this is my immortality

in ancient roman mythology, 'genius' described a separate divine entity that embodies a person.

the term has evolved almost as much as humans have.

it used to mean that the artist or intellectual was just a vessel for their genius to give birth to something more powerful and everlasting than human faculties have the capacity to understand or language to describe. for instance the beatles disbanded but the white album is still in print. the promotional period is over. so who/what is responsible for its continued trajectory? what has sustained its momentum? john lennon is gone but the song "imagine" is still playing on the radio. the likelihood is stronger that john lennon will lose relevance or be forgotten than what he created. as a parent, you take credit for giving life, but you didn't design your reproductive system. and if your kid cures aids someday you don't take responsibility for it, but you do of course harbor a lot of pride...i mean, even general copyright law acknowledges an idea similar to this, that a person's work belongs to him for only 70 years past the life of the author.

we are not immortal but our contributions are. how much credit do you take? i don't take for granted flashes of insight that i have, these moments still astound me. i like the explanation that i am not the genius but that a genius is visiting me. "it's way less pressure," says elizabeth gilbert.