There is a song that says, “It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it’s what you leave behind you when you go.”
What are you leaving behind? Have you thought about that?
There are but a few things that are definite in this life and dying is one of them. When or how may not be carved in stone, but none of us are getting out of here alive.
Physical objects won’t matter. You won’t be taking those.
There is not even a guarantee that the people you know now will still be around then.
If we are fortunate to live to an old age, what will our memories be?
When we are gone from this world, what will our legacy be?
Will you be proud of your memories? Will you say that you were kind, helpful, fun, hard-working, polite, loving, or happy? Will you say that you made a difference in a good way?
Or will you say that you wreaked havoc? That you were selfish? That you cared only about your own happiness, you own possessions, your own moments?
Will you say that you punished innocent people, because someone was once unkind to you? That you abused children, because someone once abused you? That you hit old people, because your grandmother once spanked you and told you to behave? That you stole from someone who worked for what they had, because someone once stole from you?
Will you say that you gave more or that you got even? Shared with your loved ones or “stuck it to the man”? Worked for all you had or took what you could take?
What will your memories be?
Will you look back on them with fondness? Or will you cringe at what you were? Will you even admit what you have done?
And what is your legacy?
Will it be something like “…there’s mommy on video, cussing and smiling and acting like she is there for a cause when all she really wanted was to feel famous for a minute.”? Or “…my uncle shot an innocent man because he was mad at the world,” “burned down the shopping center,” “looted a local business,” “broke windows for fun,” etc., etc. ? How about…”She/He was a drug addict. We never knew how it was going to be/if we would have enough food/if there would be an adult there to watch us/how we would be treated/if we would be abused or neglected”?
Is that the memory you want them to keep?
Do you want people in the future to watch a video of an unknown person and think, “How stupid”?
Because you will be unknown someday. There will come a time when the only thing left of you may be social media posts that people will glance at in passing, if at all. What do you want them to say about you? That you were a thief, a liar, a hothead, a junkie, a self-centered piece of crap? Or that you were funny, brilliant, talented, kind-hearted, loving?
What do you want people to remember about you?
What will you leave behind you when you go?
