Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Revisiting "Echoes In Eternity"

My first blog post was in 2014. So much has changed since then, and I've lived an entirely different life since I first thought this was a good idea. It started as a medium for keeping family and friends updated on my life. I moved to South Korea, and as I had when I studied abroad 3 years earlier, I thought people might like to read what my life in a new place was like.

I chose the name "Echoes in Eternity" out of a vague aspiration that what I had to say might resonate with other people. The phrase comes from a quote by one of my favorite thinkers of all time, Marcus Aurelius. He said, "What we do now echoes in eternity." When I started writing for other people, I wanted to be heard. The meaning of that phrase has evolved for me over time, as any good axiom does I think.

Being heard is less important to me now. I think I'd still write if no one read. I enjoy the process of putting thoughts into the ether as a means of helping my brain to digest them. Aurelius's phrase resonates with me now more than ever, though. The concept that our actions cause a ripple effect that reverberates endlessly is something that is much easier to see concretely when it's viewed as a literal virus, as an action for or against the oppression of a people, or in service or detriment to a dying planet.

After months of isolation, I started to view small things as actions with consequences I hadn't considered before. Let's say I didn't wear a mask or didn't isolate and I caused the sickness or death of someone around me. That action, although seemingly small on my part, could affect that person, their family and friends, their community, and the futures of countless people. That is an incredibly powerful concept to me. In this instance it's rather negative, but think of the implication that positive actions could then have. The virus has shown me that we do, as individuals, truly have the ability to change the world for better or worse.

As protests have continued in the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and about a dozen others in recent months alone, I've realized that my contribution matters. What I say, what I think, and what I do both send a message and alter the course of history. I think part of my problem up to this point was not thinking that what I had to do or say made a difference, even if I wanted to be heard. The changes we make within ourselves and in our immediate sphere reverberate. The ripple effect has become more evident to me now than ever before. It's motivational in so many ways.

I've come to realize over the years that Marcus Aurelius wasn't talking about legacy when he wrote that phrase. He wasn't talking about being heard. He was talking about the immense power of each one of our actions, I think. We are all so much more powerful than we understand. I think about the power of social media. If you're posting about racial justice or the need to save our planet and you make one person think about their actions, and they make one person think about their actions, it frames change in less daunting terms. It also means that our poor actions can reverberate negative consequences, and it heightens my sense of responsibility for always trying to be a better person. It makes me want to live. It makes me want to try harder.

What I have to say is no more or less valuable than the next person, and that was a daunting prospect to me at first. I wanted what I had to say to be more valuable than those around me. I wanted to be someone whose opinion was sought after. Part of growing up for me has been realizing how petty that notion is. Being a leader isn't about tangible influence for me anymore. Being a leader is about living my life in a way that I feel a leader should live it, and hoping that I change even one person for the better, and they in turn change those around them. When I act, I try to think about it more concretely. "What are the potential consequences of this action not just for today, tomorrow, or Friday, but for the future?"

I've got more hope than I did a few weeks ago from the mulling over of all of this, and if writing is worth anything for me, there's a solid reason. Onward and upward.