Inevitability

I find television to be really amusing at times. Who doesn't, I suppose.

While watching "The Universe" (on the History Channel), I got to thinking as usual. The topic of the evening's show was about parallel universes, string theory, and the "multiverse." What astounded me was that during a discussion of "M" theory (branched off of string theory, focusing on 11 dimensions), the idea of constant universe creation came up. The amazing thing was that the idea of tossing nanobots with "DNA" of our universe into another universe was mentioned.. as a last-ditch effort to save humanity from our "inevitable" demise.

"Inevitable." Now there's a word for you. Inevitable comes from the latin in- , not, and evitabilis, avoidable. Evitabilis, in turn, comes from ex-, out, and vitare, to shun. So, it's pretty much "not able to move out of the way." (Thank you, Online Etymology Dictionary.) Now, if we're still conjuring ways to save ourselves, how is that inevitable? The irony strikes me.

In truth, I think that our "inevitable" demise is, in fact, just that. We, too, are bound by the laws of nature (no matter how much we try to deny it), and eventually, our species will become extinct. Or maybe we'll evolve and the rest of us will die out, only to have humanity (or whatever it can be called then) die out after evolving. My round-about point is: Why is it so necessary for us to survive? I mean, all things eventually end. Everything. Nothing is forever. Anything we think of as "forever" is only because we can't fathom, or last for, its true length. Relative to its own timeframe, any living thing will die. Eventually. Is it so hard to come to terms with that fact?

One important line that strikes me is from Fight Club, "On a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone will drop to zero." Yet another quote from the same source: "You have to know, not fear, that some day you are going to die. Until you know that and embrace that, you are useless."

I know this is going to turn out as a really worn cliché, but the thing is, even if you hear something over and over again, it's not really cliché because you never really think about it. Or, maybe that's what makes it cliché, the fact that you hear it again and again, but you never really think about it, and that's why it has lost all of its meaning. So I say to you, open your mind and receive this, because if you just hear it, you won't understand it.

How many times have you put stuff off? Really, I mean we always say to ourselves that we'll get to the stuff later, "when we have more time" and "when we can really do it right." And anytime we hear of the untimely death of someone "young," we re-evaluate everything and stop taking things for granted. For a few months, everything is important. It's as if, in someone's death, we find that the big picture has come to us, and we work with it. That's until we forget. We're human, it's almost in our nature to forget. Women can't physically recall (to the full extent) the pain of childbirth. If they did, who'd have more than one baby? But then the problem arises agian: things are taken for granted.

Adi Shankaracharya (आदि शंकराचार्य, the first teacher Shankara) had an interesting perspective. He said that the only true friends on can have in life are knowledge and death. I think the part that scares people about death isn't the loss and the longing they feel about those who have died. It's the uncertainty, the fact that they don't know what happens after death. No matter how many times you hear a sermon, and regardless of your faith, when it comes to death, the jury's out. Everyone doubts. There's nothing wrong with that, really, because we strengthen our resolve through doubt. But, what else is there to take comfort in? In life, all we are guaranteed is that one day, just as we were born, we will die. It's the cosmic balance.

I've heard from numerous sources that death is a weird feeling. Most of them were only "near death" scenarios, but the point stands. "Everything just feels really comfortable all of a sudden," I've had it described to me, "and you just get really tired and sleepy." I think that's really poetic, though I haven't the foggiest idea why. But the fact is, when you have death on your mind, it really keeps big picture around. You realize what you need to do, and what you have to do to do it becomes trivial in ways.

We're dragged in this world kicking, screaming, and crying. Why don't we go out the opposite? I don't mean be totally complacent with death, but realize that anything you do in life is just a temporary deterrent. It puts things into a slightly more urgent perspective. There's a difference between "What's the point, we're all just going to die anyway?" and "No, I won't ever die, it's not going to happen." And, "I want to do change things before I die" is a different story altogether.

So again, what's so wrong with realizing our eventual, inevitable nonexistence? Or perhaps disexistence (dis-, from latin "seperate, apart" related to latin duo, english two) is more appropriate. I'm utilitarian, in many ways. If believing in a Heaven after death, or reincarnation, or whatever, prevents you from having a panic attack everytime you think of death, then go for it. If it helps you live to your fullest potential, what's the harm? But eventually, you will have to come to terms with things. It helps to believe what you need to, in order to get what you must done. (Wow, talk about an awkward sentence.) But come on, is it really that scary?

Death leaves no beautiful corpses, but perhaps, that is the beauty.