Shall we say I believe it an ever after and leave it at that?
Apparantly not.
Well. A wise man once said that the problem of every single story was this: continue them long enough, and they inevitably end in death. It does not matter whether the death in question is a violent one, or a heart attack during sleep, a long, painful torment caused by an illness or indeed the death of a child which never draws more than a few breaths; the event occurs. Granted, it may occur at a point where one feels weary of life, or at least at peace of the series of accomplishments and failures that formed said life. It might even contribute to prolonging someone else's story. Which would make it the least of various possible evils. But it most certainly does not qualify as "a happily ever after".
Interestingly enough, there is no reverse for this. A lack of death does not mean happiness. But then, only someone naive would expect happiness from immortality. What the lack of death does make possible, however, is the chance for change, productivity, new angles, and, in tandem with all of this, what new insights there are to gain. They might come with misery, but then, the Greeks meant to curse a man when they told him to know himself. In any event, all of this means - continuity. Not happiness. But an ever after.
Whether or not I believe in it is no longer an issue. After all, it is an inherent criterium of faith to believe in something that remains unproven.
Apparantly not.
Well. A wise man once said that the problem of every single story was this: continue them long enough, and they inevitably end in death. It does not matter whether the death in question is a violent one, or a heart attack during sleep, a long, painful torment caused by an illness or indeed the death of a child which never draws more than a few breaths; the event occurs. Granted, it may occur at a point where one feels weary of life, or at least at peace of the series of accomplishments and failures that formed said life. It might even contribute to prolonging someone else's story. Which would make it the least of various possible evils. But it most certainly does not qualify as "a happily ever after".
Interestingly enough, there is no reverse for this. A lack of death does not mean happiness. But then, only someone naive would expect happiness from immortality. What the lack of death does make possible, however, is the chance for change, productivity, new angles, and, in tandem with all of this, what new insights there are to gain. They might come with misery, but then, the Greeks meant to curse a man when they told him to know himself. In any event, all of this means - continuity. Not happiness. But an ever after.
Whether or not I believe in it is no longer an issue. After all, it is an inherent criterium of faith to believe in something that remains unproven.