by Vicki Phipps

Created on: April 16, 2008   Last Updated: July 02, 2008

Have you ever wondered how you'll be remembered? Then again, have you ever wondered if you'll be remembered at all? I used to wonder about such things all the time, and especially when my father died. It was a rude awakening to see all those things he worked his entire life to achieve, being sold or given away as if they didn't mean a thing. The only thing we take when we leave is our soul, but today I hold the key to how you and I will be remembered.

THE KEY TO BEING REMEMBERED:

Dad gave me his spare house key a few years ago. I'd need it to let myself in when he became to weak to answer any knock on his door. It's just a simple house key, but to me, it opens the door to dad's memory. When he was stricken with Lou Gehrig's Disease, that key became important to me, because you see, the key gave me access to dad. Because of this, I held onto that key constantly and for dear life. At the time, I thought it would be the most valuable thing to me until the day he died, but in the mean time, my father taught me what it means to be a human being. That's why his house key has remained with me long after he moved to the other side of life.

The human side holds the ego's roles and what the human thinks it owns, but the being holds the only thing any human being truly owns. I knew this was true when dad passed away one October day. I stood by dad's side when he died. In the final moments of his life, I laid my head on his chest where I heard and felt his very last breath. The only thing he took when he left was his spirit, which lifted up from him and then through me. I actually felt the warmth of his comforting essence go through me.

One by one, we let go of those things he owned, until all that was left were a few keepsakes and the key that remains with me today. That's why today, that same key opens the door for me to the essence of dad and his memory. For me, the key is how his humanity will be remembered, but his spirit lives and breaths eternally and when it passed through me, it left its essence behind for mankind.

THE ESSENCE OF EACH HUMAN BEING:

The fact remains that when I die, there will be less memory of my father's human life. When everyone who remembered him passes on, the only thing left will be the key to his being. The human side of him, which held his roles and ego will fade away, and the essence of his being will be the only thing that remains.

I believe that since each human being is made up of tremendous energy, it's the essence of that energy that becomes

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