We have seen a lot of pre-Incan ruins and artifacts during our time in Peru: the magnificent stone fortress built by the Chachapoyans at Kuelap, the vast treasures from tombs in Sipan, and the ever-expanding Las Huacas de la Luna from the Moche civilization, to name a few.
There are 3 things we’ve noticed in general about ruins:
- Paint is the first thing to go.
- You can visibly see the impact of encroaching civilizations by the way a structure changes in style over the course of hundreds of years.
- People want to live forever, and if they can’t have that, they want to at least be remembered forever.
After seeing so many ruins over the past several weeks, we cannot help but think about our own lives and what archeologists of the future would say them.
What would the “artifacts” of your life say about you?
This reminds me of the line about taking pictures of a fun night out with friends. The posed pictures are how we want to remember the evening, and the candids are the way it really happened.
It works the same way with your artifacts. You may want to showcase the classic literature you have on your bookshelves that you have every intention of reading someday, but the most prominent thing archeologists may find in your home is your television or a king-sized bed.
“The people of this area spent many hours reclined in a flat chair. We think they had limited use of their legs and used a machine to see what was going on in the outside world.”
Even though we may laugh, it is easy to see how someone could make that mistake given limited information.
When we were discussing the idea for this post Warren asked a great question:
Do you live to be remembered or to remember?
As we stated above, we have noticed 3 common themes about ruins and artifacts, and they are pretty accurate for real life as well.
- Paint is the first thing to go. Don’t spend too much time on the decoration of your life until your foundation is complete.
- You can visibly see the impact of encroaching civilizations by the way a structure changes in style over the course of hundreds of years. We’ve said it before: You are like the 5 people you spend the most time with, whether you like it or not.
- People want to live forever, and if they can’t have that, they want to at least be remembered forever. The two of us know we can’t have either one, so how do we answer Warren’s question? We are going to live to remember - the people, the places, and the experiences and accomplishments of our lives - and let the archeologists fight over the meaning of our toothbrushes.
What do the artifacts in your life say about you? Do you live to be remembered or to remember?
Editor’s note: We are traveling in remote Peru this week with no internet access, so we will join in the conversation when we return. Please start the comments without us!
About Betsy
I live to tell stories. It makes for a very exciting and sometimes very painful life. I don’t know if that’s living to remember or living to entertain, which may be living to be remembered. I’m just glad to be alive!
Margit, it sounds more to me like living out loud - sometimes happy, sometimes painful, but always intense. I’m very glad you are alive, too.
Hi guys! We’re with you, we live to remember. We realize we’ve chosen to travel light through life so all we may be leaving behind are a few (dozen by then?) journals which may need an interpretation for some future tech driven culture. Who knows. With that in mind we make the best and most memories possible and have currently quit obsessing over paint; an accomplishment for a former designer
Hope you are having as a friend says, a grand time! Make no little memories, make grand ones!
Gena, I love that quote! I’m adding it to my little book of favorite sayings. Thank you.
Love this question and Warren…great input here. I think when you are in your purging moment you kind of get into this. What do I use, have, need on a regular basis. But I love this question. I am going to ponder it. I know we will not live forever and I am not really interested in being remembered by strangers forever either. But what am I going to leave behind? What will my children and grandchildren have to remember us by? I say no to big fluffy sofas and large tvs. But yes to great pictures, culture, language, and wonderful memories full of adventure. Great topic!
You know, after I set this post to publish and we went on our “no internet” week of hiking, I thought about the idea of even having a travel blog. Are we trying to be remembered or remember?
It is a great question to ask on a regular basis because it keeps you focused on the result you want. Steven Covey calls it “beginning with the end in mind.”
Fantastic post! Once the archeologists from 5029 dig through all the stratified layers of petrified starbucks cups, perfectly preserved (and still stanky!) disposable diapers, crushed iPhones and hi-def flat-screen TV’s and finally unearth my mummified body cerimoniously wrapped in Tommy Bahama, they’ll find me with a big grin on my face because I died with great memories going through my mind of all the adventurous and joyful experiences I’ve shared with those I’ve loved — NOT surrounded by a bunch of “stuff” I’ve collected using credit cards!
Tranque, I’m cracking up picturing your Tommy Bahama mummification crew. Seems a bit more expensive than plain old linen, but I guess if you don’t buy a lot of crap while you are living you can splurge when you are dead. I’ll never loom at a Tommy Bahama shirt now without thinking of you!
As always, love the thoughtful and high energy comments you add to the discussion. We can’t wait to meet you and Yumi in person one day.
I’m truly looking forward to meeting you two! After seeing your glacier pics I’m trying to figure out how I can convince Yumi (the “princess”) that hiking in Peru is really just as much fun as shopping in Rome or Paris …. lol!!
Come on, Tranque, that’s an easy sell! They don’t have glaciers in Paris or Rome.
And she gets to buy new hiking boots and clothes for the occasion - perhaps in Rome or Paris on the way to Peru? (See, I may be low-maintenance now, but I haven’t always been that way…)
“Either write something worth reading or live something worth writting about”
… in order to be remembered, you need to DO SOMETHING and get out of that sofa …
Solves both goals, doesn’t it? Perfect!
Wow, just stumbled on this one and was struck dumb by your insight with this statement:
“You are like the 5 people you spend the most time with, whether you like it or not”.
How remarkable and true that is. If you surround yourself with people who don’t set goals to make their dreams come true, you will slowly but surely become the same. Thanks!
Hi, Sarah. I was similarly struck by the “5 people” concept when I heard it, and looking back over my life I can see how true it is. Now I make a conscious effort to surround myself with positive, action-oriented people. The times I don’t pay attention to this rule and spend time with negative, whiny, or just plain limited-thinking people are the times I feel my own mojo slipping. This rule is so important - we can’t do great things by willpower and conviction alone. We have to make our environment one that encourages us to do and be good. Sounds like you have that figured out!