Writer's Block: Mark my words

[mellymell]

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I believe in order to leave the most lasting of marks on the world you have to live your life as if you mean to leave no trace whatsoever. I'm not talking carbon footprints or "off the grid". I'm talking about living as if your life is not any more important than the one next to you.

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not possessing,
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.

- From Chapter Two of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu.

I think the whole of humanity would be better off if everyone in it lived as if they intended to leave no trace of themselves behind. But human nature fights against this at every turn with a desire for immortality in its various forms. We know our lives will be over some day and it's hard to accept that everything we've ever done or worked for will be lost once we're gone. We fear unimportance. Art is created and signed. Structures are built and labeled. Stars are discovered and named after their discoverers. Scientific theories are proven and named after their provers. Medical advancements are made... you get the point. Embracing unimportance and finding a balance between that and productivity is something I struggle with constantly. I still have lots of room to evolve.

Maybe this is why I don't know how to respond to praise...

Comments

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

Hmm, really interesting food for thought. I don't know if I agree with this. There are many things of beauty left behind by those who have gone before, and I'm not sure I'd want to live in a world without those things. Without Starry Night or the Alhambra or Neuschwanstein or the Pyramids or Beethoven or the Beatles or Shakespeare.

I think if we pass through this world and we touch no one, affect no one, that we didn't leave the world at least a tiny bit better for our having been here, then our lives were truly a waste.

That's different than vanity of course, from seeking immortality. Names fade after a while, so I think seeking that sort of thing is fleeting. And of course there are artists and writers who were only famous after they were gone like Van Gogh or Emily Dickensen. That either didn't seek fame or didn't realize it.

I do agree that we fear unimportance, but maybe that's what drives us to create amazing things that last far longer than our names do. Most people probably couldn't name the King who built those great German castles, so the thing itself I think lives on longer than the name of the person that created it.

(Just a minor, geeky point, stars aren't named after their discoverers - the IAU has specific naming conventions: http://www.iau.org/public/naming/ -- the earliest such was naming them after the constellation they're in, plus a Greek letter. And you can't really buy star names in any real sense: http://www.iau.org/public/buying_star_names/ ) ;-)

Hope you don't mind me chiming in with my own thoughts here. :-)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying those things shouldn't exist. I'm saying they shouldn't be created out of a desire to be remembered. It's more about the motive that drives creation than about creation itself. It's kind of our job as human beings to be connected and create and work throughout our lives. Otherwise, we might as well be animals. As the passage says, create, but don't possess, work but don't take credit. Through that sort of attitude, I believe you leave a more lasting impression on the people you touch than if you plowed through life trying to leave your mark.

Indeed the world would be a blank and sad place if everyone truly did nothing and left no mark on it. It's to not do something just to leave your mark. Contribute to humanity but not because you want humanity to remember you when you're gone. If we can find that same drive to create without wanting the glory associated with it, I guess that would be considered enlightenment.

Starry Night would be just as beautiful if we didn't know who painted it.

And yeah, I realize stars aren't named after their discoverers, it was mostly a poetic point. ;)

And not at all, do I mind! I'm glad, even. :)

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

Hmm - I agree with you to a point. I think, like you, I'm not fantastic at taking compliments, and I like to think I'm fairly modest about my accomplishments. At least, I know I created the websites I did out a desire to create and help people than to become a big name.

But there are a lot of beautiful works of art that were created by people who did or do desire that immortality. Like in the case of Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. King Ludwig II created them for himself, for his own pleasure, not for anyone else's. But am I glad he did - yes, because they are truly beautiful, and have transcended him. So I guess I'm ok with people wanting to leave their mark, because ultimately we all become the benefactors of that, even if the origins of their creation aren't as noble as all that.

So without that drive to leave your mark, would we have as much beautiful art and architecture and music and literature as we do?

I think I would also argue that Starry Night has added beauty *because* we know who painted it. To know that such a thing of beauty came out of someone so tortured and emcumered by mental illness, who couldn't make a living by painting... to me that story adds something to the painting. You can see the struggle behind the art.

I guess for me, art is given meaning when it has context. Heck, some of it needs it, like modern art, which is awfully hard to appreciate on its own merits sometimes. Rothko and Duchamp anyone? ;-)

In any case, I do agree that striving to go through life making a mark, but without making it about your own glorification is a good thing. On the other hand, who you are is a part of what you do, and having your story attached to your creation isn't always a bad thing, because it can be inspirational or cautionary or something else that makes people *feel* when your creation is viewed. If that makes any sense.

Ok, I'm starting to ramble. ;-)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

It's easy to ramble on a topic like this. I could probably ramble on forever when you get me in a philosophical mindset. ;)

I do agree with you, but at the same time I still hold to the fact that it's a "better" path to not look to glory or remembrance for motivation. That's not to judge people who do, because as you say, so many amazing things in our world were brought about through such motivations (aside from the fact that it's not my place to judge). Maybe it's a morality issue, I don't know. I don't fully understand it, myself, which I guess is the nature of belief.

It's likely we would not have half of the man-made beauty in this world if people did not act out of a desire to leave their mark. But perhaps there will come a time when we philosophically evolve beyond this need and create for the sake of creation instead of out of a willfulness to be remembered.

Context certainly gives a richer experience to any art form. There are many examples of things I didn't appreciate in the least until I understood what the creator was going for or had in mind for the purpose of it. I've completely changed my mind about things on the basis of context. It could be argued that art is ALL about context (I don't know how many times I've heard Amanda Palmer say that). I agree with that, but that's not on the artist, that's on the observer.

And certainly no creation can be made that does not bear some mark of the creator. Whether it's intentional or just the piece of you that goes into all the work you do and everything you touch. I don't think that can be avoided, but it is my belief that it shouldn't be what you strive for. Again, like you say, having that piece of you attached to something you've done and people recognizing it and appreciating it or feeling something more because of it is on the observer, not the creator.

I guess what I'm saying is that it should happen through serendipity, not through a forced hand. But not to discount any greatness that has been attained through a forced hand.

And now I'm running in circles. The duality in me is at war. ;)

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

I never got a chance to respond, but thanks for the fun and thoughtful conversation! :-)

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Ditto! :)

[tihiy-introvert.livejournal.com]

"as if you mean to leave no trace whatsoever"

I agree with you.

[yocepha.livejournal.com]

I like this. It sounds very much like what you read of the more advanced Eastern Orthodox monastics (not saying other faiths don't have this, just what I'm familiar with). The less one thinks of oneself, the closer to God one is. The less one promotes oneself, the more effect one has on others. Humility is the word. Humility vs. pride.

And because I am so tired and it's so late (and I haven't done any reading in that area in months) I can't explain it any better than that. But I understand what you're saying. I think.

FWIW, there is a book out called "Christ the Eternal Tao." I have a copy; I haven't read beyond chapter five. But I am told it is an incredible read...

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

I'm sure most faiths have some variation, Tao is the one that stuck out in my mind, but I'm sure I could have pulled just as viable of an example from the Bible.

But yes, that sounds exactly like what I was trying to convey. You can brain well even when you're tired. ;)

I'd love to read that! I'll have to pick up a copy sometime. I haven't done enough reading in that area lately either.

[yocepha.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity I dug out my copy last night and did a bit of browsing, and now it's back on my To Read List (AKA sitting on top of the book pile, instead of being buried underneath). It's been so long since I last looked at it that I might as well start with page one. ;-)

It appears that the book is out of print. I checked the publisher's website (an Eastern Orthodox monastery) and even there it's listed as "out of stock." Some of the used book sites list it at several hundred dollars.....?!?!?! Anyway, the usual Orthodox sources for that book no longer carry it. You should be able to pick up a decent copy for around $20 or so....or use interlibrary loan. I think it would be well worth the trouble.

related to this....

[yocepha.livejournal.com]

Today's quote from "A Word from the Desert" -

In a society where each one sees himself as the first, no one makes any progress. If, however, one always considers oneself to be the last, meeting someone else becomes each time the opportunity for spiritual profit and progress. So it is best to be the last. If I am the first, life is infernally tiresome. If I am the last, life is a continual joy, because I am always learning something useful.

Archimandrite Sophrony

Re: related to this....

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

A very nice perspective!

Re: related to this....

[yocepha.livejournal.com]

And another one - there seems to be a run on this concept this month. ;-)

Many people suffer because they fail to receive recognition through vain, worldly honor, or fail to become rich in pointless, mundane things. It doesn't occur to them that in the other life - the real life - such stuff is not needed, nor can they take it with them. To that place, we can only take our works, which here and now acquire for us a passport for that great and eternal journey.

- Elder Paisios the Athonite

Re: related to this....

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

I don't think there can be too much of this concept. :)

[witchcat07.livejournal.com]

I think I'm with you on that, esp about not knowing how to handle praise. One reason I have trouble with job interviews. :~P

On a totally unrelated subject, if you still have room, can Ary and I share your hotel room at Dragon*Con? We have pretty much decided that we will go, since I am finally starting to make a little progress in the walking department, and we still have 3 or so month to go.

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Ugh, or even writing a resume irks me.

I do indeed have room and you are more than welcome to stay. Since we talked about it at the crafty weekend a couple of months ago, I purposely didn't make any moves to wait and hear from you guys. YAY! I need to go ahead and buy my membership.

[witchcat07.livejournal.com]

Hooray! I don't know if Oropher et al would be joining us; think she had already made other arrangements. But even so, we will all be at Dragon*Con together, which will be the best part!

[mellymell.livejournal.com]

Well, if need be, I'm sure we could all squeeze in. But it might be nicer not to be so crowded. Either way. Fun times!