What is Immortality? Introspections Inspired by Nature.

Eternity does not belong to you or I.

It belongs to us.

Even mountains have lifespans. They erode, weather and dissolve to become nutrients for other organisms or new rocks. They are recycled into the future.

As will we.

Our knowledge, unless passed on, dies with us. It isnt recycled unless we make an effort to share it with the future. It is our duty to share, so others can build upon our foundation and continue the cycle of eternity.

We seek knowledge to make our understanding more complete. We never stop learning until we die, so it is never complete. We should also never stop teaching until we die, as each future generation seeks a more complete answer than us. The answer changes, the data builds, and how we were should not be how we are or will be.

The phases in our lives will change how we fit into this universe, but each of us plays an important role in the eternity. Whether our lifespan is long or short we play a role in eternity. Eternity which is ours.

Not yours. Not mine. Ours.

While I sat atop a sinkhole, listening to the waterfall and awaiting my caver friends to return from their descent on rope this was my view. Seems pretty ordinary, but scroll to next photo to see what I saw.

Sitting still for a while, simply observing the world around you, can provide some deep insights. The shedding of deciduous leaves made me think about all we shed as well. Our own skin cells also become part of the cycle of the universe. At the Tennessee Cave Survey meeting earlier in the day one researched presented on microplastics and it probably got me oriented into thinking about all we become, and all we leave behind.

Some rillenkarren on dissolved limestone. This feature is typical of karst landscapes. While what we often observe is the dissolution, the missing pieces which were once present, what we also need to keep in mind is it doesn’t simply disappear. The solution provides nutrients to the soil; it creates clay; underground it turns into speleothems, the gorgeous stalactites we all love to see. Death isn’t an end, it’s simply a transition into something new.

Deep thoughts inspired by some quiet time in nature with zero cell signal. A much needed reprieve, but it doesn’t mean a quietness of mind. Instead it creates deep thoughts and appreciation for the world around us, and the role we play.

I share a lot of my life. I don’t share all of it. I don’t even share majority of it, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. I feel it is important to share. Perhaps it can inspire or educate others, or maybe it can make others feel less alone.

It can be quite isolating when your experiences are contrasted with others’ interpretations of your experiences. Only you know how you feel and the stresses and triumphs you’ve had. Don’t let other’s one-sided view of you change how you feel about yourself.

One thing I get frustrated with is my contentment with my view on the universe, and how others seem to think it is something to be fixed. I am not broken because I don’t believe in a higher power or afterlife. I see the universe as one complicated organism, and in this way we are all part of the same, we all play a role, and even in death we are important.

Energy can not be created or destroyed. It simply recycles into something new.

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