Creating a beautiful scrapbook or letter could ensure your memories and life lessons live on for future generations. Discover gentle prompts to help you begin.
Have you ever stopped to think about what kind of legacy you’ll leave for your loved ones? Are you a great storyteller, regaling friends and family with colourful anecdotes about your childhood and the key moments that created your values? Or are there things that have shaped your beliefs and ideas that nobody knows about but you?
Perhaps you’ve lost someone close and wish you’d spent more time talking to them about their life stories before they died. Many people write a will to set out their wishes regarding their fi nances, property, and possessions after their death. But what about all the experiences, memories, lessons, and stories they’ve built up during their lifetime?
Those are less concrete and can be much harder to pass on. That’s why taking time to put together a bespoke legacy letter, scrapbook, or memory box, to be opened by your loved ones after your death, can be a life-affirming and comforting experience.
‘Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality’ – DALAI LAMA
Tips for writing a legacy letter
Wondering how to put pen to paper? Here are Breathe’s tips for getting started…
Begin at the beginning
How do you want to write your letter? What do you want it to look like?
Who will be reading it? You might start with a simple dedication and an opening line that sets the tone, explaining what you hope your letter will achieve and the spirit of love in which it is written.
Your place in history
Include some meaningful memories and stories from your earlier years – your childhood and teens. What was your family life like? Did you enjoy school? Did you have a favourite toy, book, or pet? What early lessons did you take into adulthood?
Window to your soul
Outline your memories from significant life events that shaped you – and include the challenges and di_ cult times as well as the highlights. These are the moments from which you gleaned the important life lessons and wisdom that you wish to pass on.
Affirm your beliefs
Talk about your values, principles, and spirituality. Give examples of events in your life that particularly shaped your moral compass. If you’re not sure where to start, think about traits you hold dear, such as courage, kindness, or loyalty, and the reasons they are important to you.
Take pride & claim your worth
Share some of your greatest life achievements. What are you most proud of? What are you most thankful for, and why? What are the things in your life that have given you the most satisfaction, and how would you like to be remembered?
Hopes and blessings
Take the opportunity to fill your letter with love for those who are going to be reading it. What are your hopes for their futures? Do you have any golden rules, sayings, or pearls of wisdom that you would like to pass on? Use examples and anecdotes of how this advice has been useful in your own life.
Final thoughts
Remember that your words might last for many lifetimes, so choose them well. Be positive and write from a place of love and kindness. You might want to talk about how writing the letter has made you feel and what you have learned from the process. Sign off with love.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Michelle Urra
