Last Wishes, people!
The inspiration for my Last Wishes as a Normal Thing We All Do was Aaron’s Last Wish of leaving a $500 tip for a pizza. That is the gold standard of good deeds to me.
But you know what… not all valuable and life-altering last wishes need to be good deeds. They can also be Last Wishes to finish or continue something you’ve started. This can pack quite the legacy punch, too. And be just as healing and bonding for your survivors, just in a different way.
And since examples are worth a thousand words of explanation — a beeline to some examples:
- Finish the quilt I’ve been working on
- Continue my tradition of a handmade Christmas stocking for every grandchild
- Keep going to our treasured Opening Day of baseball
- Frame and exhibit the artwork/poetry/songs that’s been my favorite hobby
- Take the trip to Alaska that I never got to do
- Finally finish restoring the classic car I’ve been working on for 12 years
- Clean out the attic like I really, really meant and wanted to get done
- Continue making my famous Pumpkin Roll at Thanksgiving
- Stay in touch with my friend Pat, don’t let him/her be forgotten
- Put in that rose bed I always dreamed of.
These personal acts can bring so much joy to your loved ones! Sure, they could decide on their own to do them — but they may not (and that’s alright!). But more importantly, it’s that you’re asking that makes it special. Knowing they’re fulfilling your wish is what warms their heart. It’s an active, tangible way to honor you and help them feel your legacy, how you have truly impacted their lives forever.
And there’s something in it for them, too; it’s not just completing a project. They will learn something, gain an understanding, experience some feeling, get an insight, have an idea… which will have nothing to do with you. Your request will just be the vehicle, or the catalyst, for something significant for them in their own way. It’s how life works! All of our actions our inspiring and touching others whether we intend it or not.
You’re tossing out a personal pebble which will then ripple out in ways we can’t imagine.
And apropos of all of it —
Things are possible when someone has died that aren’t possible at any other time.
Let’s harness that power, people, and make wonderful, memorable experiences for people even when we’re six feet under.
