What is the sum total of life, existence? Is it legacy? Defining legacy as what we leave behind, both in blood and substance. As blood: a family who fondly remembers you, yes, but also that you contributed to a lineage; that you left your family, primarily though not necessarily only your children, better off than before your existence. My children will stand on my shoulders, and their children should stand on theirs; we each contribute to this collaborative crescendoing greatness through the ages - to do otherwise, to leave one's family, especially one's children, worse off than your parents left you, is not only a failure of life but a failure of morals. (Not taking into account the myriad ways a child can fuck up their legacy regardless of the parents' doing.) This is the legacy of necessity, in which we should be expected to, at minimum, toe the line; provide (be the provider).
Beyond blood, into substance: We should strive to lead lives measured in work, pursuit, and the accomplishments earned along the way. This is not only speaking towards work as necessity, providing food and shelter. In fact that shouldn't count at all in how we define legacy as substance. Work as in a job or career, the success of which, should only be defined by how well you provide. No: substance, true legacy substance, is something with which you can use to measure the breadth of your life. The sum total of your thought and expression, be it in athletics, or journaling, or art, or charity. "This was the period of my life in which I wrote X." "That was the year in which I built houses in Y." "That was the month I ran my personal best in the Z."
Life with only blood legacy is nothing more than animalistic in the sense you accomplish only survival. Life with only substantive legacy is hollow, almost narcissistic, devoid of humanity. A fulfilled life must be defined by legacies of both blood and substance.
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