Living forever.

8

You've all probably been asked some version of this question-- If you had only one day left to live, what would you do? How would you spend your very last day alive? [And you've probably answered, I'm going to Disneyland! Or maybe, I'd go skydiving and paragliding and visit the mouth of an actively erupting volcano! And I'd eat the fattiest trans-fatty, HFCS, GMO-MSG-filled, gluten-laden food ever!]

But did you notice that hardly anyone seems to get asked-- If you were able to live forever, how would your perspective on life change? What would you do differently if you could live forever?

So this morning, I asked myself what *I* would do differently if I could live forever.

For starters, I'd probably [try to] quit telling myself such things as -- "It doesn't matter. Why bother? We'll all be dead anyway." And the very similar sentiment: "Life is futility. Because one morning you won't wake up, and it'll be the end of you."

How many times have I heard that I should live my life as if it were my last day on Earth? It has never provided me with even the smallest measure of solace.

If I lived forever, I also probably wouldn't catch myself saying things like "oh, well, it's TOO LATE for me to do that" which of course translates to: "I don't have the time to do that." Because guess what, folks?! Living forever means having all the time in the world.

Why is it so much easier for us to imagine the scenario "this is the last day on earth for you" than it is for us to imagine "you can live forever"? Is it because our fear of mortality is the guiding force behind many of our thoughts and actions? I don't know.

Does the temporality of life, and knowing that there's a sense of urgency in living life as-full-you-can-possibly-live-it because you only have a limited amount of time, give life THAT much more meaning?

xx

**The photo above is from two nights ago. I decided to spare you all the agony of seeing another backyard photo with the playground front and center, so I moved to the opposite end of the backyard.

VIEW 12 of 12 COMMENTS
adelina:
@wyldechylde I was actually hoping someone would mention what a pointless meaningless question this is! Hahaha. I love pointless meaningless questions, you know. For example, my favorite one is "What's the meaning of life?" or "If you won the lottery, what would you buy?" or "If you could sleep with ANYONE, who would it be?" or even, "If you could be any animal [other than human], which one would it be and why?" I was really just wondering why the question "What would you do today if you died tomorrow?" is a more popular question than "How would you live if you could live forever?" But you're right, it is ultimately meaningless! Hope you are having a splendid xmas with your family! xx
jaguar6234:
I like the question " If you could live for ever would you want to? I always expected to grow old with my wife... But cancer took her away just 13 years after we met. I think if living forever meant never getting sick and being free of  ailment, I would want that for her. But if living forever meant you could still get the same afflictions but never die from them... I would choose not to live for ever.....I think mortality is a painful gift of life... but again its all meaningless right.... We have to do what we think is best with the time we have... I like the deep thoughts though....  

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