Legacy

Hi Readers,

One again the obligatory yet futile attempt at making an excuse for leaving it too long in between posts, so I'll spare you the gory details.

I'm trying to adopt a new practice and attitude of identifying things that need to be done and getting onto them straight away instead of stuffing around doing other things instead.

This post has been nagging at me since mid last week, and as I've been putting time into getting ready for my end of year reports, I just needed a break so what better opportunity than to do this now.

At our school, named after St Francis of Assisi, we have a massive day each year where everyone brings in their animals to be blessed, and we also give out awards to 2 children from each year level, our St Francis of Assisi Awards. These are prestigious awards and much thought and preparation goes into identifying and choosing the recipients each year.

The day looks like organised chaos with every sort of pet imaginable present, from dogs and cats, to rabbits, guinea pigs, various birds, snakes and even horses!! To the credit of each pet I didn't hear of any major toileting issues or predatory behaviour!!

Anyway, in class last week we were talking about this day and how it stems from the legacy of St Francis. What better way to make it more relevant than to talk about what sort of legacy we'd like to leave behind?

With my kids we just discussed what legacy they'd like to leave at the end of this year, how would they want to be remembered after a year in 5K?

To their credit they really embraced the concept, due mainly to the culture that we have developed in our class and their ability to openly acknowledge positive things about themselves. We'd discussed how easy it is to identify our faults, and even to brush off positive comments given to us. I must admit that I'm the worst example of his and I still feel extremely uncomfortable when a positive comment comes my way.

Why is this so?

For some reason, Australians are renowned for the 'tall poppy syndrome', where it's okay to do well, but don't overdo it. We seem to admire people who achieve well, but only to a certain point where we tend to start to view them less admirably as their success increases. There are notable exceptions of course, as criticism of some of our legendary Australians would be akin to killing Bambi!!

Who might slot into this category? As soon as I think of a name, criticisms that I've heard also come to the fore.

So here goes, some possible names of people who were universally appreciated...

Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop?

Victor Chang ?

Ash Barty?

Olivia Newton John?

Just to name a few.

Some of you may have even stopped reading already based purely on a few names that I've thrown up. What I'm suggesting though is that each person wouldn't have been as pure as driven snow, but in general terms they stack up well when compared to other 'good' people.

We could all name some of our favourite sports people, entertainers, giants of the economy and so on and then it all becomes subjective.

What one admires in one person might be totally missed by another. Is either terribly wrong?

When talking with my class we also discussed that their legacy might not be totally obvious at the moment and that it might not even be evident for years to come. We also discussed that one didn't have to be famous or great to leave a legacy. We all leave a legacy, and how different people remember and interpret us is completely up to them. Much of it depends upon what you know about that person, rather than what you hear about them.

For example, and I'll fly my Richmond flag here. 

Dustin Martin. I don't know him, never met him. However, he is generally acknowledged as a great footballer ( although I still hear opposition supporters still not able to say this) What I I have heard and read about him is that he is respected immensely throughout the club for the way that he treats others. Much of the disdain directed towards him does stem from some unsavoury events that have occurred throughout his career, and just by looking at him is enough for some people to not have a good word to say about him. A classic case of not really knowing about someone, but being prepared to make judgements about them. The same could be said for any number of other sports people.

Often what we hear about them is so far removed from our own expectations that we refuse to believe them, and I'll put my hand up for doing that.

Continuing on from the discussions with my Gr 5 class, we brainstormed for a list of people, past and present who have inspired us. There were the obligatory musicians, sports people, movie stars etc, but also put forward were the names of family members, friends, teachers, coaches and a multitude of names that you and I have never heard of and may never will.

Does this diminish their legacy?

Certainly not. 

I could put forward a few quick names of people that have left a lasting impression on me for a wealth of reasons, some you may know, others you will be left scratching your head.

Ray Carroll.

Sr Bridget

The Seven

D.R.

D.W.

A.T.

Hugh van Cuylenburg

Ant Middleton

Jen

I've just used the initials of some in order to protect their privacy, but I'm sure they know how much I value them.

The reasons for these are as wide as one could imagine. Some influenced me early in life, some many years ago, and some really came to the fore in the past two years when my life was turned upside down. If I could mould all of the brilliant qualities that I've recognised in each of these people what a super human being that would be, but I still prefer them all separately  because that's what makes each them so unique and special to me.

What I'm trying to point out here Readers is that we can be inspired by the legacy of anyone, no matter how well known they are or how insignificant they may appear to be on the global stage.

So who inspires you?

I'll imagine that a well known name might come to mind first, but let your mind wander and try to identify the qualities that you admire in those around you, because they are the people you are spending most of your time with.

If you are identifying a lot of positive qualities in those around you, then how lucky are you!!!

Now consider your own legacy. What's it like at the moment? What would you like it to be?

Chances are that you, like me, has come to the conclusion that you could pull your finger out in a few areas, but there are possibly also some areas where you might be thinking "Yeah, I think I'm going okay there".

Which brings me back to what I was mentioning early in the post. It's okay to say that you are proud of yourself in what you are doing. We don't need to "tall poppy" ourselves. Even though I'm the worst example of this, I'm happy to say that I'm working on it, and encouraging others just the same. Our legacy doesn't have to be as well known as someone incredibly famous or influential, it might only be obvious to as little as one person, and that's okay.

So, as usual, I try to leave a little thing for us to reflect on, or act on. Or ignore!!

What's your legacy?

Do you need to work on some aspects?

How will we know if it's happening? Often we won't know or never find out as it's mostly for others to judge.

As I was up at the cemetery this morning I looked at a few of the surrounding headstones and so many had a lasting quote that said something about the legacy left by the person buried there. I can imagine what the boys might put on mine...

"He eventually got fixed before we planted him!" 😂

And who we learn to admire can be as wide and as varied as anything. It still blows me away when I see the way some of the kids in my class treat each other, and me in certain ways. They may be 50 years younger than me but I'd say that I see an example each day of something that I should try and do that would make me a better person. Inspiration comes in many forms, we just need to be aware of them and be receptive to them.

I cringe at what they'll remember me for 😖

Our legacy isn't any less than the most famous people in the world, we can't control it but we can surely try and develop it. While we are all still above ground we have the opportunity to do something about it.

Bit of another banging on piece I know, but I'm glad I finally got it done. I actually get a bit uptight when I have an idea for a post swimming around in my head and don't get onto it for a few days. Today has been good.

Until my next post,

Cheers 😊