Creating Your Testament

Creating a Testament does not require you to sit down and write the story of your life from beginning to end. You do not need to know what your finished Testament will look like, and you do not need to consider yourself a writer. A Testament can grow one thought, one story, one question, and one reflection at a time. You simply need somewhere to begin.

1. Begin With What You Already Have

You may have already created pieces of your Testament without realizing it. Look through what you have accumulated over the years and gather anything that seems meaningful:

• Letters, emails, journals, notebooks, speeches, essays, or other writings
• Photographs, recordings, and meaningful objects
• Family stories or stories you find yourself telling again and again
• Things you have written about your beliefs, values, or experiences
• Advice you have given or thoughts you once wanted to return to

Don't worry yet about whether something belongs in your final Testament. For now, simply gather what might be worth preserving.

2. Create a Place to Gather the Pieces

Give your Testament a place to grow.  This can be as simple as an accordion folder or small file box, a binder, a folder on your computer, or a combination of physical and digital storage.  Think of it as a collector's box for the stories, reflections, photographs, writings, and other pieces you may eventually want to consider for your Testament.

If you are using an accordion folder or file box, add labeled dividers or file folders.  If you are working digitally, create folders using the same idea.  Possible categories include:

• Childhood & Family Origins 
• Education & Work 
• Family & Relationships 
• Faith & Beliefs 
• Life Lessons 
• Virtues & Values 
• Memories & Keepsakes 
• Stories & Reflections 
• Things I Want to Explore Further 

These categories are only a starting point.  Add, remove, or rename them as your own Testament develops.

Keep note cards, paper, or a notebook nearby if you like to write by hand.  When a thought occurs to you, write it down and put it in your Testament collection.  Add photographs, copies of letters, old writings, or notes about meaningful objects.  If you participate in a Story Circle, Memory Station, Show & Tell, or another Testament activity, add anything you want to keep.

For digital materials, give files simple names that will make sense when you encounter them again.  You don't need a perfect filing system.  You simply need one place where the pieces will not be lost.

At this stage, your collection is not your finished Testament.  It is the material from which your Testament may eventually grow.  Some things may become important parts of it.  Others may simply help you remember, think, or discover something else worth exploring.

3. Begin Anywhere

There is no correct first chapter. Start with something that matters to you:

• A memory or person you have never forgotten
• A lesson or mistake that taught you something important
• A belief or value you arrived at, abandoned, questioned, or tried to live by
• A turning point that changed your direction or understanding
• A question that has remained important even though you have never completely answered it

 If nothing immediately comes to mind, the Writing Prompts can help you find a place to begin. EXPLORE WRITING PROMPTS

Choose one. That is enough to begin.

4. Go Beyond What Happened

Stories belong in a Testament, but a Testament is more than a collection of stories. After telling what happened, ask yourself:

• Why do I still remember this?
• What did I understand then, and what do I understand now?
• Did this experience change me?
• What did it teach me about myself, another person, or life?
• Is there something here I would want someone in another generation to understand?

You may begin with a story about your first job and discover that what you really want to write about is responsibility. A story about your mother may become a reflection on forgiveness. A failure may change what you think success means. Follow the thought wherever it leads.

5. Capture It in the Way That Works for You

A Testament is about preserving your thoughts, not proving that you can write them. You can:

• Write or type
• Dictate your thoughts
• Record yourself talking
• Ask someone you trust to interview you
• Record and transcribe a conversation
• Use photographs or meaningful objects to bring memories to the surface

Whatever method you use, keep your own voice. Your Testament does not need to sound literary or impressive. It needs to sound like you.

6. Collect First. Organize Later.

Don't let organization keep you from beginning. Save each piece and give it a simple title such as My Father and Fishing, What Failure Taught Me, Why Friendship Matters, or A Question I Never Answered.

As your collection grows, patterns will begin to appear. Related pieces can eventually be grouped, expanded, connected, and arranged into sections. You do not need to determine the structure before you have something to organize.

7. Notice What Needs More

When you return to something you have written or recorded, ask whether the thought is complete. You may discover that:

• You told the story but never explained why it mattered.
• You stated a belief but never explained how you arrived at it.
• You mentioned someone important without explaining how that person affected you.
• You described a mistake without saying what it taught you.
• You named a value without showing how it influenced the way you lived.

Mark those places and return to them. They are opportunities to think more deeply.

You do not, however, have to resolve every question. It is perfectly appropriate to preserve what you think, why you think it, and what you still do not understand.

8. Keep Going

Your Testament does not have to be created all at once. Add to it when something seems worth preserving. Record a realization, revisit an old memory, explore a belief, preserve a lesson, or explain why you changed your mind.

Over time, these individual pieces can become something much larger: a record not merely of what happened during your life, but of what a lifetime taught you.

Don't plan your entire Testament today. Choose one:

• Tell one story you never want lost.
• Write about something life taught you the hard way.
• Explain one belief you hold and how you arrived at it.
• Describe one person who changed you and how.
• Write about something you were once wrong about.
• Choose one value that has guided your life and describe when it was tested.
• Preserve one question you have never completely answered.

Then ask yourself:

Why is this worth leaving behind?

Follow that question wherever it takes you. That is the beginning of your Testament.