Leaving something behind can be on the minds of many. In times past a legacy would have been thought of as money or property. Many people are now drawn to protect assets that, if not at the point of our death, could be liquidated and shared out as inheritance. Indeed I’m sure my own children hope we don’t empty the house of all equity on a lavish lifestyle in our doting years. But what could they do!
More recently the word legacy has come to mean so much more than assets and cash. That said I’m sure charities still mean cash when they ask you to leave a legacy behind. Legacy can mean so much more and beyond the context of inheritance. It means what we have done or built that speaks of who we were. Will she be remembered for the charity that continues long after her demise? To say his name is to conjure up thoughts of a great feat of endurance, a unique form of poetry… and so it goes on.
When my own father passed so did a little money pass on in my direction. At the time we had a small pot of savings – just a couple of grand short of a decent second hand car. Dad’s money would have gotten us over the line. For a few days we were in spitting distance of a three year old car which would have been the newest vehicle we’d ever own. Imagine, dad remembered by a car or as they are better described an endless drain on personal and planetary resources.
Instead we spent the cash on a safari in Kenya. In a way, from dad I inherited a once in a lifetime experience for my wife, youngest daughter and I. We owe the eldest! We had our view of the world and its people broadened. We came to appreciate a continent and in some small way have been a good neighbour ever since.
Does the world have to wait for us to shuffle off this clod of earth upon which we dwell before our legacy can be realised? No of course not. A nit-picker of a religious man thinking of the future asked Jesus, “What do we need to do to inherit eternal life?” Perhaps you know the story. Jesus suggests we go out and be a good neighbour like the Samaritan in his story.
I find the link between inheriting eternal life, and doing good stuff for others a remarkable concept. Our neighbour can include the family by the way. It does not say be good to strangers only.”
So what, other than cash, will be our legacy? If we do have cash passed on to us how can we translate it into a lasting legacy? My advice is don’t buy a car!
Rob Wykes 