Leaving a Legacy

My wife and I are heading to our second funeral in a week. A family member died last week and a friend died just the other day. In between funerals, I came across a book/CD called Live Like You Were Dying, named after the song popularized by country crooner Tim McGraw.

One of the more inspiring passages of the book reads: “May we live like we were dying. With passion and purpose and mission and meaning…and with a little wild abandon. May we die like we were living. We can’t control the length of our life. Just the depth.”

As I’ve been reflecting lately upon the meaning of life and death and the value of leaving a legacy, I’ve come across a couple of my favorite quotes about it and pray they’ll stoke the fires of your heart as they have mine. It was Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, “Don’t die with the music still in you,” and James Dean said, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”