December 10, 2025 • 6 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I do think it's a little weird. You're scouring the obituaries.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Not scouring the obituaries. A new study was done from
Legacy dot com and they were trying to come up
with the answer to what makes a life well lived?
And they reviewed thirty eight million obituaries to try to
find the answer.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Oh, wowlifting job, Hey, you should meet our new higher
eight herald.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What's Harold's job? He has to scour all the obituaries.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
He's going to read thirty eight million obituaries and well,
what he found is that you're list.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
He's a guy, right.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
What he found is that pretty much your entire life,
which is on average about four thousand weeks, gets compressed
down into roughly one hundred and seventy five words.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
That is interesting, isn't it. H Yeah, that is Yeah,
you're right.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
The top words that were used how many weeks they say,
it's four thousand weeks.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Four thousand weeks and all of that time comes down
to one hundred and seventy five words.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah, that's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
The words that were mentioned the most in eighty percent
of obituaries were faithful and praying, yeah, and benevolence and
caring for others was mentioned seventy six percent of the time,
and some of the other values that were a little
less emphasized but still mentioned in a lot of the
different obituaries were self direction and power.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
You know, we talked about this at one point. This
has been a while ago, but we talked about how
once your two generations removed from living, very few people
remember or talk about you, because it's any fault of
your own. But it's just like most people know their
parents and their grandparents, and then some are lucky and
(01:52):
know their great grandparents. But after those people are gone, right,
are the memories fad or whatever? Then you just become
like a picture on somebody's wall because of just the
way the time works. Now, there are some you know,
of our greatest Americans, the George Washington's or Abraham Lincolns,
who get statues and are remembered in you know, infamy
for uh or or others that are remembered in infamy.
(02:16):
I should have said, like, well, my profile picture Benedict Arnold.
But for the most part, people are really a two
are remembered no matter what you do on this earth
for two or three generations, and then you you disappear,
and I remember this, and I like, it's so weird,
and you obviously having an adult child now, but like
(02:41):
when I was a kid, my grandmother had this really
cool palm up in my room in her at her house,
and the crux of the poem was talking about at
the end of your life, the only thing that will
really matter, one of the few things that will matter,
is that you made a difference a life of a child, right,
(03:01):
because then that child becomes an adult and they remember you.
And it's like, I think of the impact and how
my grandparents lived up to that they've been dead ten years.
I so fondly remember just everything about them and what
they did for me and what amazing people they were.
And so by that stadred my grandparents wore a resounding
success because that's.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
What they desired to do.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And I was thinking about this. Yesterday we put the
Christmas tree up. Yeah, and I said, okay, I'm gonna
do it.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
My dad came over.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
We did it while while Livia was at daycare, and
I said, Okay, when she gets home, I'm going to
have it up and have the lights on and have
the ornaments up. And she comes in the house she's
two and a half. She comes in the house and
she walks in the room and sees the tree and
she just stares at it in amazement and gets the
biggest smile on her face.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And the whole night she was spent in that.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Room tweet tweete you know it just and at one
point she just looks at me. She goes me like yeah,
and it's like you look at this going this is
life right, and you don't You don't understand that until
you experience, and people can tell you about it.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
People tell you how amazing having kids is.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
People can tell you what a great joy it is
about how if you don't have kids, you know, and
some people tragically can't have kids, and that's no fault
of their own. But it just like that is life right,
Like all this other stuff we do. It's important, it's
a big deal. But what really matters in your life
is how you affect those who come after you who
are dependent upon you, because their better life will be
(04:26):
the lasting legacy. And then how they remember you to
others is the way that you live on and that
judges how you were on this earth.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
When I had my daughter, when I growing up, I
always tell my mom, I love you, thank you for everything.
You know, You're wonderful. But it wasn't until I had
my own child, and I can remember she was only
three or four days old and I was writing thank
you notes to the baby gifts that we had received,
and I wrote one to my mom and I said,
thank you. I never knew. Yeah, like you don't realize
(04:56):
it until you're in that position.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, and so, but that is interesting that you brought
that article up, because it's something that I'm working through
and like talking to Many times. I keep this daily
journal for my daughter, and sometimes it's hey, there are
all sorts of important things that happen. Some days it's
just a quick ABC and sometimes if there's nothing big,
I will talk about like little life lessons or things
that is happening in the moment in our family, or
(05:19):
things that are happening around our family or in the world,
and say, here's what I hope you learn from this
years from now when you read these journal entries and
what you really realize. I mean, it's always in front
of you, right that your time is finite. It's not infinite, right,
but as you get you inter middle age and then
(05:41):
you have children, you really realize, like, two things you're
going to be kind of remembered for on this earth
are how you treated those you were responsible for, and
that could be not just your children, but as your parents'
age or you know, grandparents' age or whatever. How you
treated those people who were dependent upon you and the
(06:03):
life you were able to give them that they couldn't
give themselves. And the works that you do on this
earth side of your commitment to the Lord, but the
physical works that you do on this earth, and how
that helped people who couldn't necessarily help or speak for themselves.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
So, among the thirty eight million obituaries that they reviewed,
there were some differences in gender. Men were remembered for achievement, power,
and conformity, and their values shifted with age. Women were
remembered for caring and pleasure, and their values stayed the
same over their lifetime. Some other themes that popped up
(06:44):
a lot were education, military service, family connections. Men's obituaries
were slightly longer than women's, and older people got a
more detailed ride up than younger people.
I do think it's a little weird. You're scouring the obituaries.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Not scouring the obituaries. A new study was done from
Legacy dot com and they were trying to come up
with the answer to what makes a life well lived?
And they reviewed thirty eight million obituaries to try to
find the answer.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Oh, wowlifting job, Hey, you should meet our new higher
eight herald.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What's Harold's job? He has to scour all the obituaries.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
He's going to read thirty eight million obituaries and well,
what he found is that you're list.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
He's a guy, right.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
What he found is that pretty much your entire life,
which is on average about four thousand weeks, gets compressed
down into roughly one hundred and seventy five words.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
That is interesting, isn't it. H Yeah, that is Yeah,
you're right.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
The top words that were used how many weeks they say,
it's four thousand weeks.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Four thousand weeks and all of that time comes down
to one hundred and seventy five words.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah, that's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
The words that were mentioned the most in eighty percent
of obituaries were faithful and praying, yeah, and benevolence and
caring for others was mentioned seventy six percent of the time,
and some of the other values that were a little
less emphasized but still mentioned in a lot of the
different obituaries were self direction and power.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
You know, we talked about this at one point. This
has been a while ago, but we talked about how
once your two generations removed from living, very few people
remember or talk about you, because it's any fault of
your own. But it's just like most people know their
parents and their grandparents, and then some are lucky and
(01:52):
know their great grandparents. But after those people are gone, right,
are the memories fad or whatever? Then you just become
like a picture on somebody's wall because of just the
way the time works. Now, there are some you know,
of our greatest Americans, the George Washington's or Abraham Lincolns,
who get statues and are remembered in you know, infamy
for uh or or others that are remembered in infamy.
(02:16):
I should have said, like, well, my profile picture Benedict Arnold.
But for the most part, people are really a two
are remembered no matter what you do on this earth
for two or three generations, and then you you disappear,
and I remember this, and I like, it's so weird,
and you obviously having an adult child now, but like
(02:41):
when I was a kid, my grandmother had this really
cool palm up in my room in her at her house,
and the crux of the poem was talking about at
the end of your life, the only thing that will
really matter, one of the few things that will matter,
is that you made a difference a life of a child, right,
(03:01):
because then that child becomes an adult and they remember you.
And it's like, I think of the impact and how
my grandparents lived up to that they've been dead ten years.
I so fondly remember just everything about them and what
they did for me and what amazing people they were.
And so by that stadred my grandparents wore a resounding
success because that's.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
What they desired to do.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And I was thinking about this. Yesterday we put the
Christmas tree up. Yeah, and I said, okay, I'm gonna
do it.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
My dad came over.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
We did it while while Livia was at daycare, and
I said, Okay, when she gets home, I'm going to
have it up and have the lights on and have
the ornaments up. And she comes in the house she's
two and a half. She comes in the house and
she walks in the room and sees the tree and
she just stares at it in amazement and gets the
biggest smile on her face.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And the whole night she was spent in that.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Room tweet tweete you know it just and at one
point she just looks at me. She goes me like yeah,
and it's like you look at this going this is
life right, and you don't You don't understand that until
you experience, and people can tell you about it.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
People tell you how amazing having kids is.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
People can tell you what a great joy it is
about how if you don't have kids, you know, and
some people tragically can't have kids, and that's no fault
of their own. But it just like that is life right,
Like all this other stuff we do. It's important, it's
a big deal. But what really matters in your life
is how you affect those who come after you who
are dependent upon you, because their better life will be
(04:26):
the lasting legacy. And then how they remember you to
others is the way that you live on and that
judges how you were on this earth.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
When I had my daughter, when I growing up, I
always tell my mom, I love you, thank you for everything.
You know, You're wonderful. But it wasn't until I had
my own child, and I can remember she was only
three or four days old and I was writing thank
you notes to the baby gifts that we had received,
and I wrote one to my mom and I said,
thank you. I never knew. Yeah, like you don't realize
(04:56):
it until you're in that position.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, and so, but that is interesting that you brought
that article up, because it's something that I'm working through
and like talking to Many times. I keep this daily
journal for my daughter, and sometimes it's hey, there are
all sorts of important things that happen. Some days it's
just a quick ABC and sometimes if there's nothing big,
I will talk about like little life lessons or things
that is happening in the moment in our family, or
(05:19):
things that are happening around our family or in the world,
and say, here's what I hope you learn from this
years from now when you read these journal entries and
what you really realize. I mean, it's always in front
of you, right that your time is finite. It's not infinite, right,
but as you get you inter middle age and then
(05:41):
you have children, you really realize, like, two things you're
going to be kind of remembered for on this earth
are how you treated those you were responsible for, and
that could be not just your children, but as your parents'
age or you know, grandparents' age or whatever. How you
treated those people who were dependent upon you and the
(06:03):
life you were able to give them that they couldn't
give themselves. And the works that you do on this
earth side of your commitment to the Lord, but the
physical works that you do on this earth, and how
that helped people who couldn't necessarily help or speak for themselves.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
So, among the thirty eight million obituaries that they reviewed,
there were some differences in gender. Men were remembered for achievement, power,
and conformity, and their values shifted with age. Women were
remembered for caring and pleasure, and their values stayed the
same over their lifetime. Some other themes that popped up
(06:44):
a lot were education, military service, family connections. Men's obituaries
were slightly longer than women's, and older people got a
more detailed ride up than younger people.
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