I’ve often thought as God being life itself. To be self renewing, to experience all that encompasses being alive from the simple amoeba, to the flowering vine, to being human. So often we are taught that the reward for a moral life is the gift of eternal life. Yet we confuse this with living as our individual selves for all eternity. This is the mistake, for if God gives us a soul it is a piece of the power that expresses itself in all living things. To be cast out from paradise would be to be condemned forever to exist with out the possibility of death or renewal.

Why do the biblical angels cast out of heaven hate us so? Because they can no longer experience what it means to be truly alive, they envy us, oh do they weep for being condemned to eternal existence, the madness they must experience, the gnashing of teeth.

So my advice, do not pray for eternity, but realize that being alive is itself paradise, even with its pain and suffering. For even after death life springs eternal, and if your spark of life is renewed, perhaps you will live to see a another day, not as yourself, but new and ready to experience the process of living all over again.

That certainly depends on the person’s belief system. Many people (myself included) believe that we just transition from this plane to the next one where our knowledge is released and added to the greater whole.

On the other hand, I’m also one of those people who will be 149 and still planning my 150th birthday party!

Who wants to live to 150, just ask someone who is 149.

That would entirely depend on the world that the author (you) wanted to create!

I’d say to use your imagination and play with the possibilities. When you aren’t limited by what people “know” to be true, then you aren’t limited at all.

Have some fun with it – that would be the best advice that I could give!

How do I write a story about a her? The woman that lives forever.

Any suggestions?

Nomad

Thanks for sharing that unique bit of poetry!

Is
knows not time

There is no compass
beyond time

That of Is
knows time

And a compass, too

Nomad

“Making decisions based upon a compass to guide me instead of a clock to bind me has been a very enlightening and powerful revelation.”

But why does time go in a straight line and a compass leans in all directions?

I could really relax as there WOULD always be tomorrow. Hell I could spend a lifetime just kicking back. Then spend my next lifetime catching up and getting everything done from the last century.

Money would not be a problem as eventually even crappy investments would pay off.

I always did think there was something wrong with spending your life getting to a point where you really do know a thing or two and then having to check out.

I could go on and on. I hate the urgency of life. I really do just get to everything as I can and do not worry about much. Drives my wife crazy as she worries about everything.

I just turned 49 and look like I am 35 because I just don’t worry about things I cant do anything about.

Wish I had more time to live life and enjoy all the things I will not have time to get to in this lifetime.

###

Personally I’d take living forever in reality over dying for something far less concrete and certainly less open to personal exploration. I would accept living forever in a state of complete paralysis over dying. I would use the time to think and to the best of my abilities explore. Existing is fascinating. I choose to remain fascinated.

As for the loss of family members and loved ones, it is obvious to me that you will eventually get over it. Not even the most limited mind would be able to sulk forever and of course there is the potential to have literally billions of loves and worthwhile relationships if you are fortunate enough to have the time.

So a good point to set across would be to cherish all those around us that we love, while they are still here. And while we’re at it, freeing ourselves from our constraints in order to realize that we have only a limited amount of time on this earth to experience what we want or can.

If I knew I was going to live forever, I would begin exploring. So much to know – so much to explore. And so much to be done – with that kind of time frame in which to work, one could accomplish very great works indeed and change countless lives for the better.

As for what I’d do, I’d first get everything in order in my personal life, pay off my current debts and whatnot.

Then, I’d work enough to seriously go back to school, and get doctorates in just about every field of study that can be used to improve human life. Medicine, chemistry, engineering, law, philosophy, I’d learn it all and go out and do it. I’m sure with centuries to learn and work I could get laws enacted that would be fair, just, and make the world a better place. Knowing not only how to operate to save someones life, but also the chemicals that make up modern medicine and how the affect the human body would probably give me an edge as a doctor. With all the time in the world, building houses that can stand up to all the natural disasters would become a possibility. When all this is said and done I’d probably let myself become a test subject for science, just for fun. I’d probably also look into ways to extend the suns life and rejuvenate the earth so that everyone can keep living long and happy lives here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Men_are_Mortal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_de_Beauvoir

http://www.mprize.org

However I would love one reset button to go back to a point in my life and try again. Everyone has one of those and it would make all the difference in the world because on this trip there is no U-turns or reverse.

As mortals we live in a race against the clock, which forces us to chose a determined path to follow, in the sense that you have to choose one career, one line of work, one location to live (not necessarily one but you get the picture) where there are infinitely many choices for you to pick.

Living for ever would give you a chance to live different possible paths.

Then there’s the things that you know you will not live to see, there are so many things invested in the future, space expo, technology, socio-political developments and it’s kinda disappointing to know you will not live to see some things.

Although I do agree that the time limit makes compels us to take action, it would be tempting to see what is behind door number 1, 2, 3, 4,5…

Afaflix

My being is defined by my memories. The human being is much more than the substance that is our bodies or the energies that move us. The things I have done, the people I have met, the memories I have and share with those around me is who I am. If I were to forget all of these things then I’d be someone else.

Now you might say, “Then are you the same person you were 5 minutes ago? You have 5 minutes worth of new memories”. And indeed that would be correct. Each day, every passing moment, there is a new me though what they all have in common is the common experience. The most recent revision of me is the culmination and reinvention of the previous me, making each moment more special than the last. Were all those previous me’s to be obliterated then something that is greater than the sum of all it’s parts would cease to be and could never be again.

THAT is the sad part. Not that one dies, but that they can never be again.

With absolute infinity, you would eventually run out of things to do. I would say yes to immortality. I might regret that decision a million years from now, but I would have thousands of years to ponder that issue.