Blogging as Legacy Work

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Legacy work is an important component of positive aging or sage-ing.  Thinking about what we are leaving to the people we love and to our communities is vital to growing in wisdom.  So many times retirement planning is about financial planning and legacy is about distributing our financial assets.

The legacy work to which I am referring has to do with values, dreams, purpose, making a difference.  Part of helping us do the kind of internal exploration needed is journaling.  The process of journaling helps us reflect on our life experiences and supports our ongoing growth.  It can take on many forms--whatever is best for you.  In workshops, I often recommend writing your life story for families.  With the emergence of self-publishing, people can write their own books to be passed on for generations.

This leads me to blogging.  Someone asked me the other day why I was blogging and I even surprised myself with my response.  "In case I die, I want my sons to know what I was thinking, doing, and how I was feeling about various topics that usually include leading, living, and learning." 

I continue to warn my sons and my students about cyberspace and how we have to be so careful about what we post. The October issue of Vanity Fair says "Every search, every posting, every text message or Twitter, leaves a cyber footprint."  Or as someone told me, "Getting something off of the Internet (Facebook, email, Twitter) is like trying to get pee out of a swimming pool--impossible." 

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But now I am thinking about this all differently.  I am blogging about things that I want to be "out there" long after I am gone. Oprah has her column in every issue called "What I Know For Sure" so that we know what she knows for sure.  Just as I try to read every book by one of my heroes, William Sloane Coffin, because I want to know what he thought about different issues.  And my husband is a Warren Buffet follower and reads every book by and about Buffett in order to understand his thinking and philosophy on investments. 

So if something happens to me, regardless of the number of people who are reading my posts (Sounds like Julie in Julie and Julia, doesn't it?), I am writing these posts knowing that whatever I am writing will probably outlive me.  This is what I want the world to know about ...

So if you are reading, please tell me what you are thinking.  Challenge me.  Let me know if you agree.  But if I don't hear from you, I will keep thinking, reading, and sharing.  Blogging is part of my legacy work.