I heard that immortality is boring, although I don’t remember where I heard that. All I know is that I don’t agree with that sentence. I think the problem with immortality, at least as a human being, is that every single thing humans do is because of death. We busy ourselves from here to there because we know there will be a moment when we can’t go from here to there.
Time helps us be aware of the fragility of our existence. We act in order to give our life a meaning – an objective in the little time that we possess. So no, immortality would not be boring. It would make action sterile. The whole purpose of movement would cancel. Aristotle saw time as movement: things were born and then died. He called the time lapse between birth and death corruption, which is essentially movement. Life is movement. It’s a big beautiful moving thing between two layers of nothingness.
Life is Possibility
Life is possibility, death is finite. We grasp the idea of an afterlife, but we have no guarantees. I believe in an ever-after, but faith is personal. In the end, all we have is now. Even if we don’t think about it, the idea of the end lies within us. We cope with it; it’s no big deal. There’s nothing to fear in dying – the real tragedy is not really living.
Life is being responsible: being aware of ourselves, what we want in life, and getting to know the real you. Life is about being aware of the weight of existential liberty. That is, being able to do or not do with the full awareness of the extent and impact of our actions. We, as mortals, are amazingly free because we die. Therefore, we have to make our life a poem until death. Success is getting old, looking back and being satisfied with the pictures that you see in your head. It is dying and being remembered by your loved ones… because loved ones… they never really go. They just cease to live. This is not the same as ceasing to exist. They live through us.
Immortality is not the same as eternity. We, humans, seek eternity, though we confuse it with the former. Immortality is, essentially, not dying. Eternity exists way beyond our time, not necessarily living. In other words, looking for immortality is wanting to not die, while looking for eternity is wanting not to be forgotten. And what stands better throughout that ravenous beast we call time other than memory?
Transcend into Traveling: Action is Fuel
Transcend into traveling and action is fuel for memories. Memory is the only witness time leaves alive. History traces back all the actions – the good and bad – that compose our ideologies that form the present and mold the future. But transcendence is not only applied to humans as a social being. We fulfill our life’s purpose by being the best possible “I” we can. It can only be achieved through self-examination and enjoying life to the fullest. Transcendence implies making something meaningful. It could be to us, personally, or to a group of us, but meaningful nonetheless. Art is the most beautiful way of perpetuation. But we can create these moments as well, unerasable from memory. And one of those ways is by traveling.
Traveling is the perfect way of doing something meaningful. One can get a gaze of many ways of life. Let’s face it: there’s more ground to cover than we’ll ever be able to step on in our short lifespans. So, we have to cover as much of it as possible. Don’t be afraid – it only takes one small step at a time. Formalize your desire. Don’t be afraid to fail, because the ones failing are the ones trying to change. So what if life is short if we can make the most of it? When you’re in another country, it’s easy to be defeated by homesickness or by the combination of futons, awful food, and a big, cold room. But let us not despair. Comedy = Tragedy + Time.
Now, I laugh and remember tenderly those bad nights: sometimes on the floor, beside a river, down a pier, or in a soccer field in the middle of nowhere. I remember the times that I celebrated a special occasion all alone and the times where I wanted to hug my significant other. Too bad Skype hasn’t gotten that far! Reflecting on the times, I felt nostalgic. I missed my loved ones, but I became aware of how beautiful and noble that feeling was because it’s not rational.
You may and may not have hard times while traveling, but I think you can endure everything that you want and learn from it. I want to travel abroad and see Canada. Taking my girlfriend to Italy and wherever she wants would be amazing. I want to live in another place – at least for a while – and while I can. Traveling is an excellent opportunity to transcend and be happy. The only other two ways to find meaning that I see are helping nature (animals, plants, humans, ecosystem) and creating (artistically speaking). So, no, immortality is not boring. Transcend into traveling is just that it pales against the exquisite exhilaration of mortal life.
