Why is Legacy Writing important?

Recently I was given a gift of four journals. It was a good present for someone like me. I am the first to admit I have a stationery addiction. I started thinking about how I could use them. 

This week was my grandson's seventh birthday. It may surprise you that I have yet to write much specifically for my grandchildren. I have an ongoing note on my phone where I've recorded cute things they said to me. I have documented their lives in photos. But I have yet to sit down and write much to them. 

I am offering a workshop on Legacy Writing, so I am focused on passing on love and wisdom to the next generation. It suddenly became clear how I was going to use those journals. I've designated three to write an annual letter to each grandchild. 

Yesterday, I sat and wrote a letter to Sitka on his seventh birthday. I wish I had started doing this sooner. My eldest grandchild will be nine in June. I used my late start in the first letter to pass along the wisdom, "it is never too late to begin." I may wish I was seven letters into the journal, but I'm not. As I wrote to my grandson, "don't buy into the belief that it is too late to start something that feels important to you." Now is the best time to start. One letter is better than no letter. 

Legacy writing is a way to harvest what is most important to us and pass it forward to the next generation. It can be a blessing. It can be one page. It can be a scrapbook. It can be recorded. You can choose what it looks like and contains. Legacy letters can accompany your legal will. They are often called Ethical Wills. They can provide valuable support offered along with your advance directives. They provide a way to express our values, spiritual beliefs and our ancestors' stories. 

"Why does anybody tell a story? It does indeed have something to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically." - Madeline L'Engle. 

The history of the Ethical Will dates back to the first book of the Bible. In the book of Genesis, Jacob gathers his twelve sons around his deathbed and offers his blessings. In times when women couldn't own property, ethical will provide an opportunity for them to leave a legacy. Legacy writing has a long history. 

Have you started harvesting your life wisdom? Going through the process of considering what you think is your most important legacy and capturing those thoughts in some format is significant. It's a gift that most of us haven't received and would cherish. It's not too late until it is. 

All the details are listed below. I look forward to learning together with a small group of people. Our financial legacy is not the most important thing we have to offer. Most people don't share stories about how much money their great-grandmother left someone. They share stories about her life and what they have learned from her.

One of our barriers in doing this work is not setting aside time. We want to do it. We understand the importance of it, but life gets in the way. Signing up for my workshop will help you begin. 

You don’t have to have grandchildren. You can write a legacy letter to anyone significant in your story. It could be a child, a good friend, someone you mentor, a niece or nephew or a colleague.