Struggle for relevance

As I approach what I recently referred to as my "Firty-Forst birthday"* I struggle for relevance.

Should I evaluate my significance on a human time scale, 10 to 100 years?
If so, then I am one of the supreme consumers on the planet - located in the wealthiest area of the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country.
In order to offset my gluttony on all fronts I have chosen a path of sterility and a humble home well within my means and limited in impact on the world around it.
I pay my taxes and vote for those who seem least irrational.
My employer teaches the young to some extent and, in as much as I contribute to the group's well-being, I would like to think that I'm helping fend off ignorance and superstition without adding to the human clutter teaming around me. In this short-term human time scale I am, I feel, a neutral presence. A genetic dead-end to be sure and passively promoting conservation and rationality but never to an extent that would limit my enjoyment.

On any other time scale I am basically a microbe whose entire remains and cumulative impact will either be swept over by the sea or scoured from the land by glacial advances. Indeed it will be hard to prove that I ever existed in one thousand years. In a million years it will challenging to prove that my species ever existed.

So, in an effort to evade irrelevance I have chosen to evaluate myself on a daily and weekly basis. This week, in the face of potential economic breakdown, I have chosen to not contribute to the panic by preserving my paltry investments in an abstract financial system instead of withdrawing them and instinctively stockpiling food/water/medicine and guns. This coming Tuesday I will chose to vote for a nominally different candidate for president of my nation. Although a meaningless act due to the machinations of the election process I hope to contribute to a landslide victory for the man in my state, at least. His victory will likely end in disaster given all current trends but in this very short-term evaluation I will have made the right decision. This week I also contributed mightily to the distribution of candies to local youths. I'm not sure that contributing to obesity and diabetes among the young can be seen as a good thing but they sure do enjoy it and, in the short-term, that is all that matters. I'll support any initiative for greater health eduction and universal healthcare coverage for these young people if given the chance. So again, hopefully, I have had no long-term negative effect.

To quote a favorite television program "If you've done things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."

*41st