You can’t take it with you

Have you ever thought about why you have the material things that you have? Why you kept something, accepted something or saved something? Growing up there was a display cabinet in my Mother’s dining room. It is still there today. I have no recollection of ever eating from the fancy crockery she kept in there. There are some packs of silverware that have never been used. All being kept for a special occasion.

I remember remarking to a friend once how I was dying to travel overseas, but just could not afford to. What I meant was that I could probably afford to, but was not prepared to lose out on savings and investments because I was having a good time in another country. On 9th March 2020, the world stock markets took a tumble over Coronavirus fears and the impact this would have on the global economy. All that went through my mind was the question “Is my money safe”.

After telling my friend my sob story about how I could not afford to do the things I wanted, he looked at me, paused, smiled and said “Just remember, you can’t take it with you”. Of course he meant money and that I must remember that I can’t take any money with me when I die. For some reason these words just seemed to haunt me.

Had I become obsessed with maintaining material well being to the extent that I had forgotten to live today? Was I losing out on experiences with my family because all I was focused on was amassing material things for today or the future? To be honest, I don’t really know. But what I do know which is true, is that come what may when you die, you can’t take it with you.