The Eulogy | What Will Your Legacy Be

So I almost died a few weeks ago.

Not in that “oh my gawd, look at those shoes, I could just die” way.

Nor the “that was the cutest kitten I have ever seen.  I almost died” kind of way.

 

No. I got in my car, like I do absolutely every day. I drove to my radio show, like I do every single Tuesday. Only instead of making it there without incident, I swerved to avoid a projectile coming off the overpass, lost control of my car, and rolled 4 times in my 17 year old Corolla before coming to a stop.

My life didn’t flash before my eyes like you would think. I didn’t lament at never seeing my family again or never taking that dream vacation to meet Nessy (you might know her as the Loch Ness Monster). In fact, the only thing I could think of as I was flying through the air, was… “well, shit.”

I was cut out of my vehicle, transported to the local trauma ER, poked, prodded, scanned, and stapled. Thank the universe (and the amazing folks at Toyota), that I appear to have escaped concussed but otherwise unscathed. Needless to say, I’m seeing life a bit differently than I was pre-stuntwoman act.

When I embarked on my most recent journey of self discovery a few months ago, my professional coach gave me an assignment. “What do I want people to say about me at my funeral”.

I took it about as seriously as one can take a “write your own eulogy” exercise. That is to say, not very.

Funny how a morning as a crash test dummy can put a new, grave spin on your homework (my apologies for the pun, blame the head injury if you must). There was almost a reason to eulogize me. There was almost a group of my family and friends sitting around reflecting on my life, albeit short. Yikes. I didn’t see that coming.

So what do I want people to say at my funeral? Hmm, I know what I don’t want them saying:

“Sheryl always had the best shoes.”

“She made the most elaborate spreadsheets!”

“I’ve never seen anyone buried with so much money.”

 

Nope. None of those. Here is what I want to hear (because I will totally be floating over head and listening in).

 

“Every time I spoke to Sheryl, she made me feel like a million bucks!”

“She was always there for me, and always trying to make me smile.”

“Sheryl made me want to be a better person.”

“She changed the world, and inspired me to do the same.”

“She really knew how to snuggle a puppy.” (Don’t judge, that’s important!)

 

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I just want to leave the world a better place than when I got here.

Now it’s your turn. You’re dead (I’m sorry to be so depressing, but it is going to happen eventually. Death is as inevitable as taxes, or finding your car keys the day after you had a new set made, or a really awesome band making one too many albums and not being awesome anymore.)

So you are dead… what do you want people to say at your funeral? What will your legacy be?

If you are willing to share, please leave a comment. I promise not to judge you if you really want to be known for your shoes.