When the angel comes to lift you from this earth what legacy will she whisper to those that remain? The answer turns not only on what we have done but in how others interpret our lives & what stories they choose to tell. 

   The world's reality is that the whole of us can only be remembered in pieces: a handful of squares cut from the quilt of our lives. We are often remembered in sound bites: "She was a good nurse," or, "He was a fine executive," or "She touched many lives."

   Your family & your heart friends will remember more. Even they are constricted by their capacity to appreciate the deepest levels of your life &  spirit.

   The most sensitive & eloquent will be the storytellers & the artists. These are the marvelous beings who have trained themselves to create pictures with words & words that create pictures.

   The recent passing of two giants gave us opportunities to witness exquisite goodbyes that presage fine legacies. 

   Legacies are gifts. Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, left us presents that reach through our hearts to plant roses in our spirit.

   Senator John McCain leaves a legacy of stunning integrity.  McCain was what his main detractor, our current President, is not – a hero. Trump's exclusion from the funeral reinforced a contrast: McCain, whose courage illuminated the world. Trump, whose energy darkens life. 

   The greatest eloquence for both came not from words or pictures but from music – Franklin's transcendent songs, McCain's resplendent choices of classical, military & religious hymns of elegance. 

   We cannot be so famous as to be known by our first name, Aretha, or our last name McCain. But, starting now, we can commit great acts: to relieve suffering & advance kindness.

  And the best news is that fame has nothing to do with legacy. Kindnesses bloom whether or not we know the identity of the planter. 

   Kindness begins with Liz Wessel's quote in her weekend essay about how we see others, "The person across from you is a community of persons—persons met during a lifetime.  Each carries with them a mother and a father, student and teacher, brother and sister, enemy and friend."

-Erie Chapman

Surrealist Image: "Visitation by The Angel of Legacy – by Erie