Finally a fresh point of view on the four root stories I keep hearing about death:
The Elixir, Resurection, The Soul, Our Legacy.
He proposes that all scientific research in prolonging life, all faiths, all efforts to leave a trace after our passing stem from our intense fear of death; that prevents us from having rational thoughts about the void after life.
I am struck by his imagery where birth and death are the but book covers, and that like a character in a book, we cannot experience the world outside the pages of the book.
He closes with: "The only thing that matters is that you make your life a good story." (my words)
Well done Mr. Cave
Steve
A remarkable quote from the Stephen Cave Ted Talk transcript:
The Elixir, Resurection, The Soul, Our Legacy.
He proposes that all scientific research in prolonging life, all faiths, all efforts to leave a trace after our passing stem from our intense fear of death; that prevents us from having rational thoughts about the void after life.
I am struck by his imagery where birth and death are the but book covers, and that like a character in a book, we cannot experience the world outside the pages of the book.
He closes with: "The only thing that matters is that you make your life a good story." (my words)
Well done Mr. Cave
Steve
A remarkable quote from the Stephen Cave Ted Talk transcript:
...It was natural for me as a child to fear being swallowed by the void, but it wasn't rational,because being swallowed by the void is not something that any of us will ever live to experience.
Now, overcoming this bias is not easy because the fear of death is so deeply embedded in us, yet when we see that the fear itself is not rational, and when we bring out into the openthe ways in which it can unconsciously bias us, then we can at least start to try to minimize the influence it has on our lives.
Now, I find it helps to see life as being like a book: Just as a book is bounded by its covers,by beginning and end, so our lives are bounded by birth and death, and even though a book is limited by beginning and end, it can encompass distant landscapes, exotic figures, fantastic adventures. And even though a book is limited by beginning and end, the characters within it know no horizons. They only know the moments that make up their story, even when the book is closed. And so the characters of a book are not afraid of reaching the last page. Long John Silver is not afraid of you finishing your copy of "Treasure Island." And so it should be with us. Imagine the book of your life, its covers, its beginning and end, and your birth and your death. You can only know the moments in between, the moments that make up your life. It makes no sense for you to fear what is outside of those covers, whether before your birth or after your death. And you needn't worry how long the book is, or whether it's a comic strip or an epic. The only thing that matters is that you make it a good story.
