An algorithm asked me - what is the truest thing that everybody knows? Instantly I typed in “You are going to die”.
Now you may think I’ve got problems with my mental health, dwelling on morbid thoughts, but having been a rock climber who climbed with people who died pursuing their passion, and learnt that the ground is very hard, gravity works instantaneously and I’m very soft, I accepted early in life that my mortality could easily be demonstrated at any weekend. This acceptance made me a much better rock climber and I appreciated the beautiful and joyful things in life even more. My world was a shining, sparkling beautiful diamond back then, (but on reflection perhaps a crazy selfish one).
Rene Descartes, concluded that the only thing he could be sure of, was the fact that as he could think, he existed. There is also the old cliché that the only thing you can be sure of is “death and taxes“. So combining these you get:-
“I’m alive, I have to conform to social group norms, and I will die“.
Well, you know about being alive, and I’ve written about social groups previously, so it’s time to write of death!
Back in the mists of time, someone in our prehistoric past, must have had the first human realisation that he or she would also end up dead, like that person who had just “hopped the twig” as my mum's bird metaphor calls dying. This must have been a traumatic, scary and a lonely moment - being the only one to have this new knowledge. It must have been upsetting for this person and those he or she told.
However, to overcome this horrid by- product of our developing intelligence, our ancestors by - passed the negativity and created the myth of the afterlife. There is no need to dwell on the awfulness and sadness of your and others demise, because you can pretend it isn‘t really the end, just a change into something else. What a comfort this must have been, and still is.
The problem is, with our enlightened, inquiring, scientifically trained minds we now know that the psychological trick of heaven is just a fiction. It’s just like Harry Potter, who at the wave of a wand, can solve any problem - it's just made up, reality isn't like that. And once you know this, the trick no longer works. You can’t go back once you know how the trick's performed.
So, how do we get over the tragic fact that one day there will no longer be a you or I - Not even thoughts or memories - nothing? Well you don’t get over it, you just have to accept it. It is tragic and sad, but it isn’t really anything to worry about. After all, It can’t be that bad - everyone does it! And as Cervantes says in Don Quixote, once your dead that’s the end of it, no more problems, no more concerns and (I would add) you are leaving the world for those that follow, rather than cluttering up the place using oxygen whilst not contributing. There is a bright side to death, as Monty Python would sing.
And Once you accept the fact that one day your body will run out of energy, and you die, I find it liberating and exhilarating. The fact that you and I are alive to experience the world is made much more amazing. We may only have a few years of existence - but what a phenomenal fact that is.
You and I think, therefore we are.
How wonderful is that? How precious is that? Celebrate your life and help all others* to celebrate theirs too.
(*Others I define as every one alive now and in the future, including animals - you help future others by not wrecking the planet)
