Before I get into this subject, I have a disclaimer. I really want to live forever. But, as with all things, there are conditions. I only want to live forever if it means that I am still healthy enough to live on my own and I am in my right mind. That being said, there is a problem with wanting to live forever.
Have you ever seen people in hospitals, being kept alive by machines? I have never understood why people would want to be kept alive artificially or have their loved ones live in this condition. But I am not here to judge. It is just something to think about. That’s why I am so glad that there are such things as living wills. People have the right to die naturally, if that is their wish. A living will does just that.
But back to living forever, have you ever seen movies that depict characters that never die? Even though these movies are fiction, they bring up some thoughts as to the downside of living forever. We are meant to live AND die. That is what makes up a life.
More important than how long we live, is “how” we live. I think about this a lot. I researched topics of living past 100 and how to live a long life and found some nuggets of information. Many of the people interviewed or written about had things in common. Some of these things, found in publications on this subject, had to do with having a positive attitude, being in close, meaningful, relationships, having a purpose, laughter, exercise, and having good eating habits. In one such article, staying calm was cited. I think all of these are good ideas and some of them I already do or have.
I guess it comes down to quality of life. If you don’t have that, living long is not a very attractive quest. The lesson, it seems to me, is that however long one lives is not in our control. But, the way we live, however long it is, is what’s important. One thing that I would never want to happen, is to live past my due date. At the end of my life movie, I want it to say: The End. And underneath it, I want it to say “to be continued in the next life.”