Legacies

I’ve been thinking about this article for a while, what to say and what to jot down, and my mind just ran back to one song, ‘Mulembe gwa Kirya ~ by Maurice Kirya’. It’s a song I’ve often loved playing again and again. In no way would I hesitate to recommended it to anyone (that’s if you can pick the language used). It talks of a generation we want and are molding, and the pieces of us that we want to leave with them when our final moments come to pass.

I have this gentleman I always look up to, let’s call him ‘dad’. I must admit, he’s not my favorite character when it comes to my life’s story book, but, in a way, he’s become an icon in my life, a figure I adore and emulate more than once. Often times I tell my friends that if anything, he’s my greatest inspiration and a person I proud in. He’s not good at everything, sometimes he’s annoying and others, well he’s a hell lot of my friend.

But even then, with all the down sides, in him, deep in his character, is this man that’s always willing to lay down his life for his kids, sacrifice he’s happiness to see a smile on his children’s faces. In him I see a bold, courageous man that has moved mountains and plains, to get his kids somewhere, and along the way, if he ever found any strangers that needed a hand to get back on their feet, he’d still give it to them even when we didn’t understand why he’d do that. Which makes me think, what shall we be remembered by?

You see, when I move out there, despite being wild and crazy, those I interact with get to appreciate the people that raised me even when they’ve never met them, and in a way, they begin idolizing me in turn, like, my presence gives them a certainty that they’ve met this gem they’ve not been aware they needed in life, a friend worth keeping. And in a way, I’ve always found my name & reputation preceding my physical appearance in most people’s hearts.
What shall we be remembered by? Any good legacy isn’t grounded on inspiring fear, nor on intimidation. But rather measured by our acts and hearts. Not everything pays off on the dot, but in the long run, some things are always worth the wait, may be not for us, but for those we’ve prepped them for. And who cares if those around us now don’t really see our worth?

The truth is, in a gentle way, you can shake the world and the purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. At the end of life, our lives, and our dying breath, whether it’s at a time expected or not, by our actions, plans and expectations, judging by our deeds, we’d only want to re echo St. Paul’s words in 2 Timothy, 4:7, I have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There’s nothing more reassuring and certain ever than that, the confidence of knowing that you get to live even when you are no more.

It’s quite inevitable that years from now, our kids will question the decisions we made in our youth, to them, may be we made lots of jokes out of our lives, but… may be they’ll get to understand why we did the things we did, same way I labor to understand my old man’s actions. Or may be, it’ll even be better, they’ll realize the kind of legacy we left behind for them to build.

Immortality is to live your life doing good things and leaving your mark behind.
Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.

Everyday we live, we live by grace.