They say: “You can’t take it with you.” You can’t take your money and your possessions with you, so you might as well let go of them now. Don’t hoard so much.
It’s not just a question of the afterlife, when you leave your body behind and won’t have any more use for material things.
Right here, right now, the more “stuff” you collect, the more you have to worry about. Beyond a minimal amount that you really need to function, acquiring more things doesn’t make you happier. The more possessions you have the more they tie you down and the more of them you want.
On the other hand, there are possessions that you can take with you. Things like acts of kindness, patience, gratitude or courage are eventually distilled into a spiritual essence or form that you can take with you into the next life.
Whatever you want to take with you into a purely spiritual existence after you leave this world, is the same stuff that enriches your life here in this world right now.
The goal of nurturing human qualities influences health, well-being, how we communicate with each other and how positive change comes about in the world. It even influences physical appearance. Just look at the face of a very spiritual person.
Any time you have a choice in front of you in a situation involving another person or a life challenge, you can ask yourself the following two questions, which yield the same answer: a) What do I want to take with me to a spiritual existence? b) What embodied spiritual essence do I want to possess, that this situation right now is offering an opportunity for?