Ever wonder what happens to all your stuff? You know, all the trinkets you receive as gifts...presents from kids for Christmas, Mother's day and birthdays. You pile it all over your house, proud to show it off. And each item has its own story that you remember very clearly....Little Bobbie made this in the 2nd grade for me..along with a cute note for Mother's Day....Annie gave this statue for my birthday...etc, etc, etc. You put years and years of care into those items cleaning them and carefully packing and unpacking when you move, making sure it sits at just the right angle on the shelf. Your kids point it out when they come over. Wow mom you still have that...and then there are the grand kids...wow more stuff to sit around and clean, but as a parent you put it out somewhere to make them happy. It also makes you smile each time you see it and you remember those stories again.
Now fast forward a couple of decades..what happens to all that stuff when you pass away. You would like to see your family take it all and set it around their home to show off...but by now they have their own collection of items from their children and grand kids. So what do they do with the stuff? These items should have sentimental value right....after all they belonged to mom, grandma.....etc. What to do with it all?, Where to put it all?
It all ends up in just one box. Yep just one box. Strip down all the cloths, linens, kitchen items, furniture and your left with what? What was this person really about...you end up with a box of important papers/pictures and everyone takes one item to remember that person by. You live on this earth for 80+ years and after you die all of your worth is in just one box? That is what you leave behind? Is this what I want to leave behind for my family?
It just goes on to make you think of the real meaning of your life here on earth. You are not defined by what you have in your life, but by who is in your life and how you treat them. What you teach your children is the legacy you pass on. The antique table cloth that was in your family for years, or the ring that grandpa used when he proposed it all nice and beautiful, but what really matters is what you learned from them on how to treat yourself and others. This is what you take the most pride in. This is what you pass on to your children. Your grand children.
Family dinners, holiday traditions....special moments in each of our lives that we tend to over look at the time, but remember fondly when that person is gone. You don't realize it until one holiday one of your kids speaks up and says..."Hey, that's the way grandma use to do it." Or your child asks you to make them their favorite dish that grandma made...tell them the story of grandpa when he was in the service or war. It is then you realize you are passing on a family legacy....it has nothing to so with money, status, where you worked or what you owned....it is what your remember...as long as you remember you keep that person alive and pass them on to the next generation. Family stories are the lives one's have lived prior to us and the family keeps going.
So while you may just pass on just one box of items to your family..those are not the important things..the legacy you leave behind, the traditions, the feelings...that is what your life was "TRULY" about.
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