You. Can't. Take. It. With. You.
A phrase I hear often these days.
Mostly from a friend who is getting close to his ninth decade here on earth.
And he is right.
You can't take it with you.
Whatever "it" may be - money - possessions - more money.
It is unfortunate that we will all end up with the same fate - our earthly remains cremated and stashed in a small container or preserved and sealed in a casket to be buried or entombed.
And all of our earthly prized possessions will not be coming with us.
Oh no.
We won't need them where we are going.
Instead, they will be distributed among the living; friends, family, charities, and the like.
Their joy of use to be continued - just not with us.
Whatever we have taken such pride in amassing will be dispersed.
However much we have in our savings accounts will also be dispersed.
And it is important, perhaps, that we get to decide, to pick and choose, who will be on the receiving end.
That's what Wills are for.
To guarantee that our life's work, our assets and grand possessions and savings, will go to where they are appreciated.
Because we can't take them with us.
Oh sure, there are some cultures who believe that we can take it with us.
Their dead are surrounded by all sorts of treasures and troves and sacrificed animals to ensure their dearly beloved and departed will be okay in their afterlife.
However, we know that they are not taken or used because they are still there many hundreds if not thousands of years after that person has died.
We can't take it with us.
The problem lies with the fact that we don't know when our expiration dates will be.
Is it best to spend it all on travel and whatever we like - only to pop off with twelve dollars in our pockets - enough to tip the ambulance driver?
Or is it better to have some left over for a rainy day in order to pass down as a legacy of sorts?
Therein lies the rub.
Thanks to the miracle of modern health care we are living so much longer these days and so we need all kinds of money stockpiled to help ensure some sort of quality of life.
A good nursing home does not come cheap.
Thankfully our generous government does offer many benefits, but they only can go so far.
So, do we spend 'em while we got 'em?
Perhaps to some degree.
Does the person with the most toys at the end win?
Only in the materialistic game of life, maybe.
Death is the great equalizer.
No matter how much we have or had on this earthly realm, at the end of the day, we are all dust.
It is a very fine line to know how much to spend before we reach the end.
A delicate balance of not spending too much or too little.
To not deny ourselves too much, but not overindulge or spoil ourselves too much either.
Whatever choices we make, whatever decisions are made, either way, we owe it to the living left behind to make sure we at least have a Will to dole out what is left to whom or what we deem most deserving.
That, at the very least, will give us some peace of mind in the great hereafter.
Because we can't take anything with us.
But we will be leaving a memory.