The dictionary defines Legacy as money or property given to another by will. It goes on further to define the word as something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor from the past. I think they have that order out of whack. Regardless, legacy is really something that is built and created from nothing.

On the day before the eve of his 78th birthday, I’m reminded of that John Lennon lyric, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Legacy ages and grows or dwindles and disappears as the years accumulate. Among many things, it is molded from experience, sacrifice, joy and disappointment. And then (if you’re extremely fortunate, as not everyone is) you suddenly wake up almost 6 decades later staring down your inception to date story. It is a story that will almost never reach the silver screen, but hopefully (and more importantly) it will touch all the meaningful lives that surround you every day in your very real world.

As night falls on the last hours of our weekend, I will ask…. What did you do this weekend to gather with friends? What did you do this weekend to move your projects, dreams and goals forward? What did you to do to foster compassion, kindness and love among the folks who crossed your path this weekend? What did you do to bring yourself inner happiness and contentment this weekend? What did you give of your time and skills to others in need? What did you do this weekend that your future self will thank you for?

What chapters will you add to your story before your epilogue gets published?

Photo: Lauren Kern. Grasmere is a village and tourist destination in the center of the English Lake District. It takes its name from the adjacent lake and has associations with the Lake Poets. The poet William Wordsworth, who lived in Grasmere for 14 years, described it as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found."