Immortality

What a great idea?

When I was a boy, many years ago, I used to run the family dogs great distances, meaning up to ten miles from home.

One of the places we visited was an old abandoned iron ore hole. The area we were in was littered with them, and just one that I knew of was within range. That clay ore hole, large and shallow, was just covered with wild strawberries. Those berries, much smaller than the commercial berries you can buy anywhere, were far better tasting than any you can buy. Of course, I ate my fill.

When I moved my family an household to my current location, I was overjoyed to find what appeared, at first, to be wild strawberries, all through my front lawn. But, actual strawberries, they are not.

Pictured here is what I actually have.

From Wikipedia:

“Potentilla indica, known commonly as mock strawberry, Indian strawberry, or snakeberry in North America, is a flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It has ternate foliage and an aggregate accessory fruit, similar to true strawberries of the genus Fragaria.”

These berries are edible, but are absolutely tasteless. There would seem to be no point at all in picking and eating them, but I do. I don’t do that for any reason other than a self-generated superstition, that every plant created has a purpose, and that these may extend human life.

Perhaps someday I will learn that they actually damage kidneys, of course I’d have no way of knowing. This is my only such crapshoot.

Immortality. No longer mortal, live forever, death isn’t even an option.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Maybe, if you enjoy living. I understand there are those who don’t.

A decade ago I was a listener of Art Bell’s all-night radio program, Coast to Coast AM. Art spoke frequently of the paranormal, often including guests in his programming. One of those guests I will never forget, although, my fabulous memory hasn’t retained his name. This man had a “near death” experience during which, he actually was pronounced dead.

“I found myself,” he described, “at the gates of heaven itself. I was told that it wasn’t time for me to die and that I’d have to go back. Well I was finally home, so of course, I argued about that.”

I felt encouraged by that bit of testimony, true or false, because Art’s guest came across as being very level-headed and very much in earnest. I would like to believe that’s true, that another existence follows this one and especially, that it’s someplace I would rather be.

Begging everyone’s pardon, I’m still rather attached to this world. It really isn’t even because, life is great. It’s because I am alive, I have this life, presently. “A bird in the hand...” Faith in the Almighty does not mean faith in every little thing I’ve been told. And yeah, I’ve been told, and told and told and told.
On the other hand, the concept of “heaven” in the Jewish faith seems to be entirely different, as I have read, the idea is not to try to get into heaven, but to bring heaven down to Earth. All I can really say for certain is that it isn’t the same thing. Arnold Schwarzenegger says an afterlife is bunk, when you die, that’s it. It sounds rather plausible, reaĺly.

Here I am admitting the sin of doubt. I have no doubts about the existence of God, but some things I still have trouble with, and everlasting life is one of those things.

For now I'll just keep on eating my fake strawberries, take my chances, live my life.

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