Fortune Cookie Friday: Invest in a Loving Legacy
Investments have been on my mind lately, not just because the stock markets are slumping from high inflation. It’s the fourth quarter (Q4), and as a business owner, I need to decide how to budget for the following year. I need to look a little further out, and today’s fortune made me think about my long-term investments.
No matter how much money or possessions we accrue, we can’t take it with us when we leave this mortal plane. Anything we save can be used when we retire, but the remainder ends up going to our family, friends, or charitable organizations in our wills—or the government gets it.
The investments I want to discuss are the not-so-tangible ones. These investments are our time and talents that make a difference now and long after we’re gone.
Creators like myself produce works that others can enjoy now and after we take our last breaths. It’s a little macabre, but some pieces may be good enough to increase in value once the creator is deceased—so buy my books and illustrations now while they’re less expensive.
My writing and drawings are not what I have been focusing on these last few weeks. Instead, I have been pondering the connections I make with others and the people I help or inspire along the way.
What will people say about me when I’m gone? How many will be at my funeral? Will anyone remember me one day or ten years after I’m laid to rest?
If we want to leave a great lasting impression on others, we have to be the best we can be, even with people we don’t like and at times when we feel our worst. More importantly, that lasting impression should be for more than making us look good.
The Bible shows us that the credit for our good deeds should go to the Lord. Whether we believe in a higher power or not, treating others with kindness and respect is the right thing to do; we should do it more frequently, and it’s never too late to start. Those golden investments in today’s fortune are arising right now.
We don’t have to be geniuses to teach others how to be gracious and caring. We don’t have to be billionaires to give others our love. And we don’t have to live long to leave a lasting impact.
We can all share our time and talents to make this world better and leave a loving legacy when we are gone.
