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The Things I Did So I Wouldn’t Forget
I remember when it was just me and you
lying around talking about nothing new
I remember when it was just you and me
and all those fishing trips down to the sea
and suddenly out of nowhere you said you had to leave
me being so young and so naive
said “it’s ok I’ll wait here by the sea”
and then when I grew up it finally dawned on me
that it was all make-believe
because you left a long time ago
but my younger self said, “no I can’t let go.”
unknowingly dragging my heart in tow
Why Even do Anything? Life is Meaningless.
I am proudly an optomistic nihilist, meaning that I believe that life has no meaning or value. I am kind to others, and I do what I please with my time, because I know that it all means nothing. I simply make the choices I make because I want to make them.
That said, I have no idea what I am doing on “Prose.” besides the reason that I enjoy writing, and sharing my writing. Is that not enough? Why would one desire to “take to the streets” when it makes no difference in the end? No matter what choice I make, it has no lasting legacy, so I simply choose to do what I please, so long as it is not hurting others. I do with my time what I want, as time forgets all.
Speaking as a published author, writing is probably the least-practical job in the world, and yet, it is my second favorite thing (the first being tea). Why would I trade this for city streets if I do not want to? Besides, there is a pandemic plaguing the world, so what better have I to do than live in those creative worlds crafted by others?
Physical decisions are made by mental thought, and, by reading and writing, I am partaking in mental thought, the essence of both philosophical and physical life. So, I ask one more time: why do anything? There is no reason for anyone to do anything, in the end, so we simply choose to do things out of the influencers of life. I have chosen to write and read the works of others. Others may choose otherwise, but in the end, all choices lead to the same ending. This medium of writing is simply how I choose to get there.
The Dilettante
A real writer, a proper writer is someone who gets published. Anyone else is a dilettante. A proper writer will polish and edit four-fifths of his time, and if he expects to be published, he'll also market another four-fifths of his time. You can always tell a proper writer. Reduced to one-fifth of one-fifth, he's someone who spends 4% of his day in actual creative writing.
If I was to paint but not very well, people would tolerate me. They wouldn't demand I sell my work. Mostly harmless, I'd fill in a canvas and once it's finished, I'd store it down in my basement and no one would care. Why must writing be different? Can't it just stay on my laptop? Why insist I jump through new hoops? I did that enough at my work. For fifty years in structural steel I answered to the man. I don't need either the money or the glory, so why would I spend my retirement hunting down publishers? Leave me alone and let me write.
As for The Prose, I've always had a problem starting a story, so I find the challenges helpful. Left to myself, I tend to stall so they help to spark my creative process. After I finish, I'll exhibit the story just once on the website, and then it goes into storage. Think of it like a choir. They'll stage a concert every so often just to give them direction and target. Would you consider that lazy?
I suspect that you're much younger than me and still working on your career. I belong in a different world, and in my world, there's a place for The Prose. And by the way, in my time on this earth, I have on occasion tried to be helpful to others.
Comment of an Observer
I don't care if I am seen or even heard. My existence is equivilant to happy little wallflower who likes to observe. I formulate thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts become piled up and get to loud. I write because it's an outlet. I don't care if I'm good or not, I just want to get the thoughts out of my head. What is wrong with that? It's called a hobby. It's enjoyable. It's fun. It's recommended. If one wishes to call another out on being idle enough to respond to a challeng like this, then wouldn't the challenger be just as idle? Does one have anything else to do other than try to ruin the enjoyment of others?