Irrelevant

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

The romantic in me thinks of the decades flipping by with great warmness, of springs and autumns bleeding into summers, winters. Lean years followed by fat years, planting, birthdays, harvests, christmases, and change, change, change.

It seems warm right now, full and sepia-toned. A scrapbook, highlight reel. A very long life, well lived.

Then I think of all of the things that could go wrong, as things inevitably tend to. Loss. Heartbreak. People leave, pets die, harvests fail. Tragedy and cruelty mar the face of time, always.

The eternal human question is if all of the goodness outweighs the pain, if it is worth it at all.

See, I greatly admire stoicism but have a great difficulty employing it when things get tough. I shrug and say “thats life, baby” until the thick of it creeps in and things are tough. Then I cry the ever-tired line “Why me, God?” While shaking my fist at the sky.

I am young, all things considered, and I think maybe this immature attitude can be forgiven.

When I think of living a very long life, I stop short. It is memento mori. Remember: you will die. What we do here matters.

If I am granted a very long life, what could I do with it? If any of us are blessed with long years, what is the impact?

Even more pressing: how should we spend our time if we are not granted long life? There is a paradox here: we will not know the length of our lifespan until it is over!

So what shall we do with our time here on earth, regardless of the duration? Am I going to sleep through it, content be shuffled through the lines of lazy safety, entertainment, numbness, joylessness? Or shall I live painfully consciously, alive aware to the sufferings, but also the wonderful joys? To create, weep, rejoice, celebrate, make mistakes, strive for better days. Food for thought.

Anyways, remember: you will die!

Unedited,

JJC