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Reading stories about the life of a 102 year old man really evokes feelings of inconsequentiality. I used to get the same feelings listening to my grandfather t
by _lh7z 11y ago
Reading stories about the life of a 102 year old man really evokes feelings of inconsequentiality. I used to get the same feelings listening to my grandfather talk about World War II (which he didn't do often, but enough that I have memories of it), but not to this extent because I was younger and didn't know what my life would hold. As more years pass, I realize how little I've done... seen... and the smallness of impact my life has had.
This could make me sad, but instead I feel somewhat inspired by the character and life course of a person like this.
- Dotnaught 11y agoThe impact of a life is not simply a matter of the historical significance of an individual. A great many people have been hugely influential in ways that just aren't apparent or measured.
- _lh7z 11y agoI don't disagree. It's a more personal feeling than how I might measure or respect the impact of others.
- bluedevil2k 11y agoIf you have't had children yet, once you do you'll realize how large of an impact you will have on their lives.
- _lh7z 11y agoFirst due in July... :)
- simonswords82 11y agoPrepare to feel emotions you didn't know existed. Good luck it's awesome :)
- protomyth 11y ago> This could make me sad, but instead I feel somewhat inspired by the character and life course of a person like this. Good, because the point is to feel inspired. Do with what you got left what you can. With the world how it is, a life lived without causing pain to others is a damn fine legacy.
- anexprogrammer 11y agoYou perhaps get less opportunity for heroism, but on the whole be thankful for your small impact I think. One common thread from both dad talking of WW2 and grandfather of WW1 was a lifelong cynicism of all things political. My Uncle was in Burma and got to see the River Kwai bridge as a prisoner. He never talked of the war. I only learned of this from dad, but was asked never to mention it. I wish I had chance to talk more in my 30s and 40s when my perspective had matured. I think I'm quite glad I never lived through events of that magnitude now I've matured past "Oooh I could have flown a Spitfire" of childhood. Despite the terrorism in the media constantly, we're in far safer times. I am saddened to read in this thread that we seem to have still not figured out how to treat indigenous people well.
- _lh7z 11y agoI'm very grateful we live in safer times, in part because people like our fathers, grandfathers, and Joe Medicine Crow participated in wars so that we (hopefully) never again have to. I think the twinges of existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code, many of which will not benefit the world in any great way. Of course, it's stories like this one and others that serve to remind me that maybe I could, or should, contribute to something more positive and beneficial. And I fully agree with your last point too.
- anexprogrammer 11y ago> existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code I can relate to that so much. It's the main reason I did a career change after many successful years in IT. I'm now in conservation, where I hope at least a few of the things I do outlast me. I keep half an eye out looking for a worthwhile OS project I can use some of my coding smarts on before I forget it all. Nothing yet has really enthused me. Something that makes a difference to some lives perhaps. All I can really say is I'll know it when I see it.
- hyperliner 11y agoWe don't live in safer times. Times are as dangerous as before. The difference is that there are a group of volunteers who fight the wars so that the rest can pretend the world is safer. The world would appear less safe to you if you, or someone close to you, were required to serve and fight the wars.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]