How do you want to be remembered?
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Annie Dillard
It’s another sparkling Minnesota morning for me, as tiny fragments of snow drop from the trees and catch the slanted sunlight, filling the air with glitter. It’s glorious. Beauty calling forth wonder and delight.
What beauty is stirring your heart these days? Are you taking it in to remember it later?
When you think back on your life, what parts of your story do you like to dwell on?
What parts of your story do hope others will remember?
That last question rephrases a classic one that I used to hate: “What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?”
I hated it because on the surface I had no ready answer, no vision for what I wanted. And I hated it because, if I was being honest, I was too afraid to voice the deep desires I could recognize when I stopped to consider what was in my heart.
One day someone asked that question and it landed on my heart a little bit differently. Somewhere along the way, I had risked enough to crack open the door of my heart and look carefully at what was in there. So when the question came, I had an answer!
It was just the beginning of a vision for my life that would grow and develop over the years, but it was a significant moment for me, because it marked a departure from a long held pattern.
How do you want to be remembered?
Today I can easily answer:
I offered new perspectives and invited others to move toward freedom and life.
I often saw things others did not. I connected disparate topics, ideas, and themes. I shared these insights and people commonly responded with, “Huh, I never thought of it that way before!”
I loved to stir up curiosity and wonder, especially about God and God’s love for us, in ways that propelled others to explore for themselves.
I do all these in many ways, here are a few:
While organizing, I help others consider their possessions from new angles, inviting them to move away from the consumer mindset of our culture, toward a more creative view.
Exploring ideas with friends, I challenge unspoken assumptions, and offer analogies to stir our conversations.
Writing these emails and creating questions which will hopefully land better than “What do you want people to say at your funeral?” landed on me!
Do you have a clear answer?
If not, consider what stirs your heart and makes your soul want to sing. Start with something concrete and simple.
I do not enjoy deep cold, which we have here in Minnesota. I do, however, delight in the glittering snow and brilliant sunshine that so often accompanies the deep cold. I want to spend more time enjoying the sparkling beauty and less time fretting about the freezing temperatures.
Tell me:
What do you want to spend more time enjoying?
What do you want to spend less time fretting over?
