Ep 135 MM: Leave a Legacy of Love - a podcast by Megan Hale, MA, BCC

Easter Sunday was yesterday and while I don’t currently wear a label for any particular faith, you know I’ve been revisiting Christianity lately to learn more about Jesus as a spiritual teacher and understand the roots of some spiritual wounds I experience in adolescence.

The message yesterday was of course about Christ’s supposed death and resurrection – a story that highlights the opportunity of new beginnings, redemption, having a fresh start, and the idea that we have infinite chances to get things right. We always are able to start again. And I love that concept. No matter how wrong things have gone in the past, we can always have a do over. Not only is this incredibly important for cultivating forgiveness, but this concept is the very basis that allows us to make more aligned choices with who we are and who we want to be as we move forward in the future.

I came home from service and thought back to the real origins of the Easter holiday though. Having studied many religions and spiritual practices in my life, I know much of what is commercialized today as part of Easter celebration (the eggs, the bunnies, etc.) are actually derived from the Pagan celebration of the Germanic goddess Oestre, the goddess of fertility.

Fertility, itself is the sign of new life, but as I was reflecting on this last night, fertility isn’t just to give life, although incredibly important. Fertility supports the ongoing life of a lineage. Fertility is also about legacy, which got me thinking about my legacy. What legacy do I want to leave? And how does this tie into the legacy that Christ left?

If there’s anything I know, it’s this… the most powerful force there is in life is love. Love is the one thing that gives our lives meaning. It’s the foundation for joy, courage, acceptance, and wholeness. It’s the foundation for kindness and compassion, empathy and connection. It’s the one thing that so many of us strive for, but yet the one thing that is also the most uncertain. After all, just because you love someone doesn’t mean they’ll love you back. And just as love is one of the most powerful forces there is, rejection from love is often one of the most painful.

So, I was thinking about these things last night – my legacy, Christ’s legacy, and love. I’m still getting to know Jesus on a personal level, but I can say wholeheartedly that my study of many religions, faiths, and practices has taught me that spiritual living all comes back to love. I think Jesus does too. And as I’ve been diving deeper into the foundations of my own work and teachings with clients, I know without a doubt that it all comes back to love – how to learn how to love ourselves and others so we minimize rejection, maximize connection, and build a strong foundation for courage, acceptance, resiliency and joy.

As you all know, the concepts of Wild and Holy found me earlier this year as I began writing my first book on how we learn how to love. Why Wild and Holy? Why did these words speak to me so deeply? Well, as I’ve studied love, I know a few things to be true at this point:

Love is intimately tied to our sense of belonging and we only get to belonging by being who we really are.

And if you’re familiar with Brene Brown’s work, you know belonging is not just merely fitting in. In fact, to fit in means we change or present ourselves as who we think others want us to be. Belonging requires us to present ourselves as we actually are. There’s an authenticity element to this that cannot be avoided.

Yet, there’s also a vulnerable element to this as well. What if you present your true self, you let yourself be seen, and instead of being accepted and belonging, you’re rejected and abandoned?

Remember – love is the most powerful thing, yet it can also be the most painful. It’s risky to love because it will always be uncertain.

But the one thing that isn’t uncertain is loving and belonging with ourselves –

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