While valued, old-fashioned senior activities are not enough today. Many seniors are spurred by a powerful desire to leave a lasting legacy, to say what they think and desire for the future. We're so fortunate to have so many means to leave a lasting legacy in the world—it's not about the old ways anymore. Forward-looking messages, digital storytelling, and planting trees—these are powerful ways to leave your mark in the world beyond generations. Consider what you wish to leave behind.

Digital Legacy Platforms: Your Voice, Your Story, Forever

Technology has opened up tremendous new tools that enable us to store and share our stories in ways that feel vibrant. StoryWorth and FutureMe are fantastic examples. StoryWorth sends you weekly questions to think about your life—childhood memories, life lessons. You respond with your stories, and after a year, your answers are bound into a beautifully made book. It's not a memento; it's a rich history your loved ones can refer to over and over.

And then there's FutureMe, a website where you can write a letter to yourself or to another person—sent months, years, or decades hence. Imagine your 30-year-old grandchild receiving a sweet letter from you on his or her birthday, penned with your hopes, your humor, and your wisdom. It's time traveling but without the sense of disconnection. These websites offer a very intimate, reflective way of creating your legacy—not a snapshot of a moment in time but a dialogue with the future.

Nature as a Living Memorial

For those who have a sense of belonging to the world and want to leave a physical legacy, turn to legacies that flourish—literally. Sponsorship of tree planting is a beautiful way to leave a living legacy. The Arbor Day Foundation, for instance, allows you to plant a tree in honor of loved ones, reafforesting forests and ecosystems while symbolizing strength, growth, and rebirth.

Likewise, community gardens and conservation plantings allow you to leave a gift to areas which will benefit others long after you're gone. Consider future generations eating fruit from trees you planted or walking through a butterfly garden that you sponsored. These living legacies create a feeling of connection, stewardship, and serenity—something you can proudly leave behind to your heirs.

Digital Storytelling: Be the Voice They Remember

Not a writer? Don't worry. Today's digital technology makes it easy to tell your story in the mode that comes to you naturally. Podcasting is a new medium for many seniors to share personal history, life experience, or even specialty knowledge such as fishing tips, knitting lessons, or historical facts. Think of it as your own personal family radio show—or the world's. Others are jumping on to YouTube to make video tutorials, memory videos, or just talk about their lives. These don't need to be professional or even go viral. The concept is to catch your personality, voice, and face in a warm, intimate medium.

And then there's the phenomenon of creating "Wisdom Share" accounts—collections of short videos or posts that impart advice, observations, or wisdom about what's important to you. They are powerful digital legacies, especially for children and grandchildren who might not have the chance to ask you everything they want to.

Leaving a Legacy That Feels Like You
At its simplest, a legacy is one of connection. It's remembering who you were and what you did. With all technology and options we have, there's no need to leave behind a box of old trinkets. Plant a tree, record yourself, write a letter to the future—what you're doing is making something last—and something that will be your own. And that? That's a legacy worth leaving.