True Legacy.
What can I leave my son that will benefit him later in life after I am gone? What can I set in motion now so his future is more secure? Yes, I can begin to save and plan for his future. This is wise. I can put money away--cryptocurrency, gold, etc--and set the ball rolling on numerous other plans that will most likely result in him not being in want for material things later in his life. This I most definitely must do, as his father, protector, friend, and guide.
But what security can I leave him, if the "powers that be" all over the world are violent psychopaths? Will money save him? It may be an invaluable tool in persuasion and perhaps legal protection when the creeps called "the state" are too close for comfort. But still, these are violent sociopaths we are talking about, who have constructed a giant human slave farm, based on violence (if you think this is an exaggeration you have not studied history, economics, or the current geopolitical state of affairs deeply enough). These folks don't give a fuck if my son lives or dies, and that is the sad, cold, hard, truth.
So if money and material legacy can fail, then what can I leave my son that I am truly proud of? What can I leave him of true, irrefutable pricelessness, which is not held in the temporal confines of time? Which is not stored in the faulty financial institutions of violence-based nation states, but in his heart, soul, spirit and mind and as a result of his actions, in the minds and hearts also of others?
I can leave him a legacy of profound disobedience to illegitimate "authority." I can teach him how to love himself, and to love others, being willing to stand up and fight for himself, and others, when necessary. This would be a legacy more valuable than gold, which even death itself could not erase.
A quote comes to mind. One of my favorite quotes, though I cannot remember where exactly it comes from:
"The chronicle of man's progress is a history of authority refuted."
How great is that? How true. Every great leap in science, philosophy, the arts, or even for me, in my personal development, has been an instance of an "authority"--be it a church leader, teacher, preacher, cop, politician, family member, or even deeply ingrained belief I've ingested almost unknowingly from the culture--being called out, questioned, and ultimately dismissed and discarded as fraudulent and useless. Thrown to the trash heap, and left to burn in the fires of logic and love.
What is "the meaning of life"? Is it one crashing chord?
There are a couple videos on YouTube featuring snippets taken from Alan Watts speeches where he is talking about a very strange phenomenon in our culture. Or, rather, I guess the state of being he describes is as old as humankind itself. He talks about a symphony. We don't go to the symphony only to see the final crashing chord of the finale. We go to experience the movement of the piece as a whole. Without all the movement and sounds and silences prior, the epic final sections of the music are stripped of their moment. Gutted of their real feeling and true importance.
In another such video (the animations and speeches are brilliant, by the way, and I highly recommend looking them up) he talks about the scam that has been foisted upon us by culture, of constantly and perpetually waiting for "tomorrow." Some vague and ill-defined moment in the future when we will have finally "made it," and when "real life" can begin.
When we're in preschool they tell us "You'll graduate soon and be a BIG KID! Things will be sooo wonderful then!!!" Then, when we are "big kids," they tell us that once we finish grade school we can go to HIGH SCHOOL where we will be so cool. And then, once that is finished we will have finally made it to college! In college we will finally start studying for what we will do in "real life" when it begins! It's just around the corner! Once "real life" begins, we now realize we must get married! Then we will be happy! We must get that promotion! We must! And then! And then I will be able to truly be in the moment. Then I will enjoy my kids and wife! Just a little bit more, then we can take that big vacation, THEN. THEN. THEN.
The animation ends with a little man at the top of a high rise building receiving that promotion and little sack of money. He has missed his life by waiting for it to begin.
Bitcoin millionaires and your line in the sand.
Making a little extra money from crypto-blogging here on Steem has already made my life better. I fucking love making money. There are many new millionaires as a result of the advent of Bitcoin and the rising popularity of Steem and cryptocurrencies in general. I just wonder how many of these individuals, say, three years ago were saying, After I make that first million from crypto, I'll be set!
To really enjoy money, you've kind of also got to not give a damn about it, as much as you give a damn about who you are.
I thought the other day that if I had mega millions, everything would be set, and my family would be fine, and I could buy my way out of anything. To some extent this might be true. The thought that came next surprised me, though. So what. That was the answer that came. So what.
What value can I impart to my son? What legacy can I leave my family if the sole basis of said legacy is material? This is only part of the equation. Maybe we'll have soft, fluffy white towels, three or four nice cars, and plenty of fucking lawyers for the rest of our lives. Comfort without passion is meaningless, and indeed, is a form of torturous absurdity. There's another great quote along these lines, but I cannot remember it now, or who said it. Without appreciation, no amount of riches matters, and without a sense of one's own self-worth, values, and integrity, appreciation of anything is really impossible.
With an understanding of one's of self-worth, comes the ability to commit the ultimate blasphemy where "society" is concerned, and say "no" to violence against any and all peaceful human beings, including oneself. This is what I most deeply want for my little boy. And, to tell the truth, he already has it. We all do. It just needs to be developed, I guess, and given a voice.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Tube Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)