Forgotten

What is the legacy you want to leave behind?

I do not want to leave behind a legacy.

I long to be forgotten. To live a good life, and to die. What is the point of a legacy? To inspire others to be like me?

I challenge any man to do better. Whatever my impact is, do better. If I should rise to the greatest heights, do better, and if I remain the lowest as I am, do better.

There is no purpose in legacy. All of you will be forgotten, and so will I. Even in this Information Age, where everything on the internet is “permanent” what you will find is that servers will be lost, data destroyed, and items deleted.

The most permanent of things will be either lost or buried, relegated to the wastes of the technological world. After you are dead, your footprints will be washed away by the sands of a billion new digital feet.

Even the greatest men of history die this death, this permanent end. You will be forgotten.

This leaves you with only two options. Be good, or be bad. If you are bad, you will feel good for a time, and die a sad, empty, lonely person.

If you are good, you will feel bad for a time, but you will have made some small impact.

I am grateful to be lost to times gentle sands.