We have all heard this one statement from almost everyone, somewhere around the world. "When you die, you don't take anything with you." I believe this statement is only partially true. Yes, it is true that the house you are trying so hard to build will not go with you. The job you are sacrificing everything to get will eventually be handed over to someone else, after you.
The person you dream of marrying, the one whose hand you wish to hold forever, will eventually have to let go of yours, too. Yes, it is true that you will leave this world empty handed, just as you entered it. You will take nothing materialistic with you. So, what is it that we actually take with us?
I believe it is our memories and experiences. They are perhaps the only things that nobody can take away from us. Even after we are gone, they continue to exist in the lives of the people we touched. They become a part of who we were and what we experienced.We are all running towards something, hoping that it will make us feel a particular emotion. Maybe peace, excitement, happiness, or love.But somewhere along the way, we start ignoring the experiences we could be having today. We keep postponing them for a future that we believe will be better.And perhaps, years later, we will realise that some of the very experiences we avoided, postponed, or overlooked were actually the true essence of life.
A teacher of mine once told me that emotions are what make us different from animals. Our ability to feel is what makes us human. And how do we feel? Through experiences. Experiences we collect from people, places, relationships, and everything we enjoy doing. Perhaps life was never just about what we achieve or own, it was always about what we feel along the way.
