No one gets to take his possessions with him when he dies. I have yet to see a moving van following a hearse to a funeral. At the end of the day, the only thing we can take with us are our memories of all those great life experience that add meaning to our lives. Given this, I would rather spend my days doing things that will leave me happy memories than collecting possessions.
I have discovered that my best memories come from life’s simplest things. The day my daughter Bianca learned to walk, my son Colby’s first Christmas concert (where he spent more time waving to his proud dad in the audience than singing the assigned song), the day our family played soccer in the rain and the evening we barbequed hot dogs under the full harvest moon.
Dale Carnegie wrote, “One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” Have the wisdom to savor the simple things. The wonderful memories that they bring will add more value to your life than any of the material toys we spend so much life energy pursuing. As Emma Goldman noted, “I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.”
Excerpt from Who WIll Cry When You Die by Robin Sharma. www.robinsharma.com