Creating memories and dying with zero
Do all the things!
Many people talk about the business or meaning of life in various different ways. Some people believe the meaning of life is all about family, others want to leave a legacy and a few just want to be rich and powerful. I have no great desire to be rich or powerful (rich in life experience maybe but not rich in dollars), my family is small and I have no children, and a legacy? What does that even mean?
Well a legacy is something you leave behind like money or family, an historical event or creative works. People seem to be obsessed these days with leaving a legacy. But why? Do you think you will be revered in the future? A Netflix documentary about your greatest achievement? Who will remember you? Did you even know your great-grandparents and do you revere them? Did they leave a legacy to you besides DNA and a family name? Why the obsession with leaving a legacy?
In a recent post I mentioned the book Die With Zero by Bill Perkins and its message that the business of life is the acquisition of memories. While the book literally expounds the virtues of dying with zero money and how to process this while you are still alive, the reason behind it all is to create and build memories rather than saving for a rainy day that might not actually come. For instance, why wait to leave an inheritance to your children when you can give it to them now? Wouldn’t it be better to divvy it up before you die and benefit not only from the joy of giving, but also in seeing how it might change your loved ones lives and also bring them joy.
At the time I mentioned the Bill Perkins book I had also recently read another on money management and how to build your wealth, which is apparently not to spend your emergency fund on those sale fares to Central America! Whoops. While I have started to use those principles to build a small savings and investment plan so that I can reduce my debt, I wholeheartedly agree with the first message about creating memories and I have unknowingly been working on that for quite some time now. While I am also now building a bit of a savings net to reduce my debt, I still see my reason for working and earning money is to spend that money on making memories, primarily through travel and life experiences. Central America here we come.
Yes, many of those memories are for me and me alone and, as I’ve said before, I’m ok with that. I don’t share on social media anymore but I do share in this substack when I’m not being philosophical. I share with friends and family who are interested in my adventures, but if I don’t share with anyone it’s not considered a loss or a waste. I know what I’ve done and I can return to those moments at any time. My future selves (if you believe in that) will also benefit from my adventures and subsequent memories. I couldn’t imagine leaving them with only the struggles of work, stress, anxiety, and a mortgage to dream about.
I have a lifetime of memories staring me in the face from a fridge full of magnets, to paintings by local artists from various destinations, trinkets and collectibles picked up around the world, a pile of theatre programs, stickers, and polaroid pictures hanging on the wall. My house is full of mementos and these in turn bring a smile to my face every time I look at them. Each glance brings a flashback of where I was, who I was with and what laughter or snippets of conversation were spoken. I surround myself with these memories and I love talking about my adventures. There are also memories of experiences unrelated to travel such as musicals, concerts and theatre, many of these I have spoken about in previous posts, and I will continue to spend my time at these events when I’m not travelling, no matter what the cost. That is the reason I work. I don’t work to experience Netflix (I don’t even have a subscription). I work to get the most out of life when I’m not working.
But it’s not just the physical reminders that bring the memories flooding back, it is also the smells of the food, the music that was played, the drinks you shared and sometimes it’s the colour of the sunset or the sparkle of the sun on the water that brings a smile to my face. Awe (see the book recommendation Phosphorescence in my last post) and wonder is another fascinating life experience that most people gloss over, particularly if they’re three hours deep in a doom scroll on social media. I love seeing beauty in the world, the flight of a bird, the colours of a rainbow, the stars in the night sky. It doesn’t matter how big or small the sensation is, it only matters that I have the experience and therefore retain the memory that brings me joy.
My legacy will be to live my life to the fullest, do all the things, leave nothing behind, and know on my deathbed that I one hundred percent without a doubt, absolutely enjoyed every minute of my life. No regrets! I don’t care if no one remembers me, I don’t care if I’m alone in death, most people are. What I do care about is knowing that I sparked joy in my own life and others, whether that be for a life, a season or just in passing—just a reason. I want to experience everything this world can give me right now, with what I have right now. Creating and making memories. Living life with awe. I don’t want to have worked my heart out to not see and experience this world. That is my life. That is my legacy. What is yours?
What I’m reading: I just finished listening to the audiobook The Woman in Me by Britney Spears and read by Michelle Williams. While I was never a fan of Britney I feel devastated for her that her life went this way. It was a fascinating read for me, someone who knew very little about her to begin with. She was just so young!
What I’m watching: Whiskey on the Rocks on Disney+. Based on true events but I really don’t quite know what to make of it!
