What's the Point?

Today, I drove somewhere and I decided about half way there, that I wasn't motivated to go. So I thought of some other things I needed to do- got halfway there, and decided I wasn't in the mood to do those things either. THEN- I decided I needed to finish up some Christmas shopping. But I had this nagging feeling ... this lack of interest in shopping. It was not money, or crowds, or effort. It was simply- I am tired of acquiring.

Now- let's not get drastic here; I am known to enjoy a Coach purse (or two) and currently have a Tiffany bracelet on my left wrist (a gift, but still...). It's just that over these last several weeks, I feel like I have acquired some pretty major (and several minor) things by not only Christmas shopping but for myself. And in the end- these are just...
things.

Here's some perspective:
in 50 years, it is a strong possibility that I will be gone. There will be a handful of people who will remember me...maybe even a few hundred.
in 100 years, I will (still) be gone. There will be substantially less people who remember me and even more importantly still, of those few people who do, less and less will speak my name or utter my deeds.
in 150 years I will (you are catching on now...) be gone. There will likely be no constant verbal recall of my name through stories or deeds.
in 250 years, it will be as though I never existed.

Damn.

This is true for many of us. Most of us, really. It's SAD!! It brings so much perspective home. It leads me one of two ways: if none of this really matters, I can go grab as much as I want to make my short time here on Earth as enjoyable as possible for me and for those around me. That seems pretty selfish to me.

I can also realize that none of these things matter. That what matters - i think- is my relationships. What matters is the people I surround myself with. What matters to me...is the light I can bring to another person. Not being moody, or irritable, or overly sensitive, or defensive, or overly reliant. All of these things I currently am so let me just wish a little here. I think it is relationships that matter the most

What kind of taste will your name bring to someone who utters it? Now- and in the future? Are you happy with that answer? Does it make you a little nervous?

I think my plain lack of resolve to do anything shopping-related today was a big lesson for me.
What did I do instead? I put a knit cap on my baby girl, drove to the park, popped her in her stroller, and took her on a walk. She "talked" to me about the dogs she saw, the blue jays, her stuffed animal, and a million other fantastical jabberings from a two and a half year old little girl.

THAT was the point.