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Depends on your definition of “significant positive legacy”.
If you’re drawn to the fame and notoriety of public figures as a template for this legacy, then I’d say these types of people already put their lives out in public for you to follow as a template. You will likely be seen as a narcissist in some circles.
On the other hand, many games and thinkers instill the rationale that you are the sum of your choices. Your karma - or action logic perhaps - will ripple around you with consequences - intended or not. These choices raise a new legacy of being an example.
A lot of people want to just live their lives in their own peace, make a living, do what they can to support their people. Such folks receive no fame, and no notoriety. They do everything necessary. There’s no thanks expected. But they make human life worth it. I’d rather be a part of this example.
Together
Everyone
Accomplishes
MoreIn many ways, we all entered the same game with the same example of team. We all wake up, work, transit. Everything has to come together in order for us to get back home safely. It has inherent value, and is a “legacy”. What I think of as “legacy” is also your heritage and your birthright. You inherited someone’s legacy to be possible and to be here.
There are forces that threaten this example. People who want to do violence to it, destroy it, pillage it, profit from it, you have to choose to protect it. They don’t want you to see your own worth. They don’t want you to see the value in others. They want you to stay small, and deny your heritage. How you protect this example, and the vulnerable, is up to you.
EDIT: I’m just using the terms you and they in a generic sense. I don’t literally mean you to single any specific person out. Similarly, I’m not literally talking about “they” like some kind of secret cabal reference. They is an ever changing reference to any kind of opposing force - be it person or system or effect.
I don’t care about leaving a legacy. I’m here to enjoy myself as much as possible in this very fucked up world.
Every. Damned. Day.
Just trying to be a good person is pretty tough sometimes. People take advantage. It sucks.
No. I’m here while I’m here, and I do my best to help people, when I can and am capable anyways.
There’s no stopping the clock, everyone has their time…
I think part of life is learning that there’s nothing wrong with living a simple/normal life, and that there is a beauty in it too.
ikr being a public figure and leading a high-stress life seems pretty hellish tbh.
“Rage against the dying of the light”…
… can look like being the best person you can be, for your own sense of morality/justice, for whatever you believe in, for whatever you feel is what, and how, a decent person should be.
Even if someone says that altruism is nonsensical or strictly meaningless/impossible, the fact that somebody even aimed toward it is remarkable nonetheless.
I’m gonna do it, I’m bustin’ out the Architect scene:
Neo
walks to the door on his leftchooses to reject the false dichotomy he has been presented.The Architect: Humph. Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.
Neo: If I were you, I would hope that we don’t meet again.
The Architect: We won’t.
I will leave a positive legacy, but I’m not concerned when I’m forgotten by time. I’ve come to terms with the fact that life is for the living, and I’m doing my part to try and make the world a better place for future generations.
With AI devouring human creativity and the world going to absolute shit…
It can’t happen soon enough.
People have being saying stuff like this for hundreds of years. We’re still in a massive state of transition following the creation of the internet and every culture in the world just crashing into each other online.
There’s so many ways the world is a better place than it used to be. My kid watches a TV show about a little girl who has two Dads, a few decades ago that would’ve been basically illegal. Everyone’s way more understanding of mental health issues rather than just telling people to “man up”. There’s other things but I can’t be bothered making a wall of text.
We really can only do much impact to our immediate area, most significant legacy positive legacy building is creating and propagating movements. If you want to feel like you’re making positive change then do things that help the people around you, the smallest things like shifting to local mom and pop shopping vs big retail for a couple purchases can help keep money local and supports them raising their families there in your town. Same as just picking up litter you might see as you walk through a park, you never know who’s watching and who it might influence to do the same or to stop littering over time. Not everything has to be macro but all the small decisions do add up to a pretty large change around you that will be noticed.
When I think of it, I try to look at the bright side that I won’t have to worry about anything after I die. It is still sad though. I hope I have time to do the things I want to do before I die.
What makes you think you can’t leave a significant positive legacy?
You can get involved with your neighbors. Invest in your local community. Adopt an orphan or volunteer at a women’s shelter.
There’s a million things you can do to make a significant impact. Every person you invest in is another person who can go and invest in others.
This idea that anything that’s below the national or worldwide level isn’t significant is a cancer on society.
There are people who lived hundreds of years ago who, sure, you’ll probably have never heard of if you don’t live in the same area as me, but who have had huge impact on the community. The same is true for where you live. I promise you.
Bring your eyes down, and look to make your legacy local. I promise you it’s possible. And I promise you that it’s significant.
Nope.
Don’t care about legacy either, just hope the people I care about have happy memories if they think about me until they pass away. No need for my memory to pass on to future generations or anything.
In a couple of generations all memory and signs of your existence will be wiped out anyway. Enjoying what’s in front of you now and doing the good you can for the few people you can affect is easily enough.
None of us individually truly leave a lasting legacy. Maybe some get to have their name repeated a little longer than others but that’s about it.
Everything that’s happened in human history happened because of communities of people … they might have had a leader but even the leader wouldn’t have made any of it happen without large groups of people. And every single one of those people had a small part to play in making it all happen.
We all have a small part to play during our lives and together all our small parts add up to great things.
You don’t have to earn a Nobel Piece prize to leave a significant positive legacy. You can plant a tree, help someone or teach a skill to a kid…
Not really. It’s kinda like asking what will we ever do if something happens in outer space that’ll mean the end of our earth and all of the combined wealth of rich people can do anything to help it (they’ll hoard it all anyways and think they’ll see their money afterwards).
Things that have a beginning, have an end, that’s life in general. You live it. You do what you can in it, try not to be the most worst individual and whatnot. The sad part of it all is not being able to carry over everything you’ve learned and those you’ve known. Then again, it won’t matter at all in the next life you’ll be in because everyone you’ve known is long gone into their next journey wherever and whomever.
But as for the positive legacy? Well, the only way we’ll ever do that is if we’re in positions of power, have all the wealth or born well-known with unmatched charisma. It’s just a damn shame we live in a timeline where all of that is horribly misused and abused.
Trying my best, still, not sad since I won’t (be able to) care anyway.
