves no one if the individual burns out.
While it's true: "In giving, we receive", we must take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. Like good karma, it goes around and comes back full circle. Meditation, music or whatever brings a sense of calm and serenity is not only a nicety, it's a necessity in order to be healthy, to do our work.
A legacy amounts to more than a body of completed projects or doing a good job raising another human being. It is a culmination of many things, among them (yes!) good work and deeds but most importantly, having compassion and a good heart.
If, in the end, that's my legacy, my life will be complete.
