Vanity

There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is worthless and hollow, and a striving after wind. ---Ecclesiastes


These people will not be remembered. Not their names or birthdays, not their favorite colors or favorite pastimes. The things that they held dear like their grandmother sitting in her chair humming old tunes, the sound of their mother in the kitchen, the smell of the earth in the wind and the arguments before bed. Not their thoughts of strength as they went hungry, not their courage in the face of despair. What they were proud of in their lives, what made them who they are is gone. What gave their lives value is gone. They, in all their glory, are not remembered.

"Our life is a book to which we add daily, until suddenly we are finished, and then the manuscript is burned."
— J.M. Barrie

I won't be remembered either. Maybe my name, and maybe my birthday, but no one will know the value I found in the fireflies over that field, my love for boston creme donuts, the way I drink my coffee, or what I collect. No one will have my bike, my stuffed animals, or my dried roses. No one will remember my greatest accomplishments: the conquering of my temper, the summer I biked, the saving of my friend, the learning to love, and all the wisdom I acquire. All the wisdom I acquire has always existed before me and will be gone from me when I die.

I will not be remembered and everything I do is meaningless.

How am I to live my life?

1/12/11