Eternity is Too Long

Reality therapy for those wanting eternal life

by Darwin Bedford

Major religions promise eternal life. However, eternity is a very long time. Eternity is longer than the life of the universe. What would eternal life be like?

I reckon that even if you could have things exactly as you wanted them to be, that you would eventually get bored. Even if you could sleep for many years at a time—so that you could awake to see what has changed—this too, after doing it over and over again would eventually bore you.

Eternity is long enough to watch all your favorite sit-coms and soaps with as many variations introduced to them as you like. Eventually you would become bored stiff. Imagine the wildest ecstasy as you can then think of experiencing it forever or until you have had enough of it—then another wild experience until you have had enough . . . forever. After a long while (which is just a tiny fraction of eternity), nothing would impress you and nothing would surprise you. Even if you could take an infinite variety of drugs, and even if a god personally saw to it that you were being entertained; eventually you would become spoiled to death, and nothing would make you happy.

Eternity is longer than it would take you to learn about everything. Imagine living a life where there is nothing more to learn! Even if you could rewind your life experience back to any point in time and change a circumstance of or happening and continue your life with this change in effect—after doing this for a large number of times it would no longer amuse you, or interest you, or entertain you.

You would eventually become bored even if you could make all the choices; set all the circumstances; have everything your way; live like a king; have as many servants as you wanted; have as much wealth as you could imagine; live out every sexual fantasy; and so on.

Even if you could acquire more senses than the normal sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing—after having these extra senses for a very long time you would eventually take them for granted and you would again become bored.

Eventually you would find yourself trapped in a life experience that would lead to depression. You would want it to end. Death would be your only escape.

Personally, I wouldn't want to live longer than say perhaps somewhere between 140 years to 10,000 generations—which is only an immeasurably small portion of eternity.

(Written and posted by Darwin Bedford somewhere between 1996 and October 1998.)