Through my study of conscious aging, I have learned about the legacy we might leave behind, whether financial assets, core beliefs , experiences, or lessons learned. It wasn’t until I heard Rachael Freed at the Sage-ing International Conference, however, that this idea came alive for me in the form of legacy letters. These take our stories, or snippets of them, and extricate the lessons to pass on to others as a blessing. Hoping to inspire you as well , I share a little more about what legacy letters are and the needs that they fulfill.
Legacy letters evolved from the ancient Jewish tradition of elder leaders and rabbis giving blessings and instructions to their sons as they were dying. Freed’s legacy letters move away from the formal, patriarchal nature of the original ethical wills and are more spiritual and healing. They can be seen as love letters to family, friends, or community in which we share stories or text that reflect our values, hopes and dreams for the future, our history, or life lessons. They are often delivered on a birthday or other celebration, or during a transition or time of personal challenge when the writer is still alive.
Freed shared that legacy writing can fulfill seven of our universal needs: 1) to belong or connect; 2) to be known; 3) to be remembered; 4) to bless and be blessed; 5) to make a positive difference; 6) to celebrate life; and 7) to put our lives in order. Sample letters on her website – www.Life-Legacies.com- illustrate how they meet these needs: “A father blesses his daughters” by Barack Obama before his inauguration; “An aunt shares a family secret with her nieces and nephews”; and “A mother celebrates her liver transplant with her son.”
The holidays might be the time to try some legacy writing. Maybe this is the year to write a “Holiday Letter” with some family history. Perhaps a “thank you” letter to someone who means a lot to you would be appreciated this Thanksgiving. Maybe you’d like to gift yourself or another with one of Rachel Freed’s books or workbooks (listed on her website) or sign up for her newsletters with Tips and Tools for legacy writing. Even if you do nothing more now, you have learned about this wonderful tool and may come back to it some time in the future.