all that remains

i received a book from my sister the other day entitled “white wave.” it’s an old chinese tale, written in the taoist tradition, about a “lonely chinese farmer who finds a snail shell gleaming in the moonlight. the shell transforms his life, for when he brings it home, he discovers it is the house of the beautiful moon goddess, white wave.”

in the story, the farmer discovers this wonderful gift and then loses it by spoiling it. after time, he is able to get one final glimpse, but eventually the gift ceases to exist and the farmer dies. the last page of the book reads, “when the old man died, the shell was lost. in time, the shrine, too, disappeared. all that remained was the story. but that is how it is with all of us: when we die, all that remains is the story.”

an interesting ending, and one that i agree with. although, it’s written in somewhat of a negative tone. the words “all that” imply that there needs to be more. and i don’t know that i completely agree with that. some leave good stories. and others leave bad ones. but we have the opportunity to leave behind our stories. hopefully, there are many positive vignettes within those stories – things and events and actions that were positive and impactful during our lives. but i also hope that the story itself (or the stories within the story) will be impactful for those that follow. that in some small way, it has the power and ability to be positive and impactful even after we’re gone.

now, back to the final statement. there is beauty in it. i just missed it the first time. the beauty is that the story actually “remains.” think about it...the story remains. it lives on. and is passed on.

may my story remain and not be forgotten.