Measuring a Life

I feel it is time for a brand-new, free-blogging session. I am in the mood to type and, this day, I have been inspired - or at least, I have allowed this overwhelming whim to get the best of me, this morning.

In any case, I shall call this one "Measuring a Life."
Let us see. Where shall I begin? Hmmmm.....


Our Battle, Our Struggle, against death, as individuals, and even as a society, is one that we simply can't win, yet it is the one we fight the hardest for. From a place of fear, we struggle daily with our transcience as living beings, clawing at those things that we find most threatening in our attempt to win a few more years or even just a few more minutes. We buy expensive cars with traction control and anti-lock brakes. We take self-defense classes and lobby for tighter national security measures. We buy life vests, guns, unbreakable locks, and even antibacterial soap. All these have the common goal of protecting ourselves and our loved ones from anyharm or danger. But why? Ultimately, to keep ourselves and our loved ones alive.

It's a valient effort, but it often seems that we are so caught up in the battle, we forget there is a reason we're fighting in the first place. Its all very much like spats with family members, conflicts with friends, and for those of you who know me well enough, know I would even go so far as including war. We become so distracted by the act of fighting that we lose our frame of reference, sometimes completely, and we become utterly attached to that distraction. In so doing, we cultivate an irrational fear of the unknown, a fear that simply would not exist if we weren't so resistant to change. Are we afraid of death because of the unknown? In this case, We must be afraid of every new day, every new hour, every minute, every second. It is true that we cannot know for certain what the afterlife holds for us, and whats more, we don't know that we have lived life well enough.

Perhaps thats just it. The most intriguing aspect of our aversion to death - our uncertainty around living the kind of life we intend for ourselves or the kind of life that we might believe was intended for us. In the end, will we be able to say with no question that we have lived well? And if so, have we lived FULLY? Is living fully something that is necessary for living well? Further, how should we define that kind of life, and if a definition is feasible, what does it mean for the afterlife, wherever and whatever that may be?

That is all...for now. That is all she wrote.
Perhaps there will be a Part two. Be on the lookout.

Until then....PEACE AND LOVE!