Something I've been deeply thinking about lately is the paradox of being nothing in the universe vs. being someone who is eternally remembered, or that can change the course of human history.
On the one hand, we have the camp of people that believes that their nothingness in this universe sets them free. And I can see where they are coming from. Whatever risks you take, whatever pain you endure, is nothing in the grand scheme of time and space. For we are but ants on a ball of rock, hurtling through infinity.
On the other, we have the people that believe that we are everything, and are focused on the YOUniverse instead. Some really only focus on themselves, their immediate surroundings being the only thing they care about; those living for the now. Others may have the belief that we can change the world, go down in history, and be remembered by all.
Perhaps it's a newer phenomenon, in that people in the past had no knowledge of the universe, and believed that everything revolved around us. But with one look skyward, you know there's more out there. In reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, it seems that he himself struggles with this paradox, in that he believes that: “The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere.”
Yet at the same time, writing "What we do now echoes in eternity".
I would like to think that I am someone, that in building things or bettering lives, could become worth remembering, but perhaps that's my ego wanting fulfilment. I have also found peace in times of great pain or sadness that my feelings don't really matter, and that my existence is really just a movie that ends one day, never to be played again.
Both sides of the discussion could be seen as empowering or also at times crippling. For example if you believe you are nothing, it could set you free to try new things, lacking fear of failure, but at the same time, you may also become lethargic, or downright depressed that your existence means nothing at all. And, if you believe that you are everything, it may entice you to treat others with respect, build empires, and work towards doing good that is remembered. But I could also see how this may handcuff you into believing that everything matters maybe even too much, and you may decide that you can't do anything at all, the task being so massive
Have you at all thought about this paradox, or do you belong to one camp or the other? It's something that's been on my mind for months now.
On the one hand, we have the camp of people that believes that their nothingness in this universe sets them free. And I can see where they are coming from. Whatever risks you take, whatever pain you endure, is nothing in the grand scheme of time and space. For we are but ants on a ball of rock, hurtling through infinity.
On the other, we have the people that believe that we are everything, and are focused on the YOUniverse instead. Some really only focus on themselves, their immediate surroundings being the only thing they care about; those living for the now. Others may have the belief that we can change the world, go down in history, and be remembered by all.
Perhaps it's a newer phenomenon, in that people in the past had no knowledge of the universe, and believed that everything revolved around us. But with one look skyward, you know there's more out there. In reading Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, it seems that he himself struggles with this paradox, in that he believes that: “The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere.”
Yet at the same time, writing "What we do now echoes in eternity".
I would like to think that I am someone, that in building things or bettering lives, could become worth remembering, but perhaps that's my ego wanting fulfilment. I have also found peace in times of great pain or sadness that my feelings don't really matter, and that my existence is really just a movie that ends one day, never to be played again.
Both sides of the discussion could be seen as empowering or also at times crippling. For example if you believe you are nothing, it could set you free to try new things, lacking fear of failure, but at the same time, you may also become lethargic, or downright depressed that your existence means nothing at all. And, if you believe that you are everything, it may entice you to treat others with respect, build empires, and work towards doing good that is remembered. But I could also see how this may handcuff you into believing that everything matters maybe even too much, and you may decide that you can't do anything at all, the task being so massive
Have you at all thought about this paradox, or do you belong to one camp or the other? It's something that's been on my mind for months now.
"Money over bitches, nigga stick to the script." - Jay-Z
They gonna love me for my ambition.