The beauty in being mortal

HiddenPimo

I am only speaking from my personal point of view and not to encroach on anyone else's belief system:

One of the main points of attraction to the JW life was the 'Panda Paradise', once I woke up, I began to think about the future and it made me realize that JW's have little or no regard for life and the way they treat others even in those who are JW's.

e.g. No Blood, Shunning, Theocratic Warfare, No real charity work for those in need, etc...

If we live forever on earth we would get bored, we would take relationships for granted and possible want to actually die.

What makes anything valuable is the not the beauty of it but the rarity of it or the limited amount of it.

Time is not only limited but all of our hourglasses are opaque leaving the amount of sand remaining a guess at best, and this is what moves us to appreciate life and ever little thing it gives us.

There is a beautiful and poignant song by Jason Isbell 'If We Were Vampires' and it perfectly describes the beauty one can find in ones mortality and how it moves us to Love & Care Deeper than if we were immortal.

The 2nd verse goes

If we were vampires and death was a joke
We'd go out on the sidewalk and smoke
And laugh at all the lovers and their plans
I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand
Maybe time running out is a gift
I'll work hard 'til the end of my shift
And give you every second I can find
And hope it isn't me who's left behind

Country may not be your thing but if you want to hear the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyiEJaf-IzE

redvip2000

Just my two cents:

I tend to disagree. It's almost like the traditional situation of the person who wins the lottery and then says they will work because otherwise they will sit home bored.

The only reason why you would be bored is because you are not seeking new interests. There is a tremendous amount of things that you are not doing, simply because you are not sure you like them as you never tried them.

I know without a doubt that I will die without doing one fraction of the things I wanted to do, and without going to many places I wanted to go. Life is just not long enough to accomplish everything.

Also, the amount of things that there are to do, are not static. There are hobbies and other things to do, that didn't exist 50 or 100 years ago, and so even if you are now 1 million years old, and have done everything possible on your bucket list, changes are there are now thousands of new things waiting for you.

There is nothing beautiful about being mortal, this is just yet another thing we tell ourselves in order to make our current condition more palatable.

waton

HP, it is beautiful, if you come to terms with what life is.

It surprised you when you discovered you were alive, conscious, and might have more surprises ahead. " hourglass is opaque" food for thought,

iwantoutnow

Yes but I still don't want to die.

After 48 years of hoping for living forever, it's hard to get on the "im gonna die soon" bandwagon.

blondie

I have felt for a long time now, that the past is the past and the future is never certain, so live today the best and the most I can. I have faced death several times, from things I could not predict and happened so fast that all I could do is do what I knew to try. I am still here, but not necessarily because of my own actions.

I don't want to poison today by worrying about tomorrow. I used to be such a worrywort and so anxious about what might happen, that my moments in today became unimportant to me.

There is some wisdom if the saying: Stop and smell the roses.

I have always enjoyed the company of older people. I tried to learn from their experiences and realize that many had learned to live each day. I asked one lady in her late 80's about what she thought about each morning when she woke up. She said, "that I woke up." I asked how it feels to be old (no tact there), and she said to me: Blondie, every day I wake up there is this 18-year-old girl in my mind. I keep her there, because I am still that same person." And I will say, she was the most authentically positive person I have ever known.

Not that she ignored the past or thought about the fact that few people lived past 110. As she said, "I had no guarantee that I would live past today. So don't waste today worrying about the past or the future."

She died at 93 in her sleep. Unexpectedly, she would say. So as I approach 70, from a generation of jws that thought the end would come in 1975, I don't long for the WTS new system. I live today realizing that the good things have not disappeared and many are here today to enjoy.

I'm glad I knew her and the other ladies that enjoyed their lives and their wisdom through experience that they shared with me. I never know if today is my last, but I don't dwell on that, I just enjoy today.

Today, working in the garden, canning produce, cutting flowers from my flower garden for my empty vases, watching my nature shows, learning about life. Maybe go and see a movie.

Blondie

cookiemaster

I very strongly disagree. Firstly because survival is one of the most primal instincts found in all living things, next to reproduction. I see no reason why any person living in a healthy young human body would decide to die, unless clinically depressed (which wouldn't be the case in a healthy body). Secondly, boredom is for the unimaginative. We know almost nothing of our universe. We have explored only a very tiny fraction of our universe. We still have so much to learn. If we lived millennia, we could actually become a space-faring species.

Moreover, I read books, watch movies and tv shows almost every single day and in 26 years of life I have no been able to get boredom. Every year I discover something amazing, a TV show, a book, that encompasses an entire philosophy and a bit of meditation to understand. Especially the older stuff that wasn't so commercially focused, there's so much to unpack in that, still so much to experience and discover.

Thirdly, or it should've been firstly, I don't want my loved ones to ever suffer and die, although most likely they will. I will do everything in my power (through technology) to prevent that. When you hold you small child in your arms and you understand what an absolute treasure life is, I don't conceive willingly allowing that magic living being to die.

Death is for the majority of people extremely ugly. After 60, your body quickly deteriorates in horrible ways. Some people forget who they are, some spend the next decade immobilized and shitting their pants. Biological immortality would fix all that since it can only be achieved through rejuvenation. Very few lucky old people die at 90 in their sleep. Most suffer and start rotting (metaphorically) while still being alive.

Finally, I think this is an unhealthy attitude. Just like that of rich people that do extreme things because they are bored with life. If you found purpose in your life, something meaningful, helping your family, your community, your nation, anything greater than yourself, then you will always have something to do. Personally, there's so much I would do. I have innovative technologies in my head that I've never been able to materialize because I lack the money. I could help stray animals, people in my community and ensure a safe and prosperous future for my family. I could create a space empire, if you want to think outside the box. Anything is possible, but you must imagine that thing and try to make it a reality.

peacefulpete

I had a moment with a young nephew who had to experience death of a loved one for the first time, it was sober but not depressing to remind him that if no one died in a short time we could not have any more puppies and kittens and children. He immediately got it. A concept easier understood by a child not yet indoctrinated with years of religious denials.

Interestingly in ancient Israel what was hoped for was to be "satisfied with days" not to live forever. A much healthier philosophy.

stillin

Yesterday is history

Tomorrow is a mystery

Today is a gift. That's why they call it "the present."

DATA-DOG

I couldn’t live forever in JW Paradise. Maybe that concept of eternal life has affected our views on what it could be?

Personally, I would not want eternal life without a soul-mate. How sad to leave behind a loved one for eternity...

That being said, eternal life would be great under the right circumstances, Space Travel being one.

DD

Magnum

redvip2000 & cookiemaster, I strongly agree with both of you.

The beauty in being mortal

Share this