The Eight Contemplation

"You can't take it with you when you die!" Right? What do you want to do with your financial legacy?

When my mom died, and by prior arrangement, I got to donate $100,000 from her will to various causes she cared about.

I had a great time selecting those nonprofit organizations that best supported the causes she loved. 

First, I took care of the tribute gifts: there was the gift to the wonderful hospice that cared for her; the donation to research on breast cancer (her daughter/my sister died from it) and to the Seeing Eye Dogs (her same daughter was visually impaired); and to the Alzheimer's Foundation (her sister died from it); and to the Canavan's Foundation (her niece died from it); and to her deceased husband's synagogue who helped so much at the end of his life.

Then, I got to research the best groups for the social causes she believed in.

First, I donated to groups supporting abortion rights and women's health. Next was domestic violence, which we experienced in our home at the hands of my father. 

I loved giving to a few really interesting efforts to save the environment and to microenterprise groups to help industrious people living in poverty in rural areas in developing countries build small businesses. 

I made a donation to a great organization that eliminated people's medical bills that were ruining their lives (each donated dollar erased $100 in medical debt). 

There were some small gifts to other progressive causes. And of course, one of the last gifts was to the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, temples for my mom as a young woman living on her own in NYC.

It truly was an honor to know my mom's gifts were helping these great groups survive and hopefully thrive. She left a legacy in the hearts of those of us who loved her - my cousins remind me she was their favorite aunt! - and for the causes she believed in.

I want to do something with my resources when I die, that leaves a legacy and serves the causes I believe in.

Yes, my kids will have an inheritance, and they are lucky. Inheriting familial money changed my life and allowed me to own a home.

But I am excited to support the causes I love. The arts, the environment, progressive politics, conscious dying, Jewish renewal, and holistic health.

The Nine Contemplations, written in the 11th century by the Buddhist monk and scholar Atisha, addresses the twisting, jeweled path of life to our ultimate death. They are a quiet warning of the inevitable, and the need for preparation, so that we can go beyond our fear of death and sit with what is true.

The Eight Contemplation is apropos here: 

"My material resources will be of no use to me."

What do you want for your legacy? What causes do you believe in?