What really matters at the end of our life?
Money loses its value the longer it sits in the bank.
Property begins to wear down.
Looks fade.
Strength wanes.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ll take these things any day of the week! But when it’s all said and done what remains is the network of relationships that we’ve built.
Interesting fact, one of the biggest regrets people have at the end of their life is not investing enough time in the people closest to them. Sadly, this is a truth some realize too late.
We’re bombarded with constant advertisements and social pressures that tell us how to spend our life in order to be happy. But where does it all lead?
A child needs nothing more than to know they are loved by their parent to be happy. However, as they grow this attitude tends to fade. As a teenager, they often want nothing to do with their parents, at least not in public anyway.
This is a naturally occurring process. A person’s desire for self-preservation, the ego, works in a way where we are drawn toward bonding with someone and then rejected by them. And we can only come so close to a person before we start to pull away again.
This phenomenon is orchestrated deliberately by nature in order to give us the opportunity to build the right kind of connection. And this process of clarifying what is the right connection is what we call life.
But it’s not just about what having positive relationships does for me. By building this network between us, my kids, my family, my friends and everyone in my circle also gains. Those impressions that I make upon others grow and expand exponentially. This is a person’s true legacy and what will ultimately carry on.
Eventually, we realize that specifically by connecting the dots between us in the right way we can receive everything we need for a happy and meaningful life. When we build a habit of relating to others with care, consideration, and encouragement, this fulfills all of our lacks and a person no longer has the question of how to live a good life. Because one finds infinite fulfillment in living for others!