Your Real Immortality
Last week I attended the funeral service for my aunt. She was not humanist let alone a Spiritual Humanist. As I sat in the pews listening to her minister repeatedly mispronounce my aunt’s and my mutual last name (pro tip: there is no silent “r”) I tried to follow along with his sermon about how “god” had called her back and we should be happy. Between his excessive head wagging and scripture quotes he just lost me, and my thoughts started wandering off. Then it occurred to me what a truly bafflingly and bizarre concept going to heaven when you die is. The older I get the weirder the whole nutty notion seems.
It led me to thinking about the real immortality each of us has access to. While you cannot keep on living forever your thoughts and ideas and the effects of your actions can and do keep on going long after you have passed. From the people you have helped who emulate your example, to the concepts and ideals you promote here is this life here on Earth we each cause effects that persist after our passing.
These effects are not transient; they can endure for hundreds or even thousands of years. When Richard Dawkins coined the term and concept of memes he wasn’t thinking of Internet LOL cat pics but rather self-perpetuating patterns of thought that can be transferred from one human mind to another. From the philosophy of Epicurus to the rousing speeches of Robert Ingersoll, those that have passed before have always been capable of an enduring presence and influence upon the generations of humankind that come into existence after their deaths.
It used to be that a person had to be famous, or at least a published author to have this type of immortality that spans the centuries. Now, for better or worse, it is available to every one due to the Internet. Yes the same technology that forever makes available those embarrassing party pictures posted eight years ago can and will be your personal path to immortality, your influence from beyond the grave.
Sure your tweets and blog comments will be there forever, but if you some how manage to pull together a truly inspirational article or spiritually stirring YouTube video it will be there too. Even if very few people see it in your lifetime it will be waiting there to be discovered, and to influence and aid the generations that are still here after you have left. That is your real immortality.
image credits: Flickr Problemkind (ratzfatz2000) and Paulo Brandao
August 19th, 2010 at 4:41 am
This was an inspiring article for me. I have been pondering the concept of immortality and how so many religions seem to use that concept as a tool to attract and keep followers. The fear of dying surrounds so many people that they must believe in some sort of after world to comfort them from something so natural and inevitable.
There are now so many thoughts swirling around in my head that I will take some time to process them and develop my own words to describe what you have given to me. Thank you! I needed that!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I hadn’t thought before that youtube and the like created immortality, but I suppose it does. It can also create a weird sort of celebrity too. I posted some of my martial arts on youtube before so many other doing my style had, and because of it, I’ve had people from various places on globe get excited to meet me because they’ve ’seen me on youtube.’ It’s a little disconcerting. I suppose it’ll still be there long after I’m gone — or youtube goes out of business.