Honoring the Living Before They Die

 

When my mother, who was an extremely accomplished woman, was on her deathbed, she fretted about the legacy she had left behind. When a person – any person – is facing the end of their days on this earth, it is not an unreasonable question.

And I realized that we make a substantial mistake when we wait for someone to die before we show our appreciation to them. Yes, it is nice for their surviving family to know that other people care and share their pain. But it would be even better if we, as a society, consciously sought to make people feel honored during their lifetimes.

So I am resolving to do just this. Indeed, I started doing this recently, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.  In ways big and small, I am going to reinforce to the living the impact that they have made to the people around them, the legacy that they leave behind. People deserve to be acknowledged.

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There are 5 comments.

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  1. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Reminds me of this:

    • #1
  2. She Member
    She
    @She

    I’m lucky, in that there are a few people in my life who seem to have come to this realization under their own steam.

    And yes, it is wonderful to be the recipient of such largesse and generosity, when others make it clear that I’m valued, even before I’m taking a ‘dirt nap’ (God bless you, Boss Mongo, wherever you are–pretty sure I know–for expanding my vocabulary in so many different ways.  I hope you know how much you were loved and valued here, and how fondly we remember you.)   

    Thank you for a wonderful post which makes the point that we should always, always, try harder to pay that sort of recognition forward to those who make a difference in our lives.

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Aside from my husband, whom I’ve honored on a number of occasions, I would like to honor my friend Eileen who has been an amazing friend. (I’ve written how her husband is fighting cancer again.) She always seems to know just the right thing to say when I’m struggling, demonstrates compassion often and rarely complains about the challenges that life throws her way. And we love to laugh together, at a time when it’s not easy to do. And to her dear husband, as he’s about to start radiation therapy, I send prayers; in response to the challenge, he says, “It is what it is.”

    • #3
  4. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Yes, but it’s sometimes tough to see through the fog of the present who exactly is accomplished. Let me honor someone. Someone said in another post that this man was the greatest living American.  On reflection, I would have to agree.

    • #4
  5. Steven Galanis Coolidge
    Steven Galanis
    @Steven Galanis

    Manny (View Comment):

    Yes, but it’s sometimes tough to see through the fog of the present who exactly is accomplished. Let me honor someone. Someone said in another post that this man was the greatest living American. On reflection, I would have to agree.

    Get outta here! …I mean …is he even a Ricochet member?

    • #5
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