There are times when I catch myself thinking of what worth there is to my existence, all of it. This includes my education, my talents, my friends, my family, my knowledge, my passions, and the small quirks that I possess. I ask myself if I left my mark among the people who have entered my life. Or if leaving a mark on anything in this world is really necessary. If you think about it, all we know and are will eventually crumble, reduced into ashes by this invisible force called life. What purpose is there, then, to try and leave something permanent during our finite lives when the people, and even the world that we leave our legacy to will eventually fade away? What is the worth of a legacy when there are no witnesses to it?
I’m thinking that in spite of the transient nature of our lives, we must still try our best to become the best that we can be. The very fact that our lives are numbered, and the knowledge that there is a chance that tomorrow might not come should push us to make the most of what we have left.
As for regrets, why keep dwelling on something that has already passed? Face it, those opportunities are gone now. All that we have and can have is what we already have, and new opportunities to make everything better. Instead of letting those memories control us, why not build on them, and treat mistakes as lessons to learn from?
Cliché statements aside, we must come to terms with the fact that we will never elude death. But that fact alone should be enough of a reason for us to live. Yes, we all are eventually going to die. Most of us are going to be considered insignificant by the majority of society in a few centuries. Any mark we leave, no matter how permanent it may seem, could easily be erased, or fade with time. But screw that. This life is going to end, yes. So why not live as well as you can? Live with passion. Do what you want to do, given that it’s not something destructive to yourself and the rest of the world.
My friend, your legacy is the very life that you’re living right now. It doesn’t matter if it’ll last. What matters is what you do with it.
Mahilig ako sa patatas. 