Sunday Firesides: More Human, More Alive, More Immortal

Human. Alive. Immortal.

These are binary states. You can either be or not be something.

Either you're dead or alive. Human or not human. Mortal or immortal.

In truth, you're always moving away or towards the ends.

If humanness can be defined as the traits and behaviors that are most unique to us, then the greater your ability to think critically, express creativity, show compassion, demonstrate control, display inventiveness, use humor, inspire wonder and amazement, the higher you will embody humanness. The more you live in the shallows, reacting and acting impulsively, you become more reptilian.

If living is defined as conscious breathing, flowing blood and palpable consciousness, then the more that you run fast, climb mountains, make love, lift weights and take risks, the more aliveness you will be. The more inert you are and the longer you sleepwalk, the more entombed you become.

If immortality is defined as life without ending, then the greater your influence on the world and the more Promethean you are, the closer you get to immortality. The more you focus only on the passing, ethereal and do not make even the slightest ripple, the further you distance yourself from immortality.

You can still wear your pants every day and live like a lever pressing rat. You can die long before you reach the grave. You can wait an eternity before realizing eternity is already here. You can either seek to go beyond what appears given and recognize that immortality, humanness, and aliveness are not static, fixed states of being but rather alterable pursuits of becoming.

Support independent publishing. Donate to The Art of Manliness! Thank you for your support!