Personally, I don’t believe in an afterlife.
I believe that once we leave, we are gone, and that we should not be ashamed for what we leave behind, as we will not be there to see it. That’s probably why I don’t find those jokes about “deleting search history after someone dies” that funny- in my beliefs, they won’t be there to be ashamed of whatever they’re hiding. They won’t feel the repercussions. Still, I feel it is important to be cognizant of what we do and say, what we leave behind, and how we deal with what we have already done. The idea is the same for what is here, while also drastically different. Today, we are leaving behind what we have known for most of our lives, and we should not be embarrassed of what we might have said or done- we cannot change it, and we will not be here to see it. Still, just like with death, what we have done will stay with those remaining, and we should be careful of that. Dumb words, brilliant revelations, small comments- they’re going to stick with someone who you likely won’t see again, and you’ll go on unaware. Unaware that you, in the most unimportant of moments, you, in the most forgettable of days, have been able to leave a lasting impact. The fact that, even if you never get to see it, even if you never get to know it, you’re going to change their life- it’s something largely left unnoticed.
When we do notice, though, we can make changes. We can mold the perception of our words, or deny them, or validate them. Even after the fact we can make better decisions to change our past actions, but we can also deny what we have done and be worse for it. We could also recontextualize, reconnect, explain- we can create a better bond out of words just as we can make a worse one. But that can only happen while we are here to make it. Any later, and words may be scrutinized or mischaracterized, and the way someone may be viewed could be forever skewed. Words are powerless alone, but powerful in the thought we give them and the people we give them to.
Too often we ignore the power we have to change the whole world of those we speak to, or if we do know that fact we ignore it. It’s terrifying that a single word can forever alter a life, and it’s haunting that so many a time the life-changing words are ones that change for the worst. As people we say things without thinking, and we hurt people unknowing. Maybe, because we now understand that fact, because we realize that we do not think before saying, we should alter ourselves to be positive thoughtlessly, so as to not say such hurtful things. We should promote growth without a thought or purpose, so that when your life changes theirs it is for the better. It’s just better that way. To change a life unknowingly, to have your actions change a person after you are gone, that is simply the flow of life- but to have these actions leave a positive impact, that is genuinity- and when have we not wanted that?
