Building a Life

 Originally posted on Wordpress 08.20.2019

People write about how they want to be remembered.  Maybe they want to be the funniest person in their circle, or the most ambitious, or the best parent.  Maybe they want to have an impressive physique or the fanciest car or be the CEO of their company. I got to thinking about this whole idea the other day and wondered what was the point of wanting to be remembered anyway? I guess if you die young (anytime before age 60) , there might be a point in wanting to be remembered because presumably (unless the world ends) there will be be humans around for awhile who will remember who you were and how you were.  But if you are an ordinary joe or jane and you die in later life, there's not going to be a lot of people around for a long time to remember you. Your kids will die 30 or 40 years after you do and their children likely will only have snippets of memory about you anyway.  After that, you are a name in some family Bible and an entry in the census records and that's about it. To build your life around how you will be remembered seems pointless to me.

So what do you build your life around?  Well, duh, you build it around what matters to you. Look at how you spend your time and your money and you will see what matters to you.  Start with time.  If your days are spent working and getting ready for work and recovering from work, then that's what matters. If you spend your free time outside hiking or surfing or gardening, then that's what matters.  These days I spend my time reading, writing, painting, being outside (hiking, walking, biking, sitting at the beach),  practicing yoga, and being with friends and family.  And, yes, those things matter to me.  Money?  Same thing.  Do you spend your money on your home? on your car? on clothing, accessories, and makeup? on drinking/eating out or socializing?  on sports events or equipment? I spend my money on the mortgage, health costs, yoga classes, political contributions, gifts,  the occasional book and art supplies, and on travel.  Pretty boring, heh?  I agree but the way I spend my money does match with what I say matters to me. On the surface, it may seem as if I have a boring life but that's only what you see.  I do, however,  find my family and friends, my books and art, my travel and inner life to be fascinating and inspiring.  What more could I want from life?

How about you?  Do you want to be remembered for something? Do you think that even matters? What does matter for you? Tell me about it.