The greatest reality of life is probably the transient nature of it – the people we love, the possessions we so adore, and just about everything close to us. This ephemeral nature of life is what all religions are based on. Religions not only just establish and accept this fact, but also try to fight it in their own complicated ways. Almost all religions flourish on the concept of life after death, where they’re trying to make us humans last forever, virtually making us immortals. I don’t think I can be okay with that concept. How do I bring back someone who has died? Well of course if you’re religious you’re going to try to make yourself feel better by believing that the deceased is somewhere in a far more better place, but the damage to the people left behind has already been made hasn’t it? So no, I cannot be okay with this concept of hereafter. Even if I am taking some other form in some after life, I am not really the same person and I believe what I’m leaving behind matters far more than what might await me.
So coming back to my point, everyone is going to lose someone in their life at some point. I’m not just talking about people we will lose to the inevitable and harsh reality of death, but people we are going to drift away from – people who once mattered the world to us. Not much is in our control when it comes to relationships; let it be friends or lovers or family. Circumstances for every individual keep changing through the course of time, and with those circumstances come big changes.
I am aware I am going to lose everyone I know one by one with time, and they will lose me in time. My parents, who I think I cannot live without, will no longer be with me at some point, and I will have to live with it. My closest friends will fight with me and I will lose them. I will get busy (the word we so love to use in today’s world) and will lose touch with most of the people I know and care about. So how do I make myself last? Or just try to make it last.
There is always a level of discomfort when you reflect back on your past and look at your old pictures, the emails you sent to friends you’ve lost touch with, the special text messages you have saved on your old phone, or when you start talking about your past with friends. This is true for at least most of the people. And that’s probably because even when you realize it’s your happiest moment, that moment has already gone and is a memory. You’re already filled with melancholy.
I believe the only way we can make ourselves last is by leaving behind memories which will last longer than we do. Realizing the importance of each and every relationship and trying to do something extraordinary is what will make the difference. I would like people to remember me in some manner – a manner which can bring a smile on their faces, or maybe just make them feel ‘okay’ at difficult times. Not only will that make me last longer, but it will also mean that I mattered. My existence mattered and I was able to accomplish something in my life. Now isn’t that what all religions teach us anyway? We are here now and we matter. Let’s keep all those who are with us right now close to our hearts and to all those who aren’t, let’s make sure we remember them. Because all those we knew and all those we know are the ones who make the difference. Let’s defy transience. Let’s defy nature itself.
