The Weight of Mortality

Mortality is the timer on life. Before paradise was lost, everything lasted forever. Now, things have an end — flowers wilt, pets grow old, and even we get older. This can feel sad, like the end of a movie you really liked. But the Weight of Mortality also makes life very special. Because we do not have forever, every I love you and every beautiful sunset matters a lot more. It is like a limited-edition sticker; it is valuable because there is not an infinite amount of it.

Hold your breath for a few seconds. Feel the preciousness of the air when you finally breathe in. That is mortality. It makes every breath a gift. Without the timer, the gift would be invisible.

Mortality introduces Linear Time into previously Cyclical or Eternal existence. Death is the last enemy but also the horizon that defines human effort. The Weight of Mortality creates Uhlmann Fidelity of experience — we are more true to our nature because we are finite. Our mortality forces us beyond mere existence into meaning-making. We build legacies and create art specifically because we know our physical forms will not endure.

SOUND: The slow tick-tock of a grandfather clock.

SMELL: Dried leaves in the fall: the scent of time passing.

TASTE: A piece of fruit almost but not quite going bad: sweetness on the edge.

TOUCH: The wrinkles on an older person's hand.

SIGHT: A flickering candle almost out of wax.

BODY: Being very tired and knowing you need to sleep: the body's daily practice of letting go.

Music: The Odyssey by Symphony X

Part of The Garden & Paradise Lost — MYTHOLOGY — Education Revelation