Art and Legacy vs. Comfort and Health

[Amelia G]

Most people who leave a legacy live less comfortable lives than many who do not. Whether the legacy is a fortune for their family and charities they like or a body of creative work that speaks to certain people, odds are that during life the legacy-builder had to have certain drawbacks or minuses in other areas i.e. health, relationships, that sort of thing.

Is it worthwhile to work harder, have less involved human relationships, sleep fewer hours, stay going with chemical aid etc. in order to leave a legacy?

[MistressJennifer]

Yes I think so. The Blue Blood legacy must be pretty time consuming, etc, and makes it necessary to drink many iced lattes!!! But could you live a normal life, marry some normal guy? He would never let you do this. You would have to give up all of your own creativity and just live his normal life.

I have TRIED to give up this kind of life, many many times, but it keeps pulling me back in.... I think if it's in your blood, you are sort of hooked for life.

[skully]

speaking from someone who is fighting to get out of a normal life...the best thing is to follow your dreams... starving for food because you are spending all your money on an apartment that allows you the room and enviorment to paint what is important to you is far better then dieing inside working a job that doesn't give you a soul. i may be young and have not experienced everything but i have done enough to know that following a dream will not let you down as long as you put everything you have into that dream.
besides in this crazy time we are living in i know just as many college educated computer programmers who were making 90g's or more per year and are now out of work ... as i do artists who are working meager jobs that allow them to live more then comfortably and still afford them the time space and lively hood to feed their dreams.

but to bring it back to your point... i think it is not so much a choice, i think the people that go on to do great things are the people who were born into hardships of some sort... they had to break free of something in order to get where they are...some of the biggest ceo's of fortune 500 companies were raised in "nothing is ever good enough" households. their ability to overcome worldly challenges comes from there inability to overcome personall problems. that drive that creates some of the most beautiful and moving art comes from a soul that is so tortured that the art has to be made to get there demons out of them...

[Amelia G]

Hmmm, did I grow up in a "nothing is ever good enough" household . . . Well, there is this family joke about coming home from school with a 98% and the answer being: What happened to the other two points? Theory being that, if you could get a 98, then you knew the material and just fucked up on that last 2%.

[Amelia G]

By family joke, I mean true and repeated anecdote.

[skully]

"people often jest about the truth"

[TheDeathKnight]

It depends if you are looking for a legacy,
or just being happy.

If you want a legacy, I am guessing that means you want to be famous.

Well, a certain terrorist who crashed some planes into some buildings will now be in the history books. Two kids who shot up their school may be part of our history. Some kook who shot Regan is now part of history. So sadly, being famous is not that hard. Do something wild, or extreme, and people will remember you. Even if it's just that you are the person who is constantly arrested for having sex in churches, or something like that. It seems like people who devote themselves to Greenpeace, or who protest things, do not make a dent in "history". They have no legacy. How many bands really make a mark on history? How many photographers and artists? Not many. It's really hard in this day and age, to make a mark on history, or become famous. And if you do, it's because of a dumb movie you are in, or because you committed heinous violence. Real artistic talent is often not recognized.

But when it comes to being happy, and following your dreams, I say go for it...
If you want to spend your life making art, then do it.
You will be happier than those rats in cages, those people in cubicles...
If you live a happy life, you win.

But I think the need to leave a legacy, or make an impact, is something you have
to come to terms with. It is hard to do, and it's more like something that you have
to feel good about your own impact, and your own life, and do not worry if anyone
will remember it or not. If you feel you have done good things, and creative things,
then cool. Good for you. But don't expect it will be written about in the history books...

If that bothers you, that your life will not mean anything, then you might want to
consider the alternatives. Focus on having fun, or focus on doing something *truly*
significant...

[Amelia G]

I don't really think a terrorist leaves a legacy, unless their actions actually cause significant political change in the area they are acting in. Having a few people know one's name or worst day ever is not the same as creating something which will outlast its creator.

I think a band, for example, can have an important legacy whether or not they are remembered. Think of all the bands who were influenced musically by Velvet Underground. Some of those bands might be more famous or more paid, but Velvet Underground created a musical legacy in their field.

[Kidthorazine]

I think living an uncomfortable life is what motivates one to achieve immortalilty if your happy with your life youll never be bigger or better but if your starving you want to work your ass off to make sure it soesnt happen to your kids or if you think something is really fucked up in the world your going to do whatever you can to fix it personally thats how people leave a legacy

[Amelia G]

I think living an uncomfortable life is what motivates one to achieve immortalilty if your happy with your life youll never be bigger or better but if your starving you want to work your ass off to make sure it soesnt happen to your kids or if you think something is really fucked up in the world your going to do whatever you can to fix it personally thats how people leave a legacy

[TheDeathKnight]

The terrorist comment was just a comment about how it is sad that it is easier to be remembered for how many people you kill, than it is to be remembered for how many people you save or help.

So again I ask...

What it the purpose of leaving a legacy?

Do achievements need to be recognized, to be useful?

Let's say you go to some country in Africa, and help teach them about birth control, and how to farm, and manage their land properly, and you help an entire region to become more educated, and you prevent massive starvation, war, and destruction, simply by your help and presence. If your efforts are never recorded, and no one cares, do you feel like you still left a legacy? Or does it have to be something you are "famous" for, either when alive, or dead?

People focus more on what other people think about them, than they do about
just living a good life, and being happy with it. They want to be known for being
good at something, or achieve something, or be seen as dynamic, or creative,
or even charitable. But it all seems dependent on other people knowing that
you did something good. Rather than based on self-satisfaction...

If you want to be a great artist, then do art because you want to be creative.
But if you feel you have to show it off, to be acknowledged, then it is not
art for the sake of art, or for your own enjoyment. It is so you can show
it off to others, and be praised for your creativity.

I'm not saying I don't do it. I do. But I think it's an interesting thing,
how people need that attention, and notoriety.

One of the interesting things someone told me once,
was that true generous people will just give to a charity,
and not tell anyone. People who want appreciation for
being charitable, will tell people that they donated,
or want some pin or sticker, to show that they gave...
But truly generous people don't need to show off.
They just help because they feel it is right to do.

[Morning Glory]

that is a good point. If you want to earn respect or fame from people, then that is just vanity, and even worse so that you'd sacrifice relationships and important aspects fo your life to do so. It is human nature to want to leave a legacy, because we know that we won't be around forever, and that if we don't do something to imortalise ourself, after we are gone we may be forgotten and it will be as if we were never here at all. I do feel that it is important to do something because you feel it is right, and if you devote your life to that cause, that is not wrong... but if you simply want to make an impact because you're desperate to give a meaning to your life, or death, that you couldn't find yourself, and waste your life away for a hope of a greater future, that you may not even see, you are a fool. I think the goal is to try to strive for something greater than yourself, while at the same time trying to make the best out of your life as it is now.

[TheDeathKnight]

I just think that many people spend too much of their lives struggling to achieve things that are not even useful, and that they don't even understand themselves. They just want to achieve *something*. To have a successful career, or a family, etc... People are told that will give them happiness. To be rich, famous, and have a family, is the ideal for most people. But they fall short. And they do not even realize that if they achieved that success, they would still not be happy, and they would still not have a legacy. True happiness comes from having a happy and fun life, that you truly enjoy. If you feel like you helped people, or helped the world in some way, even better. But people stay so focused on their false goals, that they never realize that they could have a happy life right now. All they have to do is change their perceptions. People are always unhappy because of what they do not have. They do not have success. They do not have money. They do not have a new car. They do not have kids. They do not have a house. Waaaaaaaahhhh! Boo hoo! People in the USA should be happy they have freedom to do a lot of wild and fun things. You should be happy you have yummy food if you want it. You should be happy you are ALIVE period. You are alive, and in this world, full of possibilities. You can do so many things. Try so many things. And enjoy them. Many people never get to do those things. They suffer, or die, or live miserable lives. All of you have a computer, so you are not totally poor, or in a third world country. So be happy that you have what you have. Be happy you can do the things you can do. The world sure as hell is not perfect. And America is not perfect either. But we still have a lot of freedom to do a lot of fun things, and we should be happy about the lives we are able to live. People spend way too much time looking at the negative sides of their lives. Everyone has hardships. No one has a perfect childhood. So what? You still have the rest of your life, to do some amazingly cool things with your time here. Have a blast. Do cool shit... Have fun...

[Mr Karl]

it seems to me like a legacy is leaving a bit of yourself behind as an example of who you were ,what you were about , in hopes that someone out there can surpass it one day , I think that until the moment you are ready to leave the legacy behind you'll never know if it was worth it

now I'm depressed

[CPRB]

I think legacy never starts as a legacy it's starts as a leap of faith, a dream, alot of tears and a few happy moments, it's not till you look back tha you realize you might have done something amazing, one day it may be alegacy to live up to. But it starts the moment you decide to enshroud yoursefl in a dream becasue it's like a warm secure embrace. It's like waiting for that bus that is going somewhere amazing, you don't know where and you don't know why you got on but the seta is comfy and sceneray is never the same. A lil Bit of courage and a lil faith and an imagination, mix thouroughly...and wait to see what happens.