Sunday, November 16, 2008

Unlikely everafter.



Nobody has a fair idea of how and when we are going to die. Accident, disease, homicide, terrorism, war, suicide—these are just some of the circumstances under which our earthly life is taken away. One wrong move, one wrong decision, being at the wrong place at the wrong time could demand that we pay the ultimate price.
No one has been able to survive for very long. No one has achieved immortality.

Everyone dies.

But if given the choice, would you really like to stay in this world until its very end? Would you want to witness all technological evolutions over time? Would you want to meet every one of your grandchildren, their grandchildren, etc.? Honestly, the mere thought terrifies me.

A life without end would lose meaning. One would have to work his ass off until eternity. One would have a very difficult time loving another forever. You would see your enemies come and go, and you could not laugh about it.

It would be a life of sadness. You would have to attend every funeral of the persons you love, and the procession will never end. The people you love would just grow in number over time, and they would all be gone at some point.

Being immortal would probably make you feel like you’re walking around aimlessly. No one likes to begin reading a story knowing that it would never end.

So I say death is a creepy gift which you do not have the power to reject. Party hard before you receive it. And watch out for its arrival.

Most likely you won’t like it.

4 comments:

Sid Brechin said...

I've never been afraid of death. I have read that fear of death is the second most common fear. Public speaking is number one. That one I actually enjoy so maybe I am a little odd. I never expected to make 30. I served in the Infantry and even in peacetime that is dangerous. During that time I use weapons, explosives, Studied and later taught mountain climbing. Went of winter warfare training. I had a few friends die in training. I fought 3 forest fires while in the Army. However what happened to me there the changes in what I was are probably what kept the rest of my life interesting and saved my life a number of times and the lives of others too.
I never set out to do many of the things I have done they came from being not so much from being in the wrong place at the wrong time but being the right person in the wrong place at the wrong time. I once disarmed a man with a loaded handgun on a subway train. I didn't know there was a gun on the train. I was the mechanic for the area and got paged when the train stopped moving. I got on the train he pointed the gun at me. Next thing I knew his gun was in my pocket and he was on the floor unable to get up. My training had taken over, on a pistol range you at some point are going to have someone have a misfire and likely he will point the gun at you innocently "my gun didn't go off" we are trained to take his gun and knock him down then point the gun in a safe direction as a misfire can go off as much as a couple minutes later. This guy didn't have time to pull the trigger or even realize he had pointed it really. I don't know how many knives I took of people over the years mostly on drugs or booze. I don't know how many suicides I was called to. Half don't suceed and you end up doing the first aid till the paramedics arrive. I don't know how many train fires I stopped. When working surface ( streetcars ) I don't know how many accidents I attended and if we beat the ambulance again we did the first aid. At least on surface I worked with a partner on the subway I was alone. Gave me more leeway so maybe I did more good then if I had a partner. I got sick when I was no longer on the front lines so to speak. When you know something is happening and you can't do anything is worse than being there and at least trying. Knowing the cause is letting me get better slowly. Panic disorder is an odd thing. Until I got it and would become scared to the point of panic for absolutely no reason I didn't really know what fear felt like. I guess all my life I ran to trouble instead of away.
It doesn't make me a Saint and I get very embarassed when I get called one which has happened a few times. I just can't turn off what I spent years learning to become.
As for immortality my only shot at that is that being an example to others or passing on what I have learned in life may continue to get passed on. It's not going to be passed on via my genes I have no biological children. To live forever I don't think would be all that bad but I don't wish I could. We are all the same age. At least I never feel any different inside then I did at any other age. Some times I am in healthier or in better shape then others but I am always still me inside. Probably stuck at 12 or some such age. And all of us live the same length of time. One lifetime.
I just hope I can spend that life in as honorable a way as possible. I make wrong choices at times same as everyone. Maybe I regret them more than most I don't know. I do know it doesn't really get easier to do the right thing as we get older. We get older at avoiding temptation but trouble can come from nowhere. One thing I do know. Running to it instead of away has kept me alive and others as well. Running away from it. If I were to later find someone had suffered as a result of my not being there to help when I could have been. That is something I would not want to live with.

Amazon Buyer said...

hhmm..life is such a thing..some want to live forever while some want to die instantly..as for me...let time take its decision and i will go when its time..till then..keep those laughs, cries, fights, tensions on..gives a reason to live which is much more than the reason to die..

i remember vaguely an email which said how would it be if the life went the other way round..u r born as an age old adult and then ur age starts decreasing..and u end with an orgasm..he he he..funny it was..especially the ending..will see if i can get that..

Boysie Gonzaga said...

I was listening to Alphaville’s "Forever Young” on my way to the office this morning and somehow related the lyrics of hit the song to your post.

Dying and living are twin brothers longing for each other. You ask a loan from the first one and pay your debts to the other. You can never set them apart. It’s the natural law.

However, they both agree to give you a measured ground in between them where you can sing your song, weave your dreams and build your life to your heart's content.

So, enjoy life and thank them in return.

Anonymous said...

So convincing as odette's ideas about life is, sitll I have a concern there which was not dealt with. Actually, I am not that much worried about about life in this world and about the fact that we all must die. What bothers me is that I can not invisage the life after death, if any.
Who can prove the life after death through tangible evidenve. Even if they can, how is it like? I believe every thing is just an earthly theory far from being exact. The only thing I personally feel about this fact, is that the whole universe is very well organized and well coordinated, so it is so far fetched to look at death as the end of life. Still this is just a theory as well...

Iman M.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin