Legacy Indeed #33 #cong24 #legacy

Reading Time in Minutes

4

1. People provide legacy.
2. Small things are remembered more than big things.
3. My mother made wonderful pancakes.
4. You are a fine legacy indeed.

Chris Reina has been involved in education since 2002, technology since 1981 and Making since 1971. (You do the maths). He is 1/3 of MakerMeet.ie – who deliver Maker-led, project-based S.T.E.A.M. workshops nationwide to primary, secondary, third-level and other institutions.
He feels passionately that education is the most important thing in the world and that teaching using Maker skills is the most rewarding job there is.
Chris loves cats, kayaking, kite-flying, steampunk, pedantic semantics and knowing the meanings of ligatures, aglets, gallibanders and lexiphanic.

You can connect with Chris via email, connect with him on Twitter (X) or see his work on Instagram and TikTok

By Chris Reina

I have been mulling over the idea of “Legacy” – mine, others, places and times. Engaging with legacy [usually] means long-lasting events or physical items left behind. However, I believe there is a longer-lasting type of endowment that involves people… one we all know and speak about with kindness, fondness, affection and love. Legacy.

This endowment is the gift of ourselves. Those small, seemingly insignificant moments where you held the door, made the joke, listened deeply, revealed a personal aspect of yourself or simply shared a point in time with another. For me – this is Legacy. Making a small and significant impact on others for the better. Grand gestures are amazing and appreciated, but we all remember even more deeply the times when people were good and caring to us. Legacy.

The human psyche will always hold the bad incidents and times that hurt us. These can lessen and fade over time but can also be further expunged when counterbalanced by considerate, thoughtful and tender moments of others. Legacy.

In my day to day life, I spend a large portion of my time dealing with people of all ages, backgrounds, ideas and experiences. I find during many of these interactions, I not only get a chance to make an impact, but very often people say and do things which push back my own hurt and bring a joy to me which make them all extraordinary learning experiences. Legacy.

This year has given me a wonderful opportunity in the form of a very rewarding part-time position. I help a generation of elders share their memories and stories of times past for all to see online. Through photos, documents, audio and video the elders create their content and are able to contribute remembrances to their local community, families and extended families worldwide. Legacy.

Many of the people I interact with daily may never know the impact they’ve had… and that’s OK. Gratefully accepting and acknowledging their humour, deeds or small moments not only helps me, but I hope encourages them to keep perpetuating those small moments. I wonder how many remember or even know what they have done for me? Legacy.

My mother has passed away (10 years ago this weekend in fact!) and I still speak and think fondly of her. While she could be difficult and challenging – her capacity for enriching others lives was exceptional (as were her pancakes!). I frequently consider how she might have handled an issue, felt about a topic or what advice she may have given me. This is the endowment she has left me – to contemplate, regard and be mindful of others. Legacy.

While I firmly believe in the power and capacity for change in people – it is a difficult thing to do… but I also believe in a “tipping point”. A time when an individual decides they will take the first step, say the hard thing, accept the challenge – all with an open heart and with no expectation of reward, just for kindness. Not always easy, but beneficial for both ourselves and those around us. Legacy.

I leave you with this poem I recently saw on TikTok:

Someone

Someone is still telling jokes they learned from you.

Someone is still using the phrases and words you used.

Someone is still listening to the music you’ve shown them.

Someone still smiles when they remember a moment with you.

Someone is still encouraged by the advice you gave them.

Someone admires you from afar and is inspired by you.

Someone learned how to love from you. They go about their lives maybe without realising how much of you they’ve kept with them.

It is there in how they handle things differently – in small choices they make or in the way they see things a bit clearer.

You might just be a memory on the surface, but underneath there’s more.

They remember your advice, replay conversations in their mind and find comfort in things you once shared.

They carry parts of you – your sense of humour, the way you saw the world, the calm you brought during chaos.

You’ve become part of who they are. Shaping them in ways that might seem small but matter deeply.

And while they may not say it, they’re grateful for it – you made a mark that lasts.

From: @momentary_existentialism

I leave you with this final thought:

You ARE the Legacy. A fine Legacy indeed.