Legends - to be what you can be
Perhaps one of the last thing we all want to do is to leave a mark in this world, to leave something on this earth that remind the world of our existence, that we once walked on this earth just as they are doing now. The only certain thing in life is death, someday, we are all going to leave this world, no one lives forever. Even as doctors and scientist strive hard to find method to extend our lives, to discover the elixir of life, all of us will perish one day. Even if you are able to live on forever, perhaps you may not die of natural causes, someday you will probably die in an accident or by any other random events. Perhaps tomorrow, you may be run over by a truck and die, there is no guarantee that you will live to a ripe old age. Death is but a really bad food poisoning away!
There is a need to leave a mark in this world. To be acknowledged is a proof that you exist. To change the world, to change people’s life, the need to be recognised, to be successful, all of that leaves a mark of us in the world. In some way, having children is also a way to leave a mark on this earth. The family name stay on, carrying the family’s lineage to the next generation. Perhaps it is our primal need to survive that drives us to such. To be the leader of the pack, that is what drives us. We have the need to be recognised, even as a child, we relish the moment when our parents praise us for whatever menial task we did. As we grow up, the need to be acknowledged still drives us strongly to push ourselves to work harder. Tell me now, isn’t the ultimate form of acknowledgement is to be a legend? A legend that stand the test of time, the ultimate proof that you exist, your name stands strong for many generation to acknowledge what your have done. Don’t get me wrong, this is not human’s egoistic nature to be famous. Sometimes you’re not trying to get people to acknowledge you but instead what you believe in. For example, look at the fervour of evangelist to spread the gospel, doing it all for God, not for himself, to fight for a purpose not for self acknowledgement. Your entire existance is devoted to the purpose of God, more importantly acknowledges your own existance in this world. But alas, mostly it comes to self acknowledgement, ha ha!
The more people acknowledge our actions, the more confident we feel. Being popular means being accepted. How is something determined to be right? When almost all of us agree is it. Religion aside, killing our own kind is considered wrong but killing chickens isn’t. That because, most of humanity agree with it, thus it is wrong. If chickens ruled the world, the situation would be vice-versa! The boundaries of right and wrong are ambiguous, and we need constant assurance of the fact of which is which. Often, teens want to be popular, to be seen as “right” to their peers. To be cool is to be “right” in numerous aspects that are involved. In conclusion, we can all strive to be some sort of “legend”, not to the world perhaps, but perhaps to your community, or your family. Different levels of impact are independent with different intensity. Perhaps you only influence one person in your entire life, but with such intensity that you are a legend in the eyes of the person, and that is all that counts! =)
“Someday most of us will be forgotten, as though as we never existed. Is that how we want to live through our life on earth that comes only once?”
“I expect to pass through this world only once,
Any good I can do, let me do it now,
Let me not defer it,
For I shall never pass this way again.”
- Poet Unknown, newspaper cutting at the metal workshop’s table, SXI.
