After posting yesterdays blog I was advised to check the monetary value of my 45 rpm records. My immediate response to that was, my sentiments aren't for sale. The response to that was, I should do that for those that will inherit them after I'm gone. Well, my response then was, they can do whatever they want with that stuff after I'm gone, I won't need it. What I'm trying to say here is, I hope my worth isn't measured by what I leave behind. No, for me I would rather those that knew me carried sentiment in their hearts, rather than a few dollars in their pockets. The most treasured items I have from those I have lost are just that, memories. Yes, I am fortunate to have a few mementos about, reminders, items that belonged to those folks. Those items may or may not have held special significance to them. It's a difficult thing to discern at times, the items we cherish from those we just have. I have a stone, given to me by a little girl, that holds far more significance than many gifts I have received since. Monetary value is zero, zip, nada. And the value to anyone else? The same. I expect it will, at best, be a curiosity for a moment or too if others had to sort through my stuff. It would be that way with a good number of items. The value lies with me.
It's true that I posses little of any monetary value. There will be no need to get my estate appraised. I have to smile thinking of my stuff as an "estate." I figure the only time I will have an estate is when I'm dead, lol. But monetary value will be assigned if for no other reason than taxes. Amazingly your death is taxed. In my genealogy research, and that sounds funny to me, research, I'm just being nosy really, I have read quite a few last wills and testaments. The majority do concern the distribution of assets, the dividing up of the estate. Currently I haven't written one of those and to be honest don't have any plans to do so either. After I'm gone, help yourself. I can't foresee any great legal battles over my stuff. I can't control the future any more than I can change the past. In my way of thinking no need to worry about any of that. Those closest to me know what I value, what items are important to me, and I just have to trust them to preserve those things. I do leave enough hints!
What we leave behind. That is what I'm talking about. Is that value in dollars and cents? For some that is certainly a concern. Those that spent their lives gathering wealth certainly seem to be concerned with all of that. It is, after all, what they have placed value upon. Perhaps had I gathered wealth and property I would feel the same way, I can't say. I have noticed over the years there are often disputes among the survivors over that estate. It's true even when the monetary value is quite low, fighting for crumbs! Wills are contested, pleas made, feelings are hurt. What we leave behind is what we call our legacy. Legacy however implies something different doesn't it? I mean we really don't think of property as our legacy. No, our legacy is our spirit, our soul, our feelings. Legacy is something immaterial. At least that is going to be my legacy. It is my hope, and I feel the hope of all of us, that it is our legacy that will be embraced after our passing. We want to be remembered for who we were, not for what we had. I'll be happy if at the end, when my time comes, I am able to say, " it was a damn fine sail." And that line sums of my philosophy on life I suppose. Philosophy, I have found, isn't something you learn, it is something you live.
I know who that little girl was....you told me, and I've never told another. I know what is so special about that stone.... more valuable to you than a diamond, which is was also just a stone but so many put so much value in them, don't they? I completely understand what you're saying. Live and love....let others worry about the future.
ReplyDelete