Beyond Death

"Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean."

-- David Sedaris

I don't know what happens after we die, and neither do you. Sure, you can tell me what you believe, but, quite frankly, I don't want to hear it. Belief has nothing to do with death.

Mystery is what death is all about. It's the biggest, friggin' mystery there is! And it can't be solved, unravelled, or believed away. All you can do is accept your ignorance and continue to live. Until you don't. And then you'll find out.

While we're still here, there's a whole lot to do that is far more interesting than speculating on what happens next. Living in the present is one awesome, or awe-full, surprise after another. That's where our attention needs to be, not on the other shore. We'll each arrive there soone enough.

Meet you on the other side! Or, maybe not....

Fun!

"Fun is my revenge against mortality."

-- Dustin Hoffman

You can't control the length of your life, but you have a lot of influence over the quality of it. You, yes you, can choose to have fun!

What a concept! I'm amazed at how many people have seemingly never thought of it. They pass through life like drones on autopilot, rarely doing anything that's really fun. They mope along, complain about the weather, engage in soulless work, act like other people are invisible, and wonder why there life is so boring and drab.

What's fun? Well, it's different for each one. Make a list "10 Fun Things That I Really Like to Do." On my list is tennis, swimming, reading, talking with friends, browsing used book stores, sex... you get the picture. Then do at least one of those things each day. And on the best days -- do nothing but those things!

Keep the list handy and add to it. I'm sure there are a lot more than 10 things you find fun, so why not keep a running tally? Then when life seems like it's attempting to crowd out fun with a bunch of unfun crap, you can do a quick perusal of your list and get on with having fun, post haste.

Think you're already a pretty fun dude or dudette? Then here's the curriculum for the graduate level fun seminar -- find a way to make everything that you have to do fun! You know things like work, visit your mother-in-law, go to the dentist, have a colonoscopy, die, etc., etc.

Don't worry, you won't become shallow simply by living a life of fun. Life will still throw you some challenges, and you will meet them, and they won't all be fun. But on your average day, on most days, you, like Dustin, can have your revenge against life's silly shortness by filling whatever minutes, months, and years you are given with fun, fun, fun! Even when that big, metaphorical, daddy-in-the-sky takes the T-bird away.

The Eternal Flow

"I feel myself so much a part of everything living that I am not the least concerned with the beginning or ending of the concrete existence of one person in this eternal flow."

-- Albert Einstein

Death happens. What happens after death is anyone's guess. What we do know is that life goes on. I die, you die, someone dies, in fact, everyone dies sooner or later, and still life goes on. And whether you know it, (like Einstein) or not (like Joe Sixpack) we're all a part of this eternal flow.

Kind of takes the pressure off, doesn't it? If we really feel our unity with all of life, death of one physical body, even our own physical body, means so little. Your obit today, lines the birdcage tomorrow.

And yet, I'm hardly fatalistic or pessimistic, just realistic. Recognizing our part in the eternal flow, now, while we're still alive, helps make life an enjoyable journey rather than a life or death battle. The purpose of life is not to see who can make the biggest splash in the eternal stream. If Einstein had not concocted his theory of relativity, someone else would have. The flow supercedes the individual, but in truth the individual is one with the flow. The size of the wave hardly matters -- we're all water.

So, lighten up! Better to feel your oneness with everything than to worry about death -- yours or anyone's. The ultimate accomplishment is not living long but living well, moment by moment, in the eternal flow.