HomedotMagisReflectionsHow Do You Want Others to Remember You?

How Do You Want Others to Remember You?

screenshot of How Do You Want Others to Remember You? video showing autumn trees

Let’s consider our own legacy—what people will remember about us when we’re gone. You might need pen and paper for this.

If you died today, how would people describe your life? There’s no time to do anything differently—you’ve said and done all you can. Now all that’s left is the impression you made on others. Can you imagine what those impressions are? What are the five adjectives you would hear most, as people talked about you?

But you’re not dead; you’re still here. And now’s as good a time as any to imagine what you hope others will say about you, what you hope they remember. And starting now, you can live in a way that makes those impressions and leaves those memories.

Dare to contemplate your own death—and then have the courage to live the way you want to be remembered.

Enjoy a video version of this reflection:

Vinita Hampton Wright
Vinita Hampton Wrighthttp://www.loyolapress.com/authors/vinita-hampton-wright
Vinita Hampton Wright edited books for 32 years, retiring in 2021. She has written various fiction and non-fiction books, including the novel Dwelling Places and spirituality books Days of Deepening Friendship, The Art of Spiritual Writing, Small Simple Ways: An Ignatian Daybook for Healthy Spiritual Living, and, most recently, Set the World on Fire: A 4-Week Personal Retreat with the Female Doctors of the Church. Vinita is a spiritual director and continues to facilitate retreats and write fiction and nonfiction. She lives with her husband, two dogs, and a cat in Springdale, Arkansas.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Curious notion – for a solitary contemplative. If one lives to be kind to others, they will be less likely to bother you. Offering one’s living experiences to our Father, would do much to diminish your concerns for what others think of you.

  2. Great stuff. Nice one. Thanks, Vinita. Thus wrote Mahatma Gandhi: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

  3. Vinita

    So well written and inspiring.

    “Dare to contemplate your own death—and then have the courage to live the way you want to be remembered.”

    Blessings!

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