Leaving a spiritual legacy: 1-28/29-12

Even if we don't intend to, we will leave behind a legacy of some kind when we die.

Part of that legacy may be a massive financial fortune that can be used in lots of good (or not so good) was after we're gone. Or it may be simply some high-class debts.

But much more important than a financial legacy will be our spiritual legacy. Not many of us, however, have thought about exactly what that might look like.

The other day I attended a two-hour sessioin on this subject at the Keeler Women's Center, a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters in Kansas City, Kansas. (Yes, they let men in.) Mary Fran Zeller, a hospice chaplain, walked us through some exercises to help us understand what a spiritual legacy is and how to create one to leave for our friends or family.

I'll be using some of this information the evening of March 28 when I lead the sixth and final session in an end-of-life series at my church. And no doubt I'll also be drawing from some of this for the July 8-15 class on end-of-life care I'll be co-teaching at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

A spiritual will, Mary Fran told us, is a statement of one's faith, beliefs and values. Not only can it be a great gift to one's family members but it also can be of help to a member of the clergy who will conduct your funeral or memorial service, especially if that person hasn't known you personally very long, if at all.

"What we're looking for -- and what you should strive for -- is a statement of how you view yourself," she told us. "While an obituary is a very factual account of what you've done in your life, this is a take-off from that. . .You're going to look for what you value to be said about yourself."

This can be a difficult task involving lots of soul-searching and honest assessment. But it also requires great care so that you don't use such a tool -- in the form of a letter, say, to those you leave behind -- to get in any last-minute digs. Thus it's necessary to think really deeply about how others will hear what you have to say. You might even ask others to read over whatever you write so they might catch some words of phrases that would be easy to misunderstand.

In any case, a spiritual legacy can be a wonderful gift. I hope you'll think about creating one.

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A 'WEIRD' GOD CONTROVERSY

A Chicago TV station put up a commentary on its website the other day in which Hindu gods were called "weird." It didn't take long for complaints to pour in, and -- good for the station -- it removed the objectionable content. The whole tale is one more example of how Americans are learning to negotiative life in an increasingly pluralistic culture. In many city neighborhoods today -- unlike 50 or so years ago -- you will find Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and adherents of other faiths. So it behooves us to be good and respectful neighbors. Which means we don't go around in public denouncing the gods our neighbors worship as weird. Just common courtesy. By the way, people speak of Hindu "gods" but despite conventional wisdom, in the end, Hinduism (at least in most of its forms) is a monotheistic religion. Just FYI.

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P.S.: I'll be teaching an essay writing workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 1, at The Writers Place in Kansas City. Nonmembers may sign up here, which is also where you can learn more about this opportunity. Hope to see you there.