What We Leave Behind

When we die, what do we leave behind? If we were successful in life, had a lot of money and material possessions, we may leave those to our family or charity. Is that all we leave behind? For when we die, regardless of our success in life, nothing we have will accompany us. We will be buried or cremated just like everyone else, even those who were unknown or struggling.

If we believe what we will leave behind are our accomplishments, though we may have been famous, wealthy, powerful, then we have lived our life without understanding the genuine purpose for which we were born. If our success was not selflessly shared with others, nothing we accomplished during our life will truly define our life’s worth. After time, the memory of who we were will eventually fade. And though we may be remembered in history books and by those closest to us, our imprint on others will only be remembered by our achievements in the world, not by who we genuinely were.

In spirituality, there is a realization nothing we accomplish in the world defines who we are. Who we truly are and have always been is Spirit, a piece of God, present within every life, present to guide our lives with its inherent wisdom and unconditional love, so we may selflessly share it with others. This is the lesson we are alive to learn. This is who we truly are (Enlightenment).

What we leave behind has nothing to do with wealth, fame, prestige, or anything else we believed would define our lives (Ego). What we leave behind is our Spirit, continuing to influence others after our death who we positively affected in their lives by sharing our Spirit’s wisdom and love to help them in their life’s journey. Everything else is simply an illusion we learn to believe after we are born (Asleep), to deflect our attention from our true purpose in life.