Immortality

Living forever is something that many of men have often dreamed and wondered about. Of course, it is impossible for our bodies to maintain an existence forever (at least not that we know of). We grow old and our body frail, extinguishing from the Earth and it has been this way since the dawn of our existence. I will not begin to argue about souls, or even the afterlife; these are not the objects of immortality, at least not in the way we describe such an idea to be. We want to live on forever on Earth, not just in the wandering of our souls after life or in heaven. These things that I have mentioned have been considered something different than immortality, as if the idea of their ‘being’ going to another place - and never ceasing to do so- is not the exact definition of immortality. But still, they contend it to be something different, so we will not bother ourselves with these ideas, but more so with the type of immortality that could exist here on Earth, amongst observers and critics alike. Since we have already decided that a physical presence cannot be maintained on the Earth forever, we will not explore such a possibility. I suppose one could, but it would come to naught. Another job best left for scientists. So now let us move to the other kind of immortality of which we are all familiar – memories. Great men have lived and died, but only few of them are world renowned – always remembered through the years and always will be. One could probably count these people on their fingers and toes, examples including Michael Jackson, Ghandi or Hitler. Their actions on the Earth have left such an outstanding impression that it lives on through decades. Here I think we may find a type of immortality. For when one is alive and then perishes he leaves behind a legacy, of what he has done, thought and felt. And that is all a person really amount to, is it not? Are we not just the products of our prejudices, our opinions, our loves, our hates? If we were not, would we not be all the same? So if we are a product of these things; these things make up the essential fabric and person of who we are (for a man is nothing but a beast without morals) – could we not say that these things are what make us truly alive? Though we are not talking alive in a literal sense, but in a figurative one. And what if those things were kept alive? What if your morals, ideas, prejudices, philosophies, and everything that you stood for in your life was kept alive in peoples’ memories? Could we not say that Hitler has just as much affect now as he did then? Could we not say that Socrates' true being is still alive and well today? I would think so. The impact these types of people have left on us is as much a part of us as is the dealings we have with our loved ones. They have etched out a place in history, as well as people’s minds. These certain individuals’ legacies STILL affect people today, thousands of years later. When we on Earth only strive to have our feelings, emotions and needs acknowledged by others – felt by others- continuing to have this happen, for thousands of years, or better yet – forever, would be just as immortal as anything I can think of. Having your ‘message’ felt by all in the world, for all the years that men study the past and as well as one another, is immortal in every sense of the word. Many men have achieved such status, and it is curious to see the actions they have taken to achieve such status. Gandhi, who preached love and peace, and Hitler who was the dark opposite are never forgotten in the minds of lucid men. These people live on forever, how good or bad may their message be.