One Hundred
Even when I was a kid, I thought of the afterlife a lot. I think it’s safe to say, I always assumed that one exists. Even though that’s true for me, I routinely get caught up in the here and now. Like, every day. Most minutes, I’d say. This gets me into trouble on the regular.
I can’t remember who said it, but it was something to the effect of, “In one hundred years, you and everyone you know will be dead.”
When I think of that notion, it stops me in my unconscious, sleepwalking tracks. Oh yeah, I remember, all of this is temporary. And that thing that’s gotten me wrapped around the emotional axle? Even though it can vary in degree from the trivial to the tremendous, my energies expended might be, ultimately, inconsequential.
Whether you believe as I do or not about an afterlife, there’s no “not knowing” that the life we currently live is temporary.
One hundred years or less, kapoof. Everyone’s skedaddled.
If you are offended by cursing, then the film “Birdman” isn’t for you. But if you can stomach one four-letter-ish word, check out this clip. (And this isn’t a statement about my opinion on how long I think the earth or humanity has been around. My point is about, as the character Sam says, our ego and self-obsession in the grand scheme of things.)
Brooke Castillo quoting Eckhart Tolle says, ‘”Life isn’t as serious as the mind makes it out to be.” That’s a great reminder, right? The mind makes everything so serious and dramatic.”‘
Life is more serious when I sleepwalk. Consequently, I bump into things and hurt myself. (And I even have a tee-shirt reminder.)
If you watched the “Birdman” clip, you might think of my anonymous quote about you and everyone else you know being gone within a hundred years. Maybe you, too, will be stopped in your sleepwalking tracks, bump into things and others a little less often, have a little less wasted energy, and use your limited time on that which survives the one hundred.
- “What will be left of all the fearing and wanting associated with your problematic life situation that every day takes up most of your attention? A dash, one or two inches long, between the date of birth and date of death on your gravestone.” ― Eckhart Tolle
- We are breathing egos acting like we aren’t a speck of dust on a speck of dust in outer space.” —Sarah Silverman
- “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”—James 4:14