What We Leave Behind

Someone once said "Don't take this life too seriously...you'll never get out of it alive".
But ultimately, we must leave this world and face our fears of what's on the other side. 
What happens when we leave this world?
Aside from the obvious, of course.  We leave behind a piece of hazardous waste that centuries-old customs choose to dress up, revere and preserve in what looks like an oversized and overdecorated jewelry box, which we choose to bury in the earth for an indefinite period of time. 
They say the body is the home of the spirit.  Personally, compared to spending eternity in a box six feet beneath the soil, I'd rather have my spirit permanently nomadic.  Thus I chose cremation.
I always did like to travel.  But I digress.
What we leave behind is not always contained in the "Last Will and Testament". 
What you receive in that is material and will eventually fade away. 
Even paupers have left behind legacies.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a great example of this.  His career success was maybe mediocre at best during his lifetime, with no true notariety until after his passing, though he was exiting poverty shortly before his death at 35.
Nonetheless, one doesn't have to invent or philanthropize to leave behind a legacy.  A blue-collar laborer, tradesman, or even a lifetime homemaker has something to contribute.
Family values.  A love for children and interest in their growth and well-being.  Thriftiness...the value of a dollar and never to take anything for granted.  Faith...the notion that one does not need physical evidence of a Supreme Being or Higher Power to believe there's something better on the other side.
Even those who grow up in homes of physical and emotional abuse, poverty, lack of opportunity and other negative environmental factors can take away from their experiences a great legacy for the future that they never knew.
How not to live.  How not to act.
Thus, even the worst in society can bring about the best in people.
How that information is chosen to be used is entirely up to those left behind.


NEXT WEEK:  Silver Sneakers