A Legacy of Love

Today was the Celebration of Life for my maternal grandmother, Earla Taylor Woodworth (Zoom). The last 24 hours have been full of the highs and lows of Life – tears, laughter, five little ones running and playing together, memories, sadness, gratitude, exhaustion, and most of all, Love. The extended Woodworth family gathered with friends from near and far to celebrate and remember together.

What’s most alive for me right now as I reflect on the weekend and on my grandmother’s long and full life is the idea of legacy. What is the essence that lasts beyond our physical form? How do we create lasting positive impact on people, on our communities, and on the world, like my grandmother did? Especially in these days and months and years of fear, political instability and economic turmoil in the United States and globally, the idea of legacy feels even more important. What can we control, what can we pass onto our children now and when we die, and how do we move through the world in ways that really matter?

Zoom with her five grandchildren in 2012

I thought about legacy a lot back in 2016 after my mom died. I felt in my heart and in my body that my life was different on so many levels after her passing. I now carry her spiritual heart with me, her legacy to fulfill as I continue to strive to step into my full being and power. Life would never be the same, and I felt a strong pull and call to not squander my days, to live into my full potential, and to come into my highest form of being possible in this lifetime.

This hasn’t been a linear or an easy path. I’ve struggled and doubted, just like we all do. I’ve made major missteps and suffered growing pains. Now, as I consider this other incredible woman’s impact on my life, I’m struck by the legacy Zoom imparted to her family, friends and community throughout her lifetime and beyond. It’s a legacy of family, a net cast wider than blood relatives to encompass friends, neighbors, and those in need of a friend. It’s a legacy of strength, overcoming physical, spiritual and emotional challenges. It’s a legacy of love, a true testament to the vast power of the human heart.

May we all carry on this legacy of family, strength and love in our own families and communities, allowing love and kindness and goodness to be stronger and fiercer than hate and greed and violence. And so it is.