DailyGood

For the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 148,378 subscribers, subscribe here.

Apr 9, 2007

"You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?" --Kahlil Gibran

Ethical Wills: Legacies of Wisdom

When he dies, Abraham Leibson wants to leave his heirs three things: a love of learning, the flexibility to change, and the courage to face their fears. And while such abstract concepts cannot be bequeathed as tangibly as a pocket watch or a stock portfolio, ideals and values are part of one's legacy, nonetheless -- and they can be passed from one generation to another. So Leibson, who is 69 and in good health, is writing an 'ethical will'. Paul Silberberg has such a letter from his grandmother, and has carried a copy with him every day for 20 years. Silberberg reflects, "Ten years ago, my wife and I wrote our own ethical will -- in the form of a letter to our children -- because I saw how important my grandmother's letter was to me."