History has a Bad Memory

Of course, there is no way to tell for sure, at least with our current technology, if any part of the physical or mental human form proceedes onwards toward something better or worse than this life. However, we can precieve what happens to the remnants of the dead after they die, here on Earth.

I am not simply talking about the process in which the grieving family goes through the recovery phase (“this chair is not a part of him; this shirt is not a part of him; we can sell it…”). I am not talking about the family selling the furniture and the clothing of the deceased to the highest bidder (on that note, going to auctions where they sell off the junk of dead people is an excellent way to gain cheap goods). I am talking about what happens to a person in the long run.

History has a very bad memory. For every one of the few famous people who made impacts on history so large that they have not been ignored, at least one thousand others are completely forgotten. Records fade, families die off, and tragedies occur. Everyone will at some point be forgotten forever, along with all of their accomplishments.

Then dies their legacy. No legacies can last forever. Nothing passes the test of time because the test is rigged. Now, I do not believe that this is a bad thing, not at all. The fact that everyone and everything they have ever done will at some point be forgotten is comforting. It teaches us that we must not dwell on our mistakes, because no one will remember them for long, anyway.

Yes, there have been those who have lived in memory and history classes for thousands of years, even (Sophocles, Socrates, Pliny the Elder, etc.). However, a thousand years is but a sliver of time in the ever-expansive cosmos. Our planet, on which we all live, is but a speck of dust in a sea of sand, and it would be super easy for that speck to, “click,” die, along with everything on it.

By now, you probably think I am a nihilist. Well, I am. But the fact that all we do is for nothing, in the end (according to my beliefs), should serve to brighten our lives, not dampen them. On that note, I also do not believe that life - any life - has value, so why should we go on to something better after we have lived? Recognizing that everyone will at some point die and be forgotten means that we can live our lives free of stress and worry - we can focus on the good and how to make the bad better.

Of course, everyone has their own beliefs. These are mine. I have not seen any proof of an afterlife, and I have not seen any proof against the notion of an afterlife. For all I know (or don’t know), an afterlife may very well exist. I suppose that we shall all wait and see. But until then, cheerio! May fortune have you.