I love this quote, so I shared it with the Keys to Change Community a few weeks ago, asking:
What is the most important “instruction for living a life” that you want to share with current and future generations?
Sharing these thoughts is one way of expressing our legacy – what we have learned about life, what we want to be known for and want others to know about us. Our legacy also expresses our highest hopes and wishes for others. Read on for a glimpse of our legacies, our “instructions” for living a meaningful life.
Our legacy includes what we want to be known for, what we others to know about us, what we’ve learned about life and wish to share with others.
Forgiveness
Practice forgiveness – of yourself as well as others.
Connection
Understand the interconnection of all things, that we are but one thread of the intricate, wondrous fabric of existence.
Love
Among all other options, choose love.
Kindness
Don’t assume you ever know the whole story. Be kind.
Be kind. Practice compassion for your self and others. Try to make every interaction positive.
Transformation
Recognize your life as a process of continuous and gentle transformation.
Reflection
My “instructions?”
Take time to slow down and listen to yourself. Create the space and the time so you can listen to your heart, your mind, your body, your intuition.
Use These “Instructions” in Your Life
Here are three ideas for using these “instructions” in your life.
- Try using each of the 7 idea here as a prompt, using them to write (or draw or doodle to) for a short time, perhaps 10-20 minutes. See what comes up for you.
- What are your own “instructions” for living a meaningful life?
- What legacy do you wish to share with others?
My advice? Take action. It is easier to think or say the ‘right’ thing – much harder to stand behind your convictions. Today, on the 4th, looking at our founding fathers – they saw oppression, intolerance, blind persecution. And they stood up and said ‘no more’. As a country I feel we have forgotten their message. Mass incarceration, poverty, racism, the fleecing of Americans from the top down. We are no longer the land of the free.
Stand up, speak out, show up, make a difference. This is your only chance – no one gets out alive and there are no do-overs.
Kathleen, thank you. These words are so important. It is time for each of us to “stand up, speak out, show up, and make a difference with our one life.
My “instructions” for living a meaningful life? Take Life as it comes. Accept that we are never in control, and learn to go with the ebb and flow of Life rather than trying to force it to be something it isn’t. Find Happiness even in the tough times. This world we live in is incredible – what if this is “Heaven” or “Nirvana” or your personal definition of perfection? Live your life accordingly.
Julia, thank you for sharing these “instructions.” They resonate with me, especially learning to go with the ebb and flow of life, and appreciating this world we live in.