The greatest thing we can ever do is plant a seed · 4:19am Mar 19th, 2015
I was in a bookstore the other day (yes, they still exist!) looking over the old books section, which had books that were a hundred or even two hundred years old. The one that stuck out most to me was an ornate German book two and a half inches thick; I had no idea what it was about, but there was something amazing about holding a book that old. I wondered about the author was: what was his life like? Was this the only book he wrote? Was he well known in academic circles? But the thought that stuck out most to me was this: had he hoped to become famous and write something that would outlast him? Or was this his legacy? To have hours upon hours, even years of work end up unread, his name all but forgotten?
I suppose the goal of every writer, or any creative person, really, is to create at least one piece of work that will last long after they're gone. I have no delusions that my My Little Pony fan novels will still be read two hundred years from now. They probably won't even exist any more. Two centuries from now, no one will remember The Monster Below, or anything else I write here. All that effort and work will have been lost to time. A sobering thought... unless you look at it a different way.
The older I get, the more I realize that life isn't about getting all the cool toys or earning tons of money. The greatest life any of us can have is knowing that we made a difference in the world, no matter how small it may be. Even if you don't change the world on the level of, say, Shakespeare or Martin Luther King, you can still influence those who will come after you. We're here today beause of the work of countless millions before us who helped society survive, from the lowliest peasant to the mightiest president. And even if we can't change the course of history on a global scale, when we give our gifts to the world, someone will notice. That one person will see that passion you poured into something you love doing. I've written about it before, but one of the reasons I got into writing over 10 years ago was because of one fan-novel for on online web comic I read. The story isn't online anymore, but the writing it in it was so good, and the story so thought provoking, that it inspired me to try and write my own stories. Now, all those years later, I'm so close to establishing a career as a writer (with non-MLP works, obviously), and I have that one story to thank. And the real kicker? I have no idea who the author was. We'll never meet or talk face to face, yet they influenced me in ways they couldn't even imagine. And thanks to them, I found what I want to do with my life.
One person can make a difference. While you may not end up becoming the next Shakespeare, you may well inspire the person who will be, and they'll have you to thank for it.
All because you followed what you love, and planted a seed, no matter how tiny.
words wise and words wise.
- Tupac Shakur
- Roy Batty
Eventually, Mt. Rushmore will be the last human thing standing anyway. I just want to make some really good music before I leave this odd universe of ours....