legacy

Selfish, or Noble? On Our Personal Legacies

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I used to believe that being forgotten was the worst fate that could befall me. However, I have come to accept not only my mortality, but my insignificance in the story of our universe.

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This is not to say that we are all ‘insignificant as individuals’, as we are extremely important to those who love us and the community we are a part of; to deny this would be unfair. In fact, it would be wasteful of the gift of our lives if we disregarded our importance as people and individuals.

However, notions of grandeur and of everlasting importance are fanciful and ultimately selfish, are they not? Think about the thousands of years of humankind and the billions of people who have gone before us, who each had stories; lives, loves, struggles and triumphs…how many of those have been remembered? How many empires, on the other hand, have fallen due to an individual’s obsession with power and immortality?

Why do we feel like we need to be remembered?

On the other hand though, shouldn’t we strive to create and leave a legacy?

Wanting to be remembered is one thing, leaving a legacy is quite another.

One is about the individual, craving attention and validation of their existence.  The other is selfless, about leaving the world a better place than when we joined.

It is up to you to decide what your legacy will be.  Utilise that gift, and shape one that you are proud of.

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*Source of pictures? Tumblr.