I guess... a rant? · 10:20pm Nov 1st, 2013
I've just been thinking about stuff recently, so bear with me. Anyone feeling depressed better look away. If you're feeling marginally optimistic, carry on reading. When you read an amazing book, or any book, for that matter, do you remember the author? I mean, it's much easier to remember the book itself, or the characters therein, than the person behind it. Everyone knows the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes, but I guess a lot less people could name the creator. It's easy to say that someone like J.K. Rowling will never be forgotten because of how popular her work is nowadays, but is there an inevitable point in the future when people know Harry Potter but not his creator?
I guess the same thing could be said for everyone and everything. That doesn't make it any less depressing; I was just making a point. A couple of times, I've been referred to as 'the guy who wrote that Smarty romance fic' or 'the guy who wrote that sad but ultimately flawed fic where everyone dies', and it's only just occurred to me that that's all I'll ever be on here. Tomorrow, I could get hit by a bus or struck by lightning, and it won't make a bit of difference. I'll just go offline forever, and those reading said Smarty fic will just wonder about when the next chapter will come out. Any person here could get hit by a bus. In fact, I'm sure someone got hit by one while I was writing this blog, and look how much of an impact that made on your life, you selfish person, you. Also, don't get hit by buses, guys. That's not cool.
My point is, eventually, we will all be forgotten. You could say that bullshit about loved ones never forgetting about you, but they'll die eventually, too. Their loved ones will die, and the loved ones of those loved ones will die. History will never remember us, even if we go on to do great or evil deeds. Eventually, I'm sure, someone as evil as Hitler will be forgotten. I'll sure as shit be forgotten. I mean, I doubt anyone will remember this very blog in a matter of hours. It's all just a matter of time before we're all forgotten. How long depends on what you do with your life, but even then, it will inevitably be forgotten. So what's the point in everything? There is no point. Nice talking to you guys.
Next time on reasons to commit suicide...
No, I'm kidding. There are plenty of reasons to keep living. Do what you enjoy doing in your life, and don't give a shit when people forget about you. It's not like you'll be around when they do, so why care? It'll happen to the best and worst of us eventually, as proven by everything in history, so there's no point in thinking you'll do any better. Take that. Use that as an advantage. Some day, no one will remember the time you shat yourself at work, or the time you wrote a godawful clop fic. Even if you kill the remaining members of The Beatles, or go on a killing spree, you will be forgotten, even if it takes longer than certain people. Personally, I like that setup. It means I can focus on doing the things I love with the short time I have, rather than focus on how history will remember me. Hint: it won't. That's why I write, and why I couldn't give a damn if someone forgot me.
I'd like to leave you with a quote:
'I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.'
—Banksy
If we're trading quotes I'd like to add one from 'Background Pony': "If all I care about in life is the imprints I make in the world, the most I'll ever leave is a grave."
It's true though, it is a lot easier to remember the story rather than an author. But that is simply be cause you spend hours reading the story but only a few cursory glances at the author's name. Sure it'll ring a bell if your familiar with the author's works; "Oh yeah they're the ones that wrote that one story." But it's hard to remember every book you've ever read let alone every book you've read's author, hell sometimes I just remember a scene or two from a book and wonder where it is from.
The part about forgetting great/horrible people is quite true.
How many people know the name of the lead architect of the Parthenon off by heart?
What about the Roman Emperor that adopted Christianity? These are people still well known in ancient/classical history, what about all those who were not recorded?
It is a nature of life, we forget and move on.
1472378 Wise words from a generic carrot.
1472375 I've still been meaning to read that fic, but the word count scares me. I mean, it's huge. But if that's the kind of philosophy behind it, it sounds a lot more appealing.
Trials, y u make me cry?
1472428 Because it's the truuuuth.
The truuuuuuuuth, I say.
I'm too much of an optimist for this. I always viewed things a little differently in this regard. Even if nobody remembers my name, if I can supply something that they will remember, it's worth it. I write not to make a name for myself. I write because I have ideas, concepts, stories that should be shared. If just one of my stories survives through the ages, even if nobody remembers that it was me who wrote it, I'll be happy. A piece of me has been left behind, perhaps forever. It's just a small piece of immortality, but I'll take it.
There are billions upon billions of people throughout the history of mankind who's names have been forgotten forever. Unknown names built the Pyramids, laid the foundations of Rome, explored a new world, and died so that America might be born. Maybe we don't know them, but we know their achievement. Can we really consider them to have been forgotten when what they did, for their own reasons and intentions and pleasures, stood the test of time?
That's how I measure my value on this Earth. A thousand years from now, nobody may know me. But if they know what I did, I consider myself a success.
1472446
That is easily the best way to look on life (in this area)
1472446 But then what happens if the achievement is forgotten? It's just as easy as forgetting a name. There have been so many unsung heroes in our history, it's insane. It's all very well and good saying our achievements survive and grow to be of some worth in our history, but what are the odds of that happening? I don't mean you specifically, of course, but you're suggesting that we can shine through the ages if we rise above the rest to secure some form of legacy. Surely, if we're all the doing the same thing, that reduces our chances by a lot? Humanity is constantly achieving to be better, to be more efficient. What if your legacy also becomes null, void or meaningless? Some scientific achievements have been proven as wrong, and others have been completely forgotten.
I wouldn't really define this as depressing; I'd define it as reality.
So your definition of a rant is a philosophical explanation on how we will be forgotten at some point in time? Okay
1472554 Okay, more of an emotional outpour of opinions... but that doesn't have the same ring to it.
1472378 emperor Constantine?
Trials: I think this poem is for you. Very well known one:
Ozymandias,
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".
Literature Network » Percy Bysshe Shelley » Ozymandias
1472598 Oh, I love it. That completely illustrates my beliefs. Thanks for sharing it!
1472590
Ja.
1472606 no problem. You can thank me by writing a 100 word shipfic to add to my collection of Thirty One Extremely Short, Incredibly Horrible, and Shamelessly Bizarre Slashfics, Plus One That's Just Plain Insane!
1472650 Hah, that's a great idea! I'll have to think of something witty. That takes time for me... I'll PM you when done?
1472538
Maybe our achievements won't be remembered. It true, some are, some aren't. We can't all be Leonardo da Vincis. But why agonize over how, or even if, we are remembered? You're looking through your eyes, you're thinking with your mind. I'm not a religious person by any means, but I cannot fathom that someone would be given life - and I'm defining life as a sentient consciousness - for it to be meaningless. It may be that we will be forgotten, but we are all part of an intricate web of interacting lives, and we do have an affect on others, even if it is only a subconscious one.
I'm sorta applying a bit of chaos theory into this, come to think of it.
When it all comes down to it, self-worth is entirely up to you. In my case, I choose to hope that my infinitesimal existence may matter to someone, somewhere. I'd prefer that it affect many, and that I be remembered. I probably won't be, but it's a 'shoot for the stars, hit the clouds' kind of thing.
Even if we fail to make an huge impact, what does it really matter in the end? As long as we are satisfied with our contribution, that's what matters. I'd rather not fret over what happens after I'm gone. I'm here, right now, doing my part. I need to do the best I can, while I can. Who's to say that the people we're influencing right now aren't more important than what those we don't influence after we're dead and buried?
1472671 Ah, but I don't think life is meaningless. It's meant to be enjoyed. What I think is meaningless is worrying about how history will treat me, because, odds are, it won't remember me, anyway. In which case, I think the best things to do in my life are the things I love, rather than fret about making an impact on our race as a whole. Instead of worrying how history will treat us, we should do as you say, by making the most of it.
I'm not saying that we should contribute nothing, but that we should have the freedom to do as we please. Worrying about being forgotten and dead isn't as important as being there, in the moment. I was hoping this blog would inspire others to do the same, not to send people into the would-be depression at the pointlessness of it all.
1472692
Well then, I guess the two of us are on the same page.
If only others were reading the same book...
1472714 If only I could read...
1472664 no problem. How many days should pass before I bug you about it again?
When one reads a story, they open their minds and hearts to the author, their words speaking more true than one would believe. Books, novellas, short stories... they all have a piece of the author in them, their own thoughts and emotions. Often I find myself truly moved by one story or another and find myself surprised when my own words reach out similarly to others. With every person that reads your stories and laughs, cries, ponders or acts in their life because of it; remember that you will never be forgotten. They may not remember your name, your words or what you did that changed them, but it still changed them. In their heart or minds, they now carry a piece of you with them which will affect not only their lives, but the lives of those around them, sharing and continuing on until the original cause has been long lost to memory. That's not the end though as the ripples of this change may become so small as to be invisible, but it still exists. It is said that there are those who are remembered throughout the ages, but it can also be said that we are all immortal in that same, immutable way by the fact that we simply are...
Good blog, I wholeheartedly agree.
Here a few of my thoughts on life that fit the topic:
Many people focus too much on negativity. This is pointless and just makes you unhappy. Be happy and enjoy your life as you won't get a second one. However, don't do this at the cost of others or your future self.
Don't be obsessed about what other people think of you, which is often less than what you think they think. You can never please everyone and it is most important that you please yourself. Be who you want to be.
2346033 I don't understand why some people focus on the depressing things when there are other options. I especially don't understand people committing suicide. If you truly had nothing to lose, you'd surely want to do whatever you wanted to instead of actually killing yourself. People that just crumble and submit to suicide confuse me. They should travel the world or drive on the wrong side of the road before offing themselves.