No Regrets
What is my legacy? What a topic to contemplate. When I think of what I’d like my legacy to be, I think what would it say on my resting place marker. I say that because I don’t really resonate with a traditional burial. I want to be planted with roses or with a mighty oak tree or scattered in a lake. So somewhere in those places if ever there was a marker, what would the epitaph read?
What am I known for? If I ask my kids, I am known for my amazing hugs and kisses and my legendary cookies. True story, they named them and they are healthy too. If I ask my husband he would say I am known for being an amazing mom, partner, and best friend. His words, I swear! Depending on the friend I would ask — because each friendship is like a snowflake with it’s own unique nuances — I would get back things like I am known for my smile, or laugh, or for being a shoulder to lean on. I am known for my healing, for my inspiring with words, for holding space. Asking parents, siblings, colleagues even strangers in the street, the impact, the nuances, the me they see would generate more entries to that list. It’s quite humbling and the list goes on. I bask in that for a minute. It is a wonderful life. And then my smart@ss perks up and says Ha! If that epitaph is a pay-per-word it might get expensive!
In all honesty, though I think what ties all of those together is that in each of those moments, in each of the engagements with people, I am all in. I give all of myself in the moments. This means I am vulnerable, this means there is fear of getting hurt or failing gloriously and I do it anyway. More beautifully, this also means that even if there are scrapes and bruises (of which there are many), I am living, I am truly alive.
I want my legacy to be one of no regrets. I want to confidently say that for every opportunity and lesson life threw at me, I jumped in with both feet and lived, loved, shared, laughed, healed, grieved, or celebrated. Whatever the verb is I want to know that I left no cards on the table. I want to be able to say that I dared greatly, that I wholeheartedly, authentically, lived the messy, rollercoaster journey and got to the end of the line, breathless, exhilarated and high on having lived life fully.
Written by: Melanie Groves; Metamorphosis Healing
