First published, 20th November 2019
Is life a cycle or a path? Well, it’s kind of neither either/or both. Is a trajection. Let me explain…
In common parlance, our life is referred to as being connected to the idea of cyclicity. Of course, though the ‘life cycle’ is a fairly common way to express the process of human existence (and that of other animals and plants) experientially it is not really a cycle. Our life experience will include the perception of natural and physical cycles as are determined by the orbit of our planet around a star and also our planet’s revolution about itself. The former determines seasonal changes and the later diurnal. But these ‘cycles’ are not what we, ourselves, are about.
Our experience of life is that it is a journey with a beginning and an end. We are born, we grow into a state of consciousness, start to interact with our environments, we age, we age a bit more. We grow acutely aware of our aging process and become increasingly aware that there’s an end to the road. Consequently, we might accept this fact and become increasingly wise. The less intelligent of our species, who can’t face this fact, seek out things like religion and Botox. Whatever works…
Life experience is very much a one way ticket from a place called ‘A’ to a destination called ‘B’.
And yet, while we’re fumbling over our personal sense of mortality, a sideways glance reminds us that every one of us is a son or daughter and nearly all of us are parents. This acknowledgement, or awareness, at times may connect us, consciously or subconsciously, to the fact that nearly everyone of us is just a sort of gene transfer bag, thing. We take our parents’ genes, add a few new ones and pass the mix onto the next generation. Our purpose in life is simple. Why we should be around for no other purpose than to perpetuate our being around is, of course, just one of the mysteries of/in the universe.
We must determine our sense of life more precisely. Life is not a cycle. It is not, really, a path from ‘A’ to ‘B’ either. It is a trajection. We are, in effect, like ferries: we transport our parents to our children. We are bridges from the past to the future.
Well, whatever, experience of life does have a beginning and an end. Aesthetically all we need to do is find ways to enjoy the ride for as long as possible.
While we’re traveling through our illusion of Time (determined by our particular and, for all we know, unique material composition) there are other ways to consider our ‘life’. A fun way to do this might include connecting our lifetimes with other different finite time lines. This can be an amusing and diverting pastime for those of us with, it would seem, too much time on our hands:
So, let’s suppose we consider the average human lifespan. (We can refine this as individuals by checking out the statistics for our national or regional life expectancies). Let’s suppose the global average human life span remains, for our species, three score years and ten, i.e. seventy. Take seventy to be one hundred percent. From here, choose another finite time line or, indeed, a distance like a marathon run, for example. The obvious time lines to start with would be hours, days, years, I suppose.
So, I’m 56 years old. This means I’m 80% through the average life expectancy. If there are 365 days in a year, I’m on day 292. This happens to be 19th September. I am, therefore, in terms of months and the annual non leap year, alive on 19th September. I’d regard that as being in the late summer/early autumn of my life. I’m cool with that. October is a wonderful month to look forward to. The November of life isn’t so good (in the Northern hemisphere, I mean). December is okay. Big party and family time. Every life ends on NYE. Awesome.
What about the day?
I’m on the 1152nd minute of a 1440 minute day. In terms of the time, I’m experiencing the day at 7.12 p.m. I’m okay with that. I’m not sleeping. I’m in the middle of a great dinner with my lover. The best part of the day remains to be enjoyed. Later, we will sleep together.
In an hour, I’m approaching fifty minutes. When I’m in the gym, I tend to work to the hour. So I’m beginning to get tired and a little bored but, at the same time, I’m happy because most of the workout is behind me and I’m feeling the benefits of my exercise.
In a marathon, I’ll have less than ten kilometres to go. Though I’m beginning to hurt, the worst is behind me and I feel confident I’ll finish the course.
With a meal, I’m feeling quite full. If the dinner was great, then I’m pretty satiated, for sure. If the meal was bad, I’m probably glad it’s nearly over.
Positive people, of whatever age, will feel that their relative age percentage is the best place to be.
Next time you wish someone a happy birthday, give them a percentage update. Our lives move towards closure. Each step of the way is good for its own reasons just like each season has its joys and its frustrations. Life isn’t about beginnings or ends. It is defined by the times between these points and our experience of these times.