...Legacy?

    I was re-reading my "Pretending To Be Bad-Ass (Revenge Gone Wrong)" post. I wanted to provide the link, and clicking on the post made me want to read through it since I hadn't really looked at it since posting. I got like a fourth of the way through and just started crying.

    I feel so awful for my Grandmother. The kind of "legacy" she is paving to leave behind is so tragic. Her own daughter and granddaughter felt like they had been hurt by her enough that they wanted to more-or-less prank her and make her feel uneasy or paranoid. Because...what? She had been hurt in her youth and felt like she had every right to pass along that pain? Causing pain because of pain does not end pain. But misery loves company, and pain is a form of misery. I wonder...if my Grandmother will truly be missed whenever it is that she leaves this life? What kind of stories will be told to her posterity about her? Or will there be no stories because the memories were too upsetting to those telling? How long will she be remembered in the family line? How long until she's just another name in the genealogical records?

    Then it got me thinking: ...What about...me? What kind of legacy am I paving? Is it good or bad? How long would I be remembered in the family line after I passed? How long until I was just another name in the genealogical line? You know?

    Eventually we all fade, and the memories of us fade. Because those who personally knew us will leave too. But...I know there are some ancestors we still talk about. Maybe we don't remember all the details - heck, some of them we don't actually remember their names. But we remember their stories, and we tell those stories. We want to tell stories of these ancestors, for any number of reasons. Intrigue; lessons from good or bad; honoring them for a feats of bravery; for settling a town; for just being kind, or loving; for having the most incredible sense of humor and finding joy in the face of adversity where others would not or could not; for saving lives; for being someone good...any number of reasons. I am certain every family has ancestors like this. Ancestors they tell stories about because of a legacy they paved.

    Will my grandmother have that? Will I? For what reasons?

    Not that it matters too much in the end. I think everyone has a desire not to be forgotten. Few are remembered long-term, though. And the ones who are...it is either because they were too horrible to forget, or so good that posterity want to remember them.

    Will stories of my grandmother's cruelty be told to teach posterity what can happen when they let grudges and pain rule them? Or...will everyone be glad to forget her?

    If stories were told of me...would they be good or bad?

    It really got me thinking. I want to be the kind of person, that if I am remembered...I am remembered for being a good person.

    What kind of legacy are you paving for yourself?

Have a good day, dear reader, and remember to contemplate the journey from time to time.

Love,

Bryn

PS: Legacy has a few definitions. The one I am referring to in this case is something being handed down from generation to generation. Stories are handed down, and so memories can become a legacy.