Philosophers’ Union

Too short?

Posted on 2003 May 2008 by Valentin in Uncommon thought

Have you ever heard the phrase “life is too short”? I have heard it plenty and often, but i have a question to combat it: can anyone name anything on earth that is longer? Life takes up all of your time here. Period. I was confronting a friend over a few of her choices and that is how she responded. Good grief. I just guess everyone doesn’t look at everything the way I do. I consulted a fellow philosopher and quizzed her on my question. She came up with several answers that persist longer than life. Teachings, writings, war, and such the like all persist beyond mortal life. At this moment i felt my resolve shake slightly. I didn’t consider the effects of life on other lives persisting, yet I developed the counter while all these things persist beyond life, they are no longer the doings of an individual that died. People may only write or teach while they are alive, and life itself goes on much longer around the actual writing or teaching. Throw a rock in a pond and watch. It’s the same thing with a bit more complication. The rock only touches the surface for an instant, but the waves and ripples are interesting because they affect the area around the rock. Now picture an asteroid hitting the Atlantic. Waves and ripples are a different story now. But at the end of the day it all just disappears beneath the water and even the effect will be forgotten. Maybe life is too short…

Valentin

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