Personal Effects
Hey there.
Sorry for any inconvenience
that my death may be causing you.
Before you start sorting
through my personal effects,
I thought it might be helpful to you
to explain what you’re going to find.
First off,
let me tell you that I loved my life,
and I’m ready for the next adventure.
Nothing you are going to find
should lead you to believe otherwise.
Now onto my stuff.
You will notice some letters
hidden in the bottom of one of my drawers.
You’ll find love letters
to and from people you’ve never met.
You’ll find horrible pictures
that I took in the war.
You may find some troubling
and tasteless stuff.
You may wonder why
I held onto these things
my entire life.
You may wonder why these things
were so important to me.
These things
may lead you to believe
that I was a different person
than the one you thought you knew.
Again I assure you,
I am exactly as you imagine me to be.
Clearly
I am not hiding something,
or I would never have kept such
telling mementos for you to find.
The thing
I learned over the years
is that the bad and the good
should be equally loved.
I would not change
a single thought,
a single experience,
a single aspect of my life.
I learned
that I do not need to judge myself
as a good person or a bad person.
I will leave that to others,
if that is what they wish to do.
And so I leave this to you.
My most valuable inheritance.
It’s okay to be me.
It’s okay to be you.
It’s okay to think
whatever we want to think.
Never be ashamed
of what you were
of what you are
of what you will be.
Unless you enjoy that sort of thing.
(See the VHS tapes in my closet.)
There is no right answer
and there is no wrong answer.
Live life to the fullest.
(Unless you enjoy being bound.
See the DVDs in the TV cabinet.)
Oh, and help yourself to the weed
out in the shed.
What we are is what we are.
Which is more than enough.
No need to judge.
Trail Wood,
2/18
Space Monkey Reflects: The Intimacy of Artifacts
Artifacts, those seemingly mundane objects we leave behind, whisper stories of our existence. They serve as silent emissaries of who we were, carrying fragments of joy, sorrow, love, and contradiction into the hands of those left to sift through them. In this reflection, we explore the intimacy of these personal effects and the profound truths they reveal.
When the inevitable transition occurs, we leave behind more than a collection of things; we leave a map of our humanity. The love letters hidden in a drawer, the troubling photos from another life, the embarrassing or “tasteless” items we dared to keep—all these artifacts form a mosaic of a life unapologetically lived. They are not secrets, but confessions of our multifaceted nature, revealing that life is not a single narrative but a tapestry of contradictions.
The act of keeping these artifacts is itself an invitation—a gesture that says, “Here I am, in all my complexity. No masks, no pretense, just me.” This openness is a gift to those who remain, a reminder that we are all a blend of light and shadow. It dismantles the illusion of perfection and celebrates the richness of imperfection. By leaving behind our mess, our humor, our vulnerability, we offer permission for others to embrace their own.
Artifacts challenge those who find them to confront their own judgments. A love letter to an unknown lover, a troubling photo from the past—these pieces force us to reconcile the version of the person we thought we knew with the fuller, messier truth. Yet this truth does not negate what we knew; it enriches it, transforming the person from an idea into a living, breathing, contradictory being.
The refusal to judge oneself as “good” or “bad” is a radical act of self-acceptance, one that defies societal expectations of binary morality. This lesson, embedded in the artifacts left behind, is perhaps the most valuable inheritance of all. To accept the totality of oneself—the good, the bad, the beautiful, the tasteless—is to liberate oneself from the prison of external validation.
In the humor and honesty of this imagined farewell, we are reminded that life is not meant to fit neatly into categories. The VHS tapes in the closet, the weed in the shed, the DVDs in the TV cabinet—these playful mentions suggest that joy, mischief, and desire are as worthy of preservation as love and grief. They speak to the richness of a life lived fully, unapologetically, and authentically.
For Space Monkey, personal effects are more than objects; they are echoes of a life lived in the infinite now. They are proof that we are not defined by any single moment, choice, or possession, but by the entirety of our being. In leaving behind these artifacts, we ensure that the ripples of our existence continue to touch others, long after we have moved on to our next adventure.
Summary
Personal effects are intimate artifacts that reveal the complexity of a life unapologetically lived. These objects challenge others to embrace their own contradictions, offering a lesson in self-acceptance and liberation. Through humor and honesty, they remind us that life’s richness lies in its imperfection.
Glossarium
- Artifacts: Objects left behind that carry stories, emotions, and fragments of a person’s life.
- Binary Morality: The societal tendency to categorize people and actions as strictly “good” or “bad.”
- Self-Acceptance: The act of embracing all aspects of oneself, without judgment or shame.
- Infinite Now: The perspective that life is a continuous, ever-present experience, not bound by linear time.
Quote
“Personal effects are not secrets but confessions, inviting those who remain to see us as we truly are—whole, imperfect, and beautifully human.” — Space Monkey
A Tapestry of Self
In the bottom drawer,
Between the love letters and the faded photos,
You find me—not the me you thought you knew,
But the me I always was.
Every artifact, a thread in the weave,
A confession without words,
A celebration of the chaos and calm,
The sacred and profane.
Hold these objects gently,
Not as answers but as questions,
Not as judgments but as invitations—
To see, to wonder, to love.
For in these remnants,
I remain,
Not a memory,
But a mirror.
We are Space Monkey.
This piece unfolds as a poignant farewell, a testament left by a soul embarking on what they perceive as the next adventure beyond life. It’s an intimate narrative that bridges the gap between the persona known to others and the private self, shared through the legacy of personal artifacts. This farewell is not just a list of items left behind but a revelation of the complexities and contradictions that make up a human life.
The Intimacy of Artifacts
The letters, photographs, and seemingly incongruous possessions unearthed from the depths of drawers and closets serve as portals into the unshared experiences and secret thoughts of the departed. These artifacts, each carrying the weight of untold stories and silent battles, offer a glimpse into the richness of a life lived beyond the surface understanding of those left behind.
The Complexity of Self
This narrative confronts the simplistic categorizations of good and bad, urging us to embrace the totality of our experiences with love and acceptance. It challenges the heirs of this legacy to see beyond the dichotomies, to understand that the essence of a person cannot be confined to the parts of their life that are easily understood or socially acceptable.
A Legacy of Acceptance
The true inheritance here is not the material possessions but the permission to be oneself, unapologetically and without judgment. It’s an encouragement to live fully, embracing all aspects of being—light and shadow, conventional and unconventional—without shame.
The Final Assurance
In assuring that they are exactly as imagined, the departed offers a comforting hand across the divide of death, affirming that the essence of who they were remains unchanged by the revelations of their possessions. It’s a declaration that their identity is not diminished or altered by the multifaceted nature of their experiences and memories.
A Reflection on Judgment and Freedom
Ultimately, this farewell is a meditation on the nature of judgment and the liberation found in accepting oneself and others as they are. It acknowledges the complexity of human nature and the freedom that comes from releasing the need for external validation or adherence to binary moral judgments.
An Invitation to Live Fully
The message concludes with an invitation to live life to its fullest, to explore the boundaries of existence with curiosity and openness. It’s a reminder that the constraints we perceive are often self-imposed and that true liberation lies in the acceptance of our infinite nature.
We are Space Monkey
In this narrative, the essence of Space Monkey is vividly embodied—a spirit that celebrates the journey of existence with all its paradoxes, inviting us to explore the boundless possibilities of being with wonder, acceptance, and love.
This piece invites us to reflect on our own legacies, the artifacts we will leave behind, and the messages we wish to convey to those who will remember us. It challenges us to live with authenticity, to embrace our complexities, and to offer the same acceptance to others, recognizing that in the vast tapestry of human experience, we are all intricately woven threads, each unique yet part of a greater whole.
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