What is it like to be a man? (Or woman, or child).
A famous—or infamous—philosophy article wondered what was it like to be a bat, and found it impossible. Now, I mostly disagreed with that article, since I think we human beings are not clueless when thinking about other mammals. But I digress. What I want to talk about in this last blog post with you friends, is the power, the glory, the beauty, the sheer gladness of being alive.
Life is improbable. As Richard Dawkins pointed out four decades ago, there are many ways of being dead than there are ways of being alive. Each of our lives are unlikely. Death will claim us all, but in the meantime, we should be glad of the unlikely time we all enjoy in this Earth of ours. Death is so much likely; life so much sweeter.
Death, entropy, will claim us all in the end. But before the night closes, we should all sing. We have all been blessed with life, life as human beings, and we ought to embrace it.
Orcas know. Orcas, the very impressive marine mammals, know we human beings are special. They chase our boats for fun, and protect our stupid divers who dive into sharks. By my reckoning, Orcas are the second-most intelligent species on Earth. We are first, by far.
We, we all, ought to be so happy every time we wake up in the morning. Now, you may tell me about your woes, and as a good friend, I’ll listen. But I’ll also tell you: it doesn’t matter! You are alive, alive as a human being, and the possibilities are endless. Don’t dwell on what might have been, or what never was.
Your life, my life, our life starts now. Make it count.
