| From a copy of this I sent to my dad:"You have many experiences to draw on. You should notjust follow your heart but pursue it with a realvengeance, stopping only to gain nourishment (^: thatincludes earning and paying for it :^) and remove bodyoder.At nine you got the marines to let you operate thewood chipper. You also have a under-developed power:* remember the time you caught fish each time you putyour line in the water and no one could even catch afish at all* then you knew just when to go out to view the meteorshowerWhat about your artistic encounter in the Italianvillage?And CAPOh there's a crew meeting scheduled for tonight 2/7/057:00 at the Chelmsford Library.Dad" I am definitely of the opinion that everyone we meet and interact with influences us in some way, even if we don't realize it right away. I have always taken comfort in this because, as i don't believe in any sort of afterlife, the only way we as humans can hope to live on is through the impact we have left on those around us. That is why cultures originally developed the custom of erecting tombstones and burial mounds, it is a form of last effort to not be forgotten after we expire. In my life there have been many people who have influenced me and helped to shape the person I have become. Most are gone, either dead or moved or retired, and when I return years later to the places that were once important to me, the places seem very empty. But the lessons I have learned have stuck with me and I have become a stronger and better person for it, and that is what is important. It is for this reason that I see teachers as being the most important and under rated profession in society, because they have the power to shape and influence a human being from a very young age, during a time when a persons world view is at its most malleable. One of the reason I adore Nietzsche is for his take on matters similar to this. He wasn't one given to concerns about the moral or immoral, because as an atheist he didn't believe in an afterlife either. To Nietzsche, a "good" person was not someone of morals but someone of substance, a free spirit who gave style to his character by living life to its fullest. It is these people who I believe influence others the most, and it is to this state that I hope to one day aspire. Forgive me if I have gotten off topic a bit. Let me know what you think. |
[**mood** |
contemplative]Just contemplating again. How people leave a mark on other people. I don't mean from physical maiming either. I mean the possibility of effecting their entire life just by knowing them. Any one who is around any one else for a long time ultimately effects them, but what about the stranger you may never meet again who's one sentence effected your life or way of thinking. It has happend to me before on a few occasions. Like the artist I met in Lowell when I was only 8 or so. She had me do a doodle on a buisness card, and decided off that that I would be an artist one day. At that point in my life no one else believed my work, they thought it must be traced because I was so young. It felt good to receive the credit for the first time, it left an impact. Or in Aswan at the papyrus institute, waiting outside. I drew a portrait for two men in a five minute time slot. I thought nothing of it except that the drawing wasn't that great. I gave it to him, he flaunted that drawing to everyone in the institute and treasures it still. I found the last part out from my friend whom I still write to. Apparently the two men never forgot my name and the picture hangs on the wall. There are just so many more moments,good and bad. I have a bad habit of talking to strangers and every one else, so I hear and tell so many stories and pieces of advice daily. I now wonder how many people around the world remember me, because I remember them.Some had changed my views in a single moment, I wonder if I've done the same to them.And of coarse I love all my long term friends whom obviously effected me as well, couldn't forget them if I tried...but do they remember me in the same way? Does Anyone have thoughts on this? I encourage you to comment if you do.