Leaving Great Legacies
by Steve Goodier
Edwin Hubbel Chapin once said, "Every action of our lives
touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." That is the
definition of a legacy. Wouldn't you love to do something that
might strike a beautiful chord that will "vibrate in eternity"?
I've discovered this about legacies -- generous people leave
great legacies. I read about a couple in Canada who stopped to
help a motorist who had run out of gasoline. It was a regular
occurrence in their part of rural Canada. After they got him on
his way, they bought a new fuel can, scratched their initials on
it, filled it with petrol and stored it in the trunk of their
car.
A few months later they again stopped to assist a stranded
motorist. But this time they GAVE him their gas can and told him
to fill it up, keep it with him and pass it along to the next
motorist he sees who has run out of fuel.
Though they never expected to see their can again, in a couple of
years they spotted it being passed along to a grateful motorist
on the road. They recognized it several more times over the
years, and each time they asked its owner where it had come from.
They ascertained that the can had traveled across the continent
at least two times!
They never intended to leave a legacy. When they bought the fuel
can they never dreamed that their action might strike chords that
could vibrate in eternity. But that container is probably still
traveling across Canada in the back of somebody's vehicle!
I wonder how many stranded motorists have been rescued by the
generosity of complete strangers who stopped to help? And how
many have then taken the container, re-filled it, and finally
passed it along to some other poor soul? Good will generated by a
humble can of fuel has no doubt been multiplied many times in
countless ways, striking beautiful chords that vibrate forever.
It's true -- generous people leave great legacies. Even that
small piece of yourself you freely give away may thrive in
surprising ways throughout eternity.
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Steve Goodier's books & newsletter: http://LifeSupportSystem.com.