Aging Capriciously

God came to me in a vision last night and said “John, what do you want to be remembered for?”  I started thinking of all the good things that I have done.  I then started thinking of the 1000 or more blogs that I have written.  I thought of the four books that I have published.  I thought of the people that I have helped.  I thought of the speeches and presentations that I have given.  I thought of the classes and courses that I have taught.  I thought of the companies that I helped when I was consulting.  I had visions of all the great places that Karen and I have visited.  Soon I came up with a list of things that I really would like to be remembered for.  I had at least one hundred things on my list.

“God I called out; I have my list.”  God replied back.  “John, I am sorry, but you only get one thing.”  “Only one thing I questioned?”  “Yes, said God, only one thing.”

“Okay God, but is that fair?  I feel like I have done many useful and productive things in the world.”

God replied, “Well, Einstein only gets to be remembered for E=MC2 and Theodore Sturgeon only gets to be remembered for “Fahrenheit 451” despite the over five hundred books he had written.  Beethoven is mostly remembered for his 9^th Symphony and JFK is remembered best for his comment that ‘Ich Bein Ein Berliner.’  That is the way it works John.  I do make some exceptions, but I do not think it is warranted in your case.”

“God”, I said. “I don’t understand the logic of all this.  Many of your people have done so much good work in their lives, myself included and you mean all we will get to be remembered for is one tiny little thing”

“John, most people will not even get to be remembered for one thing.  You should consider yourself special that I am granting you ONE thing to be remembered for.  People have short memories and if I allowed everyone to list all the things that they wanted to be remembered for, no one would remember anyone.  By keeping the list to one item, you will be remembered and that is why you should choose wisely.”

“OK, God, I will get back to you.  This is going to take me more time than I thought.”

After God and I ended our conversation, I thought more about what he had said.  How do I pick out the ONE thing that I would really like to be remembered for?  Should I take a poll among my blog readers?  Should I ask all my friends?  Should I ask my wife Karen what she thinks?  How to decide?  Maybe Chat GPT would have the answer?  I will ask it.

Chat GPT “How can I pick what I want to be remembered for?”

Chat GPT Replied:

Deciding what you want to be remembered for is a deeply personal decision that often reflects your values, passions, and the impact you hope to have on the world.  Here are some steps to help you identify what you want to be remembered for:

1. Reflect on Your Values: Consider what values are most important to you. Is it kindness, creativity, justice, or something else? Your values can guide you in choosing what you want to be remembered for.
2. Identify Your Passions: Think about what activities or causes bring you the most joy and fulfillment. Your passions can be a good indicator of what you want to focus on in your legacy.
3. Consider Your Impact: Reflect on the kind of impact you want to have on others and the world around you. Do you want to be remembered for making a difference in people’s lives, advancing knowledge, or improving your community?
4. Set Goals: Once you have a clearer sense of what you want to be remembered for, set specific goals that align with your values, passions, and desired impact. This could involve taking concrete actions or pursuing certain achievements.
5. Live Your Values: Actively incorporate your values into your daily life and interactions. This can help ensure that your actions align with what you want to be remembered for.
6. Reflect Regularly: Take time to reflect on your progress and reassess your goals and priorities. As you grow and change, your aspirations for your legacy may evolve as well.
7. Share Your Legacy: Consider how you can share your values, passions, and accomplishments with others. This could involve writing a memoir, creating art, or simply sharing your story with friends and family.

Remember, your legacy is not just about what you achieve but also how you live your life and the impact you have on others. It’s a process that evolves over time, so allow yourself the flexibility to adapt and grow as you work towards shaping the legacy you want to leave behind.

I must say I am always impressed by the ideas that AI will give in less time than I can blink my eyes or roll over and go back to sleep.  Nevertheless, I do not think that in this case it will be helpful.  My problem is to narrow down and prioritize what I think the ONE thing is that I want to be remembered for.  Now if Chat GPT could do that for me, it would be very helpful.  If only God would allow me TWO things, my life would be so much simpler.

I decided to think more about the problem and get some input from others.  I asked my spouse Karen, “What do you think is the one thing that I should be remembered for?”  She replied, “I think it would be your compassion and kindness for people you don’t even know.  Of course, you are not that kind and compassionate for people you do know.”  “Sorry, I asked.”  I next asked my good friend Socorro.  She told me, “Without a doubt it is your kindness and compassion for all the people of the world.  Except of course, those people you don’t like which includes Trump supporters, Republicans, lawyers, used car salespeople, insurance agents and…”  “That’s enough Socorro, I think you have given me something to think about.”  Next up were two of my best male friends.  I asked both of them the same question.  I got pretty much the same answer.  I tend to be kind and compassionate to people I like but not so much to people I dislike.  What was it Jesus said about it being easy to like people who like you but not so easy to like assholes?

All these replies left be in the middle of nowhere.  God was awaiting the one true thing that I wanted to be remembered for.  I was more lost than when I started this journey.  I decided to talk to God some more.

“God, do I really have to be remembered for anything?”  “Look John, it was really more of a suggestion.  The majority of the human race will never be remembered for anything except maybe stupidity.  You are welcome to join the club of the ‘Not-Remembered’ for one darn thing if that is what you want.”  “Let me think about it more God okay?  Is there any rush?”  “Looking ahead, said God, I think you are probably safe for the next year or so.  After that I would not push your luck.  That scuba diving trip you took was not the brightest idea in the world, but I had your back on that one.”

After weeks of more pondering, more struggling, more interviews with strangers, relatives and former students and clients, I finally hit upon an idea.  I would toss a bunch of letters into a basket and draw out one at a time.  I would then see what they spelled.  I would rely on the great Karma of the universe to tell me what I should be remembered for.

The first letter I drew out was an S.  Not a bad start I thought.  Maybe I would be remembered for being Smart.  I next drew out an A and then another S.  SAS, SSA, ASS?  I did not like the looks of that last word.  Someone once told me if you start off your day with meeting an asshole, you might be having bad luck.  But if everyone you meet is an asshole, maybe you are really the asshole.  My days seem to tend to the latter.  Was the Universe trying to tell me something?  Maybe if I drew out a U next it was trying to reflect my belief that you should never Assume anything.  I would not mind being remembered for that thought.

I selected again and it was an E.  I knew it.  I was going to be remembered for never assuming anything.  I have so often criticized Karen for making unfounded assumptions.  I would go down in history as the “man who did not make assumptions.”  I picked another letter but this time, Karma was all wrong.  I drew an L.  That threw me out of the Assume position.  What I now had was Ass_ _ l e.  The letters were not rolling my way.  Maybe I should give this stupid idea up.  Or maybe start over again.  But that would be cheating.  I decided to draw again.  I next drew an H.  I now could spell Assh_le.  Was Karma going to spell out Asshole?

I have never been very good at scrabble.  Maybe I was missing something.  My ex-wife and sister were both scrabble experts.  Maybe I should give the letters I have to them before I pick again and see what else they could spell besides Asshole.  If any of my readers are following along so far, what else do you think the letters I have drawn so far could spell?  An online six letter word generator gives me the following possibilities: hassle, lashes, shales, sheals.  I don’t really know what these mean except for the word “hassle.”  I suppose many people think I have hassled them at one time or another.  I will draw one last time.

I stir the pot of letters up.  I close my eyes.  I reach in and pick out a letter.  Without looking, I drop it and pick out another one.  I pull the letter out.  I look at it.  I am astounded.  You would never believe the letter that I pulled or what it spelled.  I will accept my Karma.

I turned over and drifted back to a deeper sleep.  Life can be one great dream or one bad nightmare.  Some nights you don’t know which one it will be.  I hope I can remember what the letters spelled out when I wake up tomorrow.