Immortality in all respects of the definition, has been thrown around and seen as some higher idea or physical presence that stands out above all the rest and can never die. Many stories depict it as some physical or mental relic that carries infinite knowledge and a fulfilled life that will lead to never being defeated. Comic books, Frankenstein, and even Star Wars explore these themes, and their implications on the living and the dead. Others take it more literally, thinking that knowledge, reason, and image are the keys to never being extinguished from the mouths of people. This is especially true in the age of globalization. Many artists, celebrities, and what I call celeb-hoarders (celebrities who are famous only for being famous, and not for some natural talent or skill) are using their 15 seconds from filtered Instagram videos or however long their snapchat stories are to live in eternal glory and fame. In an age of the internets wide usage, there is a time where even everyday people can go from common to stardom, and since nothing can hide from the internet, things can get spooky.
But, lets be real here, is immortality possible? I mean, there have been multiple attempts both medically, spiritually, and supernaturally that have attempted to explain and create the concept and make it into a reality. But, no one has become immortal yet, or have they? Well, I think people have become immortal, in ways that are better than others. A quote by the infamous graffiti artist Banksy can give us a clue.
"They say you die twice. Once when you stop breathing and the second, a bit later on, when somebody mentions your name for the last time."
Although it may seem that Banksy's notoriety qualifies him as someone who might not be able to say something with such profoundness like this, he has a point. Everyone is immortal, and in the sense of this, everyone qualifies, and already is included in that mix. The founders of universities around the world, leaders of both good and evil like Ghandi or Hitler, men and women who confronted the unknown and confronted bravery like Armstrong or Earhart, to those who lost their lives at the hands of others like the Native Indigenous people of the Americas or the Jewish in the Holocaust. Immortality also carries into our everyday lives. The ancestors of your family line are immortalized within you, the lessons from everyday men and women who you meet at work or on the street, to those fighting for freedom in their homelands, or a homeless man or woman who you believed can be helped by serving them a hot bowl of soup or listening to their story. Immortality isn't something that will allow you to live forever, but is another name for a legacy that is written in times that aren't transcribable on paper.
In summary, immortality is what we do in our everyday lives that lives on in the history of the earth, from the air that we breathe, to the ideas that we come up with, to the people we meet, the things we say, and the way we love and explore our home. Be immortal, and be free.
