Who Wants to Live Forever?
I have been a fan of the Highlander movies and especially the TV show for years. It's classic "good vs. evil" stuff, with an immortal modern vs. ancient twist. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend that you check it out.
For anyone who has no idea what it is about, here are the basics:
There are a group of "immortals" who are humans here on earth, just like the rest of us. They live forever, but they are constantly battling each other for "the prize". The prize is all of the knowledge that man has accumulated literally since the dawn of time, and these immortals can be killed in only one way:
To quote the {ahem} immortal words of Sean Connery in the very first Highlander movie, "If your head comes away from your shoulders, it's over."
So, these immortals cannot die unless their head is cut off, at which time all of their knowledge and experience is then transmitted to the immortal who did so – in a spectacular display of lightning and explosions, I might add.
Pretty cool, right? You cut off someone's head and you gain all of their knowledge and experience!
Yeah, okay. Actually it's pretty barbaric, but I assure you, the Highlander franchise has style, especially the TV series, with actor Adrian Paul playing the part of our favorite good guy immortal, Duncan McLeod (of the clan McLeod).
So, other than my obvious enjoyment of the Highlander saga, what does any of this have to do with personal growth and development? 2 things, actually:
1) Consider the question of living forever. Assuming it was possible – but only for you and a handful of others (who you don't get to pick) – would you do it?
On one hand, you get to live forever, and since time is not an issue, you can learn and experience everything and anything with absolutely no constraints, since there will always be more time.
On the other hand, since you don't get to pick the handful of other "immortals," the people that you love and care about will die. It's not a question of "if," but rather a question of when and how.
A morbid concept for a personal development blog? Not when you think about it from the point of view of considering how much your life is about you vs. how much your life is defined by the people around you.
2) If you chose the fact that you DID want to live forever, what would you do? I mean, everyone has hobbies that they would like to spend more time on, but an immortal would certainly be able to do something more constructive than reading more books or taking more naps. So, what would you do?
If you would NOT want to live forever, then ask yourself this question:
"Am I living my life like the clock is ticking and every moment is literally gone forever, never to come again?"
Oh, and one more thing. One of the members over at Personal Development Partners has contributed in a thought-provoking way to many conversations, and I am so very grateful to have gotten to know him.
His username over at at PDP is FloridaAviator, and with regard to his personal development journey, he had this to say:
"Making decisions based upon a compass to guide me instead of a clock to bind me has been a very enlightening and powerful revelation."
Dave, I know I grabbed your quote without first asking for permission, but, to be honest, that is great stuff, and I wanted to share it with the world. My compass told me to share your wisdom, and I want to thank you once again for putting forth such a profound concept.
You, sir, are the man.
By the way, this post was inspired by nothing less than me hearing the theme song to the Highlander franchise, and it is SO worth a listen. The song is performed by Queen, and is called Who Wants to Live Forever?
I am legally obligated to tell you that you are not allowed to keep this file. I am morally obligated to tell you that I really don't care what you do with it, as long as you gained at least one moment of introspection from your time here today.
Queen – Who Wants to Live Forever?
p.s. – This idea is very much open to conversation in the comments section below, or over at Personal Development Partners. And my answer to the question of living forever? Oh, I think you know!
