Quick question: if I offer you the gift of time – you’ll stay the same age, would you want to live forever?
In grandma’s tales, the mighty people are always either in the search for power or the gift of immortality. Well, it’s one thing that the kingdom all kings called immortal is now dust, but that’s not important. People are looking for the elixir of youth so that they stay youthful forever- Also not important.
For a ten-year-old boy, 1 year makes up 10 percent of his life, for his 40-year-old mother one year is merely 2.5 percent of her life. For the reasons you know 365 days of a year can feel different to different people. Everyone’s got a different life right?
Be that as it may, the important point I am trying to get across here is what happens if you were blessed with the gift of immortality? What would you do with all that time? And most importantly how long are you going to be okay?
Let’s explore!!
The average human being lives up to 80 years that is twenty-nine thousand and two hundred days (29200 days). Google defines immortality as “living forever; never dying or decaying”. However for the sake of simplicity to explain living conditions better we’ll consider that you live up to a few million years.
Okay, so you‘re going to live up to … forever ….and as of today, you are 20 years old. Cool. Sounds amazing, carefree days I am coming! Not so fast.
Mental impact
Props to you for emotionally sustaining through the highly potential boredom of so many years, but the boredom will get to you sooner or later. You might become extremely lonely and sad. You might find yourself in the pit of misery and loathing.
Families and friends
By the time you have accepted the deal and realized the perils that you’ll be going through it’ll be too late. The world has already moved on. Your surroundings have changed. Your neighborhood looks entirely different. The people you grew up with are long gone. Everyone you ever loved – your parents, relatives, friends, and significant other is not by your side to get you through your tough days. Not to mention me- I am long gone too and you can’t come back to me to reverse it all. Also no you cannot kill yourself (sorry should’ve mentioned that earlier).
Remembering past
Moving on – do you remember what you did last year? Or what you did on your fifth birthday? If you have trouble remembering what you did on your 5th birthday how are you going to remember what you did in the last few hundred years? The popular fact – brains can hold tons of information, is questioned here. The brain has a limited capacity and memories are overwritten in the brain with more relevant memories, which are usually the most recent ones or the most significant ones from years ago.
Now since you don’t want to be alone, you might consider meeting people and have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. You’ve lived for a million years and say for every 100 years you had one memorable lover than by the end of a million years you would have had 10,000 lovers. Does that reverse the whole point of having a meaningful relationship right? And how many of them you remember?!!
Physical impact
Consider this the human body is continuously under evolution except the change is not so noticeable. For instance, if women found taller men attractive, quite naturally, the offspring would be tall. If this repeats generation after generation, it wouldn’t take much time for the whole of the population to look different from you. And since you look different, how many of the ‘current’ humans would be willing to make friends with you? Before you call me out for appearance shaming, let me ask you, would you like to be friends with your ancestors who lived thousands of years before you or call HistoryTV 18?
Did I mention that even though you are immortal you are just a normal human being with normal needs, wants, and cravings except for an abnormal lifetime? Meaning you need to eat and get energy. You have emotional and physical needs. Since the time has changed you would need to adjust in ways different than older ways. But how are you going to find the resources to obtain these commodities and fulfill needs?
I hope you knew before accepting the deal that the gift of immortality does not mean invincibility. I did not guarantee you the conditions you’d live in. If explained simply- In my life of 18 years, I’ve managed to give myself six scars, get into two different traffic accidents, and one life-threatening medical condition. Now you will be living for so many years to come, what do you think are the chances you still have all your limbs and all your organs properly functioning?
In conclusion…
It sounds wise enough from the above reading that if you are given the gift of time, better not accept it. Or if you still think like the others your age- “Let’s see, just for fun”, Ron has some advice for you:
