As we approach the end of the year and beginning of a new year (2026), I’ve been pondering two questions. What does it mean to truly live? What is the meaning of legacy? There’s no single answer to those questions that applies to everyone or every situation or life. Each life, each person, each journey is unique. However, I did bear witness recently to an excellent example of what it means to live and the meaning of legacy at the funeral and celebration of life for my Aunt Barbara Sue through the eulogy and stories told by our family members across four generations.
My Aunt Barbara Sue was quite the personality hence why she was one of my favorite Aunts growing up. She was sort of like the Auntie Mame for my generation of cousins. Like the famous literary, stage and movie character of Auntie Mame, my Aunt Barbara Sue embraced life to the fullest. She loved to sing and dance and was always the life of the party. Whenever Aunt Barbara Sue was around you knew it would be a fun time. There wasn’t a family gathering that she and her sister, my Aunt Margie, didn’t break into song. Two of their favorites were Rocky Top and Proud Mary. She and Aunt Margie would also encourage the young kids to join in singing too.
At Aunt Barbara Sue’s celebration of life service, one of her grandson’s gave an exceptional eulogy that captured her spirit, essence, positive impacts on all who knew and loved her, and her joy for life. His eulogy was followed by a steady stream of touching, humorous, inspiring stories and memories shared by many other family members from her last surviving sibling (the last of 11 children), my Aunt Linda, to nieces, nephews, and several of her 12 grandchildren and 31 great grandchildren.
Aunt Barbara Sue lived what some may call a simple life of simple means. She, like most of us, didn’t always have an easy life. There were hardships, heartaches, pain, grief, sadness, illness, and dreams deferred. That is life, including the good and the bad. However, in spite of the challenges in life, she lived it with great joy and exuberance, embracing one of my favorite lines from Auntie Mame, “Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death! Live! Live! Live!” She left an example for all of us in what it means to live. It doesn’t require anything fancy or material possessions. It requires only a spirit of joy and dancing and singing, whether sun or shine. And that’s what Aunt Barbara Sue passed on to all of us as a legacy as well.
On a recent trip to principality of Monaco, while continuing to reflect on this topic of Life and Legacy, I found an intriguing sculpture in the gardens overlooking the Côte d’Azur and Adriatic (Ligurian Sea). The sculpture, entitled “Le manteau de la conscience” or in English “
The Empty Cloak” or “Cloak of Conscience” by artist Anna Chromý, sculpted from a block of white Carrara marble, invites meditation. The artist describes the cloak as a symbol of what survives us following our time on Earth. Standing in front of this sculpture and taking in the grand view of the sea below, the moment aligned with my continued reflection on life and legacy and what it means to truly live. What I believe most profoundly is living our lives in such a way to leave behind positive energy, vibrations, happy joyous memories, positive interactions and good deeds we’ve done along the way to help others in our life journey. Those are the things of legacy that I think are most important, valuable, and leave the longest impact for generations to come, long after our individual names and existence are no longer remembered. Those things continue to exist, expand and pass down from generation to generation even when those who come after us aren’t even aware of it. That’s what the Cloak of Conscience represents to me. Living my life in such a way, whether short or long, as my Aunt Barbara Sue, that I leave behind the same positive energy, joy, song, dance, happy memories, good deeds, and more for people and the world around me.
So, no matter what challenges you are facing today, find that inner kid that wants to shout and sing and dance and be happy and let them shine through the rain. Consider your cloak of conscience and what simple things you’d like to leave behind on Earth as a blessing for others that spans across generations. What goals or dreams deferred would you like to achieve and realize where possible? How do they relate to your cloak of conscience? What is holding you back from achieving your goals? What resources do you need to break through the challenges and achieve your goals? These are some reflections to consider as we approach the new year for planning and working your strategy to achieve your personal and professional goals and dreams in 2026 and live with joy and happiness.
As a professional coach, I often encourage my coaching clients to reflect on these same questions, and I partner with them as a coach to get the clarity they seek and develop and implement strategies to achieve their personal and professional goals. I do the same for myself, working with my own coaches, mentors and advisors to gain clarity for my own goals and dreams and build and implement a strategy for achieving those goals and dreams as part of what it means to me to truly live and embrace life and legacy.
As always I encourage you to reflect on your own stories to remember someone in you life that was your “Auntie Mame” or “Aunt Barbara Sue.” It could be anyone of any gender in your blood family or chosen family that you thought of when I described Auntie Mame or Aunt Barbara Sue. How did they inspire you with the way they lived life? What legacy did they leave behind for you and others that inspires you in your journey? And how might you live your life to inspire others and leave a legacy of joy and lessons for how to live happily? Think about how you want to live now and thrive and what legacy you leave for those inspired by you, because Your Story Matters.
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