My sister sent me an article about not going viral, but leaving a legacy thru small contributions. My “legacy” is raising children who aren’t afraid of being. In doing this I’m helping heal seven generations forward and seven generations back. When you heal something in yourself, that one act of healing heals more than you realize. You start to reverse the damage done in the past and what would have been possible in the future.
Other than that I have no idea what my legacy will look like. This year in fact I’m only worried about doing two thing…living in the moment, and taking care of myself. I’m not worried about what is happening out of Facebook, or the interwebs. I’m taking my moments one at a time. I’m spending time working on refining my inner lover of Hygge. I’m taking the time to figure out who I really am, and what I really think, how I really feel about life in general. Self-care is paramount this year.
I’m also branching out to experience things outside of my comfort zone. It’s been said that if you don’t do one thing a day that doesn’t scare you then you aren’t truly living. Now, that’s a huge stretch for me. I’m a homebody, seriously, an introvert that loves to introvert. I need my space, but with that said, once a week doing something out of my comfort zone wouldn’t kill me right?
I’ve decided that this year I’m branching out and taking an interest in cooking. Let me be clear, I can cook. I also bake, but I’m a better baker than a chef. I figure that while I’m teaching myself new things I can spend this time sharing these new experiences with my girls.
They can see that I’m trying, that I too can expand, taking pleasure in life. I want that to trickle down to them so they know life isn’t always so serious. That there is a time and place for that, but right now I’m choosing to live my best life.
It’s not outside the possibility to Hygge the crap out of this whole cooking thing. When your perspective on a situation changes, the situation itself changes. I’m embracing and exploring what food and nourishment means to my soul.
I’ve always looked at eating as something I had to do to survive. Not something that could be enjoyed, should be enjoyed, or take in pleasurably. Look at the Italians, the French…they love food. They are passionate about food, they take it to the next level of enjoyment and pleasure. I want that. I want to experience that. I’m the one that is the last to sit down at the table and the first one finished, plate cleaned. It’s gotten worse since I’ve become a mother. I want to change that this year.
Leaving a legacy starts with the smallest step forward. A constant step forward into your best self every single day. For me, my constant stepping forward begins with morning gratitude for all things; ending the day in the same way.
I hope that my legacy looks effortless from the outside when it’s my time to transition to the other side. I want people to know that I didn’t struggle to leave a good legacy. That my constant everyday act of becoming better than I was the day before be the mark I leave on the world.
That I leave my daughters in a better sense of self then they were when they arrived into this world. That I teach them that it is possible to leave people and places better than you found them. The act of becoming is our legacy, for better and hopefully not for worse. That becoming is our birthright that we give to ourselves everyday. For me, I will make mine a great one just by becoming me.
About the Author: Keva Bartnick
Keva Bartnick is an artist, writer, and lightworker. Happily married mother of three; she’s been inspiring people to be their most courageous selves since 2015.
Even with Italian roots on my father’s side, my cooking/eating style is usually more about just getting a meal on the table to get us fed (my Nonna would be appalled). That said, one way I’ve found to change that has been to explore new-to-me fruits and vegetables. I’ve found that they can usually be simply prepared, so I don’t have to go crazy cooking for hours, but the new flavor elevates a regular dinner to something a bit special.
I love that idea! Thank you for sharing that with me! 👍🏼❤️👍🏼