Everyone will eventually be forgotten. No one lasts eternally in a mortal body. When I realized this, one of my greatest fears turned into a cruel fact. Throughout my entire youth, I wanted to be remembered; I dreamed of my life’s works being forever inserted in history books and anthologies, but the memory of a human existence only endures for as long as one’s story is worth telling.
If I became the next Shakespeare or Mozart, I still would one day be forgotten because even the great have a limited place in the memory of society. Less than 30 years ago, Audrey Hepburn still acted, but a few months ago, my eight-year-old cousin asked me, “Who is Audrey?”
If memories are fleeting, one’s purpose in life must belong elsewhere. The future will forget you, but the present will love you because the two of you were made for each other. All we human beings have is now. To some, now indicates that people can do anything they desire without a second thought. Others believe that living every moment to the fullest is the best way to appreciate the now. I deject both of these views and proclaim that now does not mean a single moment in time; now signifies one’s entire life.
People must live life as if it is their only chance, and it may be. Humans should not strive to become a memory; they should live to make the world’s immediate present and foreseeable future better. Although no one will be remembered forever, people should strive to enrich the lives of the people around them. All of us are going down in the history of the forgotten; we might as well make our stay on Earth as pleasant and meaningful as possible.
It took a while for me to find comfort in the knowledge that I will inevitably be disremembered, but I finally found solace in the most chaotic, stressful place I know—Farm Fresh, the store I used to work at. One day, my shift occurred during an extremely busy time. When a 30-second lull passed, I suddenly realized how insignificant humans truly are, and I smiled. I realized that years from this moment I may still be able to recall a few of the rude and weird customers I had to deal with on that day, but overall, I will probably not even be able to picture most of their faces. I took comfort in the revelation that no one’s disgusting or inexcusable behavior is eternal; however, this epiphany also suggests that no one’s benevolent and kind behavior is immortal.
The book of Ecclesiastes says, “No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them” If that is the case, is everything that people do meaningless? If everyone is going to be forgotten, how should one live life? Should people live as if nothing matters? No, the temporary state of our existence in the world only increases the meaning of what we as humans do. Colossians 3:23 states, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Every action matters because they each have a nearly instant effect on the world and other people.
Every Thursday, I pass by a florist shop, owned by an elderly Filipino man. Despite his fragile state, he always smiles as he waters the plants and assists customers. I have never before encountered anyone who is so passionate about the work of his hands. When he holds a pot of flowers, his eyes light up as if he had just won a trophy or had been given a million-dollar check. He helps every customer as if they were more precious than his own grandchildren. He acts as if his everyday actions matter as if the fate of humanity depends on whether or not he watered the flowers that day.
The man, however, does not tend to his flowers because he believes floral entities have some everlasting meaning; he nurtures his flowers because he believes they will brighten someone’s day. That is what we must live for. If we can make just one person’s life a little better, slightly happier, and more bearable, then our lives on Earth will be well spent.
All of us will one day become a figment of a memory, and one day, that figment will fall into an abyss of nothingness. We will all be forgotten, but we should not weep over that fact. We should live every day as if all we have is now because it is true; now is all we have, all we will ever know, and all we can ever hope to experience.
Let us create a world that is focused on what is rather than what the future may bring. We can plan out and organize a detailed map of the next 10 years of our lives, yet in an instant, that plan can change. Instead of chasing dreams, chase the now because the now is the only way one’s dreams can become a reality. The now is the only reliable thing we have because it never lies nor places false hope in our brittle souls. The now tells the truth, brutally. The now is all we have, and we should fervently embrace it because everything that has, is, and will happen to us and the world is happening right now.
