Pseudo-Writing: A Sort of Immortality
Mood:
Contemplative
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"A Sort of Immortality"
I've always wanted to write a story with that title. It'd be one of those "fictionalized autobiographies," where it is real at the core, but fiction at the surface.
The premise is simple: a dying man looks back on his life and the people he's touched during his journey. For good, for ill, he realizes he's attained a sort of immortality, simply by the memories he's left.
No, I'm not dying, no more than anyone else. We're all dying by seconds. We have a huge pool of seconds, 2.5 billion of them (assuming 80 years life expectancy.) It may seem infinite, but it's not the same. It may not even 2.5 billion of them, either. 80 years is a long time. Some of us won't get that much. Some of us won't even come close.
Still, we are given this enormous, finite pool of seconds with which we will live our life. Some portion of it will be spent sleeping. Much of it will be spent preparing to spend the rest wisely. Education. Training. Practice.
At some point, we hit that threshold where we are ready to spend our seconds. It's not all-at-once, either. In some areas, I'm still a rookie. In other areas, I'm an old hand.
Where things get slippery is when I think I'm an old hand but am in reality still a rookie. Where things get wasteful is when I think I'm a rookie and I'm the old hand. In one case, I can bite more than I can chew, lift more than I can hold. In the other, I can pass on opportunities that I should take.
Should. That's a hard word to define. I should do many things. Should is a huge spectrum. (In contrast, 'must' is a far narrower spectrum: there's must-or-I-die, must-or-I-hurt, must-or-I-hate, etc... Most of the time, my 'must' threshold is high enough that I can do all the 'must' items.)
In some areas, I've hit and passed my threshold a while ago. I've been utilizing my time helping people, people I consider my friends. Helping with time, helping with heart, helping with healing. I'm not dying, no more so than anyone else, but I do know that with my actions, I've attained a sort of immortality.
That's a good thought to use as a guiding star. Many miles still to go, but good to have a direction.
I've always wanted to write a story with that title. It'd be one of those "fictionalized autobiographies," where it is real at the core, but fiction at the surface.
The premise is simple: a dying man looks back on his life and the people he's touched during his journey. For good, for ill, he realizes he's attained a sort of immortality, simply by the memories he's left.
No, I'm not dying, no more than anyone else. We're all dying by seconds. We have a huge pool of seconds, 2.5 billion of them (assuming 80 years life expectancy.) It may seem infinite, but it's not the same. It may not even 2.5 billion of them, either. 80 years is a long time. Some of us won't get that much. Some of us won't even come close.
Still, we are given this enormous, finite pool of seconds with which we will live our life. Some portion of it will be spent sleeping. Much of it will be spent preparing to spend the rest wisely. Education. Training. Practice.
At some point, we hit that threshold where we are ready to spend our seconds. It's not all-at-once, either. In some areas, I'm still a rookie. In other areas, I'm an old hand.
Where things get slippery is when I think I'm an old hand but am in reality still a rookie. Where things get wasteful is when I think I'm a rookie and I'm the old hand. In one case, I can bite more than I can chew, lift more than I can hold. In the other, I can pass on opportunities that I should take.
Should. That's a hard word to define. I should do many things. Should is a huge spectrum. (In contrast, 'must' is a far narrower spectrum: there's must-or-I-die, must-or-I-hurt, must-or-I-hate, etc... Most of the time, my 'must' threshold is high enough that I can do all the 'must' items.)
In some areas, I've hit and passed my threshold a while ago. I've been utilizing my time helping people, people I consider my friends. Helping with time, helping with heart, helping with healing. I'm not dying, no more so than anyone else, but I do know that with my actions, I've attained a sort of immortality.
That's a good thought to use as a guiding star. Many miles still to go, but good to have a direction.
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