From the desk of San Diego, Del Mar, California Trust and Estate Attorney, Kristina Hess….
One of my sons is in second grade and the second graders have the wonderful opportunity to do a sharing report each month. For the month of February he had to choose an American hero and talk about his/her life and what made that person a hero.
My son chose Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. So, I had the opportunity to review some of Dr. King’s history with him while he prepared his report and I couldn’t help myself from reading on about his life and reading some of his speeches.
I love inspirational stories. I do. In fact, I find that if I give myself a daily dose of inspiration that it helps me to stay focused on what really matters in life, it inspires me to live at a higher level. And it’s one thing to take in inspiration but then the question inevitably becomes, what are you going to do with the inspiration? What action will you take?
Thank God for our world changers and history makers. Great men and women of passion and conviction who took action to make a change in the world around them. What courage and determination they demonstrated! Rosa Parks and Dr. King and thousands of others who took part in the nonviolent protests to begin the process of desegregation.
I love this quote from the Alabama bus boycott speech:
“We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice… Our method will be that of persuasion not coercion. We will only say to the people, ‘Let your conscience be your guide.’”
Dr. King set out to “save the soul of a nation” divided along racial lines, divided by inequality and poverty… by appealing to a “great decent majority who through blindness, fear, price, and irrationality have allowed their conscience to sleep.”
Ah, how are we all today, 40 years later allowing our conscience to sleep? Is it the s e x trade that is robbing the youth of the world? Is it dying babies? Persistent poverty? Disease? The world has so many needs. Surely, there is some cause, some need, great or small that you can take some time and effort to meet.
You do not have to be a hero to millions to create a legacy that lasts. But you do need to wake up, awaken your conscience, and see the world around you, get inspired and then decide how you will make your mark on history.
If charitable trusts and charitable planning are some of the tools you decide to use to make sure that when you are gone your wealth can be used to make a positive difference in the world, give me a call, I’d be happy to help you create your lasting legacy.
To all our American heroes large and small! Thank you.
Kristina Hess
San Diego Trust Attorney Legacy Builder