GENERATIONS. Pt. 2

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Pt. 2

Of course, the kind of role modeling which includes inflections of speech or one’s choice of words is more “caught” than “taught,” and as I have inferred is likely to be diluted with each succeeding generation who have moved to a different part of the world. And, of course, we might consider this kind of role modeling to be innocuous, or not all that significant.

However, there is a brand of role modeling that I am especially “taken up” with, and which is extraordinarily significant. And this brand of role modeling is all about Impact, and is largely about passing our spiritual beliefs, values and legacy to the next generation, and expecting that generation to pass it on to the next.

A good example, I believe, is my 6-8 month mentoring program which I wrote and have offered to numerous young and not so young people over the years. At the end of one of my sessions, Rita, one of my interns, gave me the best gift I have ever received when she spontaneously said,

“Dr. Bill, I don’t want to disappoint you. I’ll go for you when you can’t go. I’ll speak for you when you can’t speak. I’ll reach, teach and keep people in your name long as you have gone on to your reward.”

That’s what I’m talking about!

My favorite three words are Heritage, Destiny and Legacy. We receive a Heritage. We fulfill a Destiny. We leave a Legacy. And our Legacy becomes the next generation’s Heritage. Full circle.

I pray for my unborn, unnamed, unseen biological and spiritual descendants that they might be blessed, helped, encouraged and redeemed, and that they might exercise great impact on the next generation after them. In the same way I have often wondered how many of my ancestors prayed for me when I was still among the unborn, unnamed and unseen.

Ten or twenty generations from now, when I find myself among those who have long since been forgotten, I am hopeful that the role modeling I am doing, and the impact I am having, and the standard I am setting now will be present and vibrant and active among those who are still among my unborn, unnamed and unseen biological and spiritual descendants.

by William McDonald, PhD