Being Remembered

[SalixIncendium]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

 

[ChristineM]

I'd like my family and friends (particularly my children*) to remember me, other than that... Bof.

* I hope I've taught them how to live and that they remember those lessons.

 

[Jainarayan]

Not important at all. In fact, I'd prefer that I be forgotten, though I know that won't happen entirely. Some of my family (brothes and sisters, my husband, my nieces and nephews), will of course remember me.

 

[Soandso]

Nah, I'm good. Don't get me wrong - being a positive impact on those around me is important to me, but I like doing so because it's the right thing to do, not so I can be remembered or get some kind of reward for it

A Lot of people want to live forever. Some people want that to happen through the perpetuation of their ego through an afterlife, while others think the best way to make that happen is through the thoughts and memories of others. Afterlives don't seem likely to me, and I don't know much or anything about my great, great, great, great grandparents or beyond them

With that in mind, it seems most important to me to live life and appreciate every moment for what it is and to do my part to leave the place a little better than it was when I came into the world. Life is an experience that deserves respect and understanding of it's fragility and it's finite nature

 

[LuisDantas]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Very.

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

Oh, this is something else entirely.

I would like to think not. I fancy myself as a future low-maintenance dead person. I sincerely hope that my needs after death become nil, or at least close to that.

Frankly, it would be rude for me to impose myself on the living's memories.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

It is important.

Many Jews will say to the mourner:

May his/her memory be a blessing.​

It seeks to comfort the one in pain while simultaneously honoring the one who has died.

To be remembered is evidence of significance. To be remembered for good is to have left a valued legacy.

To remember is to memorialize ...

We Remember Them by Sylvan Kamens & Rabbi Jack Riemer

At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them.
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them.
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We remember them.
At the beginning of the year and when it ends; We remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as We remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength; We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart; We remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make; We remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share; We remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs; We remember them.
For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as, We remember them.

 

[sayak83]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

Not much. Frankly I do not reflect much on how I am viewed by others. Maybe that is something I should work on a bit.

 

[Vinayaka]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

The personality of this little embodied soul of this little lifetime is nothing. Somewhere in the akashic records 'I' (the real 'I') will be remembered. The personality of this lifetime tries to be invisible.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Somewhere in the akashic records 'I' (the real 'I') will be remembered.

Who/what is it that does the remembering?

 

[Vinayaka]

Who/what is it that does the remembering?

It's written down by devas, with Ganesha's massive memory. Personally, I believe it's there so that, if necessary, a guide can recall it only for help with that soul's continued sojourn. But, not being particularly interested in that great past, I don't really know of a purpose, or care, for that matter. The point, really, is that this is temporary, impermanent. But being remembered is important to some, because they believe that that is who they are. Of course Hindus don't see it that way.

 

[mangalavara]

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

It would be unseemly for somebody to say, 'I remember mangalavara, who passed away years ago. His memory lives on in us.'

It would be better for a person to say, 'Thanks to his words, I see what other people don't see, and I am closer to attaining the supreme goal of life.'

The point, really, is that this is temporary, impermanent. But being remembered is important to some, because they believe that that is who they are. Of course Hindus don't see it that way.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[rocala]

Great question Salix, and not one that I had really considered.

To be honest, with my life as it is, I could not care at all. I have been unlucky in that many good friends died young. Where I live in East London, local people have been leaving in droves for decades. Many of the incomers do not want to stay long either. Community, that is a myth around here. I have no local family either.

As a fantasy, I could imagine some tight knit community where at a social gathering people would sometimes raise a glass to my memory and chuckle when recalling old times. That would be nice.

 

[Stevicus]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

I don't believe I will have any existence nor awareness of what people think of me or whether they will remember me after death. Even those who would remember me will eventually pass on themselves, so ultimately, there will be no one left who would have any personal recollection of me. There might still be documented records of my existence: Birth certificate, death certificate, high school/college diplomas, employment records, tax records, etc. I expect those will probably sit around for a while, so I will still be part of the "official record," more or less.

Of course, famous people get remembered (although that can sometimes depend on a fickle public with a short attention-span and a short memory). I'm not famous, nor have I ever sought fame, but I might have tried harder, if I really wanted to be remembered. But even history gets forgotten the further back one goes. Most people only really remember the significant figures - or the most notorious.

 

[ChristineM]

Great question Salix, and not one that I had really considered.

To be honest, with my life as it is, I could not care at all. I have been unlucky in that many good friends died young. Where I live in East London, local people have been leaving in droves for decades. Many of the incomers do not want to stay long either. Community, that is a myth around here. I have no local family either.

As a fantasy, I could imagine some tight knit community where at a social gathering people would sometimes raise a glass to my memory and chuckle when recalling old times. That would be nice.

I always understood that east London was the hub of community. Just shows how wrong i can be.

 

[JustGeorge]

Not much. Frankly I do not reflect much on how I am viewed by others. Maybe that is something I should work on a bit.

I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

 

[JustGeorge]

I won't be remembered. I don't really care.

In all honesty, I'm more upset by the fact I can't share many memories of folks that went before. My parents placed no value in such things. I would love to know more stories from those I descended from.

 

[Secret Chief]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Not at all.

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

No. When I'm dead nothing will be important to me. I've missed the point here haven't I.

 

[Twilight Hue]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

Not at all. Eventually everyone and everything will cease to be remembered through impermanence.

It's why I recommend to enjoy the things and people around you while they are still around.

 

[PureX]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

No. Many billions of humans have come and gone from this world unremembered.

And yet they are in us, as we are just new iterations of them. Until we're gone. And then we will be within those who follow, until they are gone.

It is what it is. I'm grateful to have been here, but I wouldn't want to be stuck here forever, so I am also grateful that my time here is limited.

It is as it should be. The new iterations that come after us wouldn't have their own time here if they had to keep remembering us and ours. So it's good that we will be forgotten. As all those before us have been.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

How important is it for you to be remembered?

Is it important to you that you have left a lasting impression on another person so that you will be thought of after your death? Why or why not?

I should have written a couple of books.

Oh, well…