Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Living Forever and Dying Today

Here's an idea to explore: “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as though you'll die today.” I think James Dean said it, though he may not have been the first. But that's an interesting concept. Because on the one hand you're doing all this dreaming and planning for the future, but if you're going to live as though you'll die today, you've got to live totally in the moment. How did John Keats, the great English poet who died at age twenty-six, live? Was he constantly looking ahead to the goals he wanted to accomplish, or did he truly live in the moment? How does knowing you're going to die young affect the way you live? What trivial elements do you cut out of everyday life in order to make sure you do all that is important to you? You don't take anything for granted, you waste no time, you don't put anything off because there may not be any time to put it off until. Who is happier, the guy who gets to live forever but has to watch all his friends and family die, or the guy who lives for only twenty-five years but never has to see anyone die and never takes one single breath for granted? What if there was an immortal guy who was friends with a guy who knew he was going to die young, probably before age thirty?That'd be an interesting relationship, huh? Also, you wouldn't really be concerned about eating healthy or exercising if you knew you'd be dead before thirty, would you? I don't think so. You probably wouldn't think so much or worry so much about things. I think John Keats wanted to write so much so he could leave a legacy behind him, so he could leave something to show for his brief time spent on earth. I think he was concerned that he would die and have nothing to show for his short life. But maybe I'm wrong. I'd have to read his letters again, it's been a few years and I definitely have not read them all. Maybe he just wrote because it was his way of venting, his way of coping with his illness and all the tragedy in his life. What would have been my reason, had I been John Keats? I think both. I certainly want to leave my mark on the world, but it's not all about one's legacy, either. It's about these moments, it's about enjoying the time you've got. The legacy that's most important is how you're remembered by those you love, and the positive changes you've brought to all the people you've touched—not how many poems you've published or how many films you've acted in.