214. Living Our Legacy with Merle Saferstein
"An unexamined life is not worth living." The famous quote has been attributed to Socrates, the person that many believe valued the pursuit of wisdom more than anyone else in history.
With this quote, Socrates implied that examining and understanding our lives is of utmost importance — essentially, for us to have the wisdom about ourselves and the life we choose to lead. Otherwise, we’re merely existing, acting in ways the reasons for which are unknown to us. And yet, to examine our lives is to turn the lens on ourselves. And it’s not easy to do in some respects. It’s far easier to look away and never truly examine.
But to make the effort to continuously examine our lives has many benefits — the best one being that we get to know ourselves really really well. And I think that’s the ultimate best thing in life: To get to the end of the road and know that I’ve done the best I could to know myself and to master myself and to try to live the way I’d be proud to have lived.
With this quote, Socrates implied that examining and understanding our lives is of utmost importance — essentially, for us to have the wisdom about ourselves and the life we choose to lead. Otherwise, we’re merely existing, acting in ways the reasons for which are unknown to us. And yet, to examine our lives is to turn the lens on ourselves. And it’s not easy to do in some respects. It’s far easier to look away and never truly examine.
But to make the effort to continuously examine our lives has many benefits — the best one being that we get to know ourselves really really well. And I think that’s the ultimate best thing in life: To get to the end of the road and know that I’ve done the best I could to know myself and to master myself and to try to live the way I’d be proud to have lived.
The easiest way to examine our lives, of course, is through journaling. And my guest in this episode, Merle Saferstein, is the best person to explore the practice of journaling.
ABOUT MY GUEST
Merle R. Saferstein is an educator, speaker, author, and a pioneer in the field of legacy journaling. She has been journaling for 48 years and has amassed a collection of 380 journals, the majority of which are the basis for her legacy journal Living and Leaving My Legacy Vols. 1 & 2. After twenty-six years as a Holocaust educator where she worked with hundreds of Holocaust survivors helping them to leave their legacy, she retired and created Living and Leaving Your Legacy®. Through classes, workshops, and lectures, she has guided thousands of people in sacred legacy work, writing for wellness, and journaling. Her short story collection, Room 732, pays homage to the historic Hollywood Beach Hotel. Merle lives in Miami, Florida with her husband of fifty-six years and has two children and two grandchildren.
IN THIS EPISODE
- How journaling facilitates how we can live our legacy
- Journaling for ourselves versus journaling for others
- The many different purposes that journaling serves
- Why and how we can dispose of old journals
- Merle Saferstein's experience re-reading hundreds of her journals to create her books
FOOTNOTES
- Merle Saferstein's website
- Living and Leaving My Legacy (Volumes 1 and 2) by Merle Saferstein
- International Association for Journal Writing
- The Great Book of Journaling
- Randy Pausch's TED Talk
- Episode 165 on Writing Our Memoirs
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