On Being Remembered

The Daily Stoic for December 28th, “On Being Remembered”.

“Everything lasts for a day, the one who remembers and the remembered.”

We all want to be remembered. In my mind, that can be traced back to our animal instincts. Our desire to transcend -by means of our descendants- is nothing more than a desire of leaving a mark on this earth. Being remembered, long after we are gone.

On Being Remembered

I think for me, it was music. When I started composing Bosques de mi Mente’s music, it was just for me. It was a way to escape work, routine, the traffic jams…

But then the project started attracting a lot of interest, and I found myself receiving letters and emails from people who loved my music and asked me to never stop composing. 

In a way, that made me feel better. Not only because I was helping others with my music -that honestly is not that brilliant- but because the thought of someone listening to me after I died was strangely comforting. Someone will feel inspired, nostalgic or happy listening to something I composed, maybe in 50, 100 or even 1000 years? Is that selfish? Is that mere instinct?

And, more importantly, why is that feeling so important if, as Marcus Aurelius affirms, everything lasts for just one day? I don’t know, and perhaps from a rational point of view, we shouldn’t take comfort on being remembered. I have no answer for that right now...

Conclusion

Today’s Daily Stoic, “On Being Remembered”, discussed how ephemeral our lives are, and yet, how much importance we give to being remembered, when deep inside we know that everything last just for one day, the one who remembers, and the one remembered. What difference does it make?