Legacy writing can help you make peace with dying and live more fully.

The past few weeks have been different. I spent part of one week in Toronto, Leslieville, to be specific, cat-sitting. This week I spent much of my time in bed doing everything one does when trying to speed along a cold virus. (Cough, blow my nose, drink some tea, go to the bathroom, take medication, repeat.) It’s been a while since I’ve been so sick. I know because all the cold medicines in the cupboard had expired in 2020. The good news is I am home, rested, and mostly recovered.

Between cat care and bed rest, I went to see Living, a movie I had been eagerly waiting to come to my local movie theatre. I’m so fortunate to be able to walk to a cinema that features films that don’t often get much of a run at the larger venues.

Here’s a little bit about the movie: “Living is an English adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's film Ikiru, which itself was an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel "The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Set in 1950s London in the midst of Britain’s postwar reconstruction, Living tells the story of the final days of Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) following a grim prognosis. Kazuo Ishiguro's screenplay largely follows the same narrative structure as Kurosawa’s, but the new setting provides added layers—mirroring elements of Britain’s reconstruction with Williams’ own eleventh-hour reconstruction of the legacy he intends to leave behind.” (Source and more information here.)

Take a minute to watch the trailer. It’s a beautiful film. In the movie, Mr. Williams rethinks the life that he has led and decides to step out of the box of the unlived life.

I’m coming up to the final stretch of my Certified Sageing Leadership course. Our last course requirement is to facilitate a workshop for our cohort on one of the topics we have been diving into this year. I chose the topic of Ethical Wills. It is the one area in my journey where I had done the least work. As I’ve been accepting my mortality through my wisdom work, I wanted to explore how I could leave a lasting legacy that was more than financial.

You aren't alone if you aren’t familiar with an ethical will. Rachael Freeds’work has influenced me in this area. She says, “Legacies are the footprints we leave behind after we die. They prove that we are here: we lived, we mattered, we made a difference. Sometimes we leave tangible legacies like children, artwork, crafts, poetry, heirlooms, or gardens. Other legacies are financial, including endowments, charitable donations, even corporations. But most legacies are the fruits of a life well lived. They’re found in every tree we’ve saved by buying recycled paper, even friend we cheered with our jokes and laughter, and every strange to whom we’ve shown kindness.”

This week I was talking to a woman who had done much work in this area. She reminded me that the most challenging thing is creating the time to sit down and do it. We all have good intentions, but the weeks go by, and we don’t get to it. Signing up for a workshop not only will provide you with the information you need to get started, it will also help you to move into acton.

If you get to see Living, you’ll see an example of how an ethical will can change someone’s life. Your spiritual-ethical will allows you to share your values, wisdom, and more. We don’t know what the future holds. Taking care of these important details will give you peace of mind.

On March 18th, I’m offering a workshop on Ethical Wills. I’ll give you an introduction to legacy writing. I’ll provide you with a template to help you get started, and we’ll take some time to turn those good intentions into action.

You can find out more about it here. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. If this workshop appeals to you and you would like to organize an in-person workshop, email me and we can talk about the details.