What’s left, when you’re gone?
Life is a series of goodbyes
We see places, moments and most of all people fleeting by our eyes. Some stay for a while, some even come back and some we can’t hold on to as long as we’d liked.
These elements shape our life and make us human. They remind us about life’s nature.
Every moment, every place, every human, every experience leaves an individual trace inside of us. This makes up much of our personality and consequently makes us influence others, too.
Following the old saying of ‘You don’t know what you had until it’s gone.’, I want you to focus on that exact time frame. From your own perspective, mind you, and regardless, when or whether you plan to come back or not:
On the time after you have gone.
To be missed is a grand privilege
As our nature is finite, we aim to hold on to pleasant things as long as we can.
Ultimately, something’s or someone’s worth is determined by how much it is being desired when it is..well, missing.
It can be a harsh truth to us, feeling not to miss something we thought we would or starting to miss something we disregarded all that time we had it right at our fingertips.
Missing someone or something probably is the most honest way of appreciation, but little times the other party will know that.
We will all agree, regardless of how much it might hurt, that we would rather have our life filled with things we will miss, than things we do not miss at all.
What do you bring to the table?
I am a fan of self reflection and of our ability to actively shape our lives.
Let us think about it: What is left of us to miss, when we’re gone?
And by that I don’t necessarily mean gone from this world, it can be leaving the workplace, moving town, the end of a friendship, finishing a vacation, going home after a visit.
Nothing lasts forever. It is not meant to.
And for the time we are part of an equation we are able to either make ourselves be missed or to leave no particular impression or even worse than that.
This is something that can’t always be done at will, but is dependent on ourselves as a person, within a specific environment, in a certain situation.
Also, it is always about the other person. We can’t miss ourselves. Only others miss others.
As much as life seems to revolve around us personally, we will be gone one day.
And then what is left?
It is the things we brought to the table. Our impact on the others, our traces, which will shape their lives and make them impact even more lives.
What do we leave behind?
In every life, there are certain areas which we influence the most.
Most of the times it is our family, which we have the chance to influence. Starting as a child, even small choices can shape this entity. Maybe one day we expand our family by introducing additions and create a chain of development and influence.
For some it might be all about the job, the things they own, the boxes they ticked off.
So, have we caused happiness, have we been constructive, have we been true to our beliefs, have we kept our word, have we inspired others, have we helped, have we made the world we live in a better place for those who live in it with us?
