Unsigned Books

The Life Series

Death. A concept many have difficulties with, and few are willing to accept. Especially the finality of it. Life is equally confusing, but most do not seem to have problems accepting life. We must accept death as part of life and at the same time we must accept life as part of death. We can only die if we have lived, and all living things die. Let us find out what our old, wise man has to say on life and death.   

After a moment of contemplation, he realised he still did not fully comprehend the death part. “What you are saying is that we do not go anywhere. We are just gone, and nothing is left? Is that so? What proof of this?” The dark stranger asked frustrated.  

“I find your obsession with death a little disturbing. What is odd, young man, is that you wonder where we go after we have lived, but not where we were before we were conceived. You are willing to accept there was nothing before our life, but you have difficulties accepting we are nothing after it. This strikes me as odd.” He stirred his tea in a rather comforting way even though there seemed no reason to stir it as there was no sugar in it, just tea.  

“What about reincarnation then? That could come before life, too, you know?” In every way this silly soul was unwilling to accept the words of the old and wise man. Constantly trying to disprove every word that was said, not accepting anything and therefore not reaching any form of inner peace. The old man remained unphased.   

“Of course, the solution to this conundrum is sometimes solved by introducing reincarnation. Only people having difficulties coping with life and death offer those sorts of temporarily comforting thoughts. They are not a solution to anything. They sooner complicate matters. Life on Earth has increased exponentially over the years and especially the number of humans. It would be folly to think all animals reincarnate into human beings. It would be better if you just accepted death as part of life and life as a part of death.” He looked up from beneath his furry eyebrows and sighed before he said, “I told you, young man, the questions you ask, have been asked many times before. It has been given thought by many of my kind. It has been debated for many centuries. I do not wish to debate this with you, I share with you my knowledge, it is not up for debate here. If you want to question it, share it with your friends.” 

However much he wished to defy the old man, he could not. He knew him doubting the old man would inevitably lead to him having to admit defeat. In fact, he was not questioning the wise man’s words, he was unwilling to let go of his own beliefs and was fighting with all his might to defend his own untruths. “I will do my best to accept what you have told me, though it will take time and effort. It is not easy being told you were wrong in every single way. I have hold onto my beliefs for so long.” 

“Did you come here to find new knowledge or to have your own beliefs confirmed?” 

The question startled the dark stranger. He knew the old man had a point there. He was searching for the fountain of knowledge and was now angry when this knowledge did not seem to agree with what he already thought he knew. That was not fair. He had to change his course of action if he wanted to get more out of this fountain. “What is the purpose of life? We die and are just gone. We do not, as you said, return to The Box. We do not go anywhere. Is there a meaning to life, the universe, and everything?” 

The old man was pleased. Not because he thought the young man had accepted his words, but because he noticed he had struck a chord. “The Box, young man, only created. It does not take and – not being there – does not create anymore. It does not judge. It does not control. It did not give purpose to anything. No rules to follow, no laws to live by, and no meaning. Things just are. You are. I am. Same with death. When you die, you are gone. In that case, you are not. I am not. That is it.” 

His earlier thoughts had gone and left the building already for the dark stranger knew he now had the old man cornered and defiantly said, “Ah, but The Box had a purpose, it served its purpose and then disappeared. Its purpose was to create life. So, do we not also serve a purpose? Explain that to me.” 

“Your fighting spirit does somehow seem to amuse me. Who or what are you fighting? Me? Yourself? You are no match for me, and you know that. So, it must be yourself. Stop it. We are not boxes, young man. You must not impose your thoughts and ideas of life on The Box nor on everything living and dead. We can all die, and it will not matter to The Box. You have no purpose other than, if you will, just being. You are fooling yourself into saying that The Box had a purpose and therefore so must you. A very human thing to do. Mark the word ‘human’. No other being – or inanimate object for that matter – gives a flying hoop about purpose or meaning.” Rage and anger burned inside the dark stranger. He felt the wise man was wrong but could not fathom why. “You feel I am wrong,” the old man continued, “but your feelings deceive you. You can give yourself a purpose if it makes you feel any better. But, first of all, The box of Life and Death did not give any purpose to you and does not demand a purpose. If you just want to sit in your room feeling miserable and sorry for yourself, you can. If you want to believe you were created to live, laugh and love, by all means, go right ahead. If you want to go out and worship the box, do it. It will, however, make no difference for, as I have said, The Box is no more. It is an ex-box.” 

“Secondly, you are erring in your thoughts. If The Box had a purpose at all – which it did not -, it would still not mean that all living things have one. You wanted logic, yours is failing.” This hurt the dark stranger. He felt his heart beating out of his chest with fury and rage. He needed a purpose, he believed everything had a purpose and that life had a meaning. Life is futile without purpose. “You are right to think that life is futile without purpose. This is why people set themselves goals and try to give themselves purpose. That is on you and them. The Box had nothing to do with that.” 

He wanted to burst out in tears for he felt his entire world crumble beneath him. Bargaining about anything was as futile as life. Slipping into a depression and losing his will to fight much of anything, he asked the next question, “Then, please, answer me one last thing. Why is it called The Box of Life and Death if it cannot kill since it is gone?” 

“The Box does not kill. It created life and with life comes death. Everything dies. The planets, the stars, the universe. Everything will be gone one day. You, me, them, everybody. It will all just disappear and with everything, time will disappear as well. There will be nothing left. Again, just because we cannot think about ‘a nothing’, does not mean it is impossible. Some argue that ‘a nothing’ is still ‘a something’ for their minds are too small to comprehend much of anything, and they refuse to accept that what they cannot think can exist. Do not blame The Box, blame your own stupidity.” 

The box on the table was gone. It was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the dark stranger saw it disappear right in front of his very eyes, maybe he did not. He could not remember. The sadness within him is now fighting feelings of inner peace, for what was said to him, however it angered and upset him at first, now also seemed to be quite settling and comforting. “So now what?” 

“Now, I leave you. Our time together has come to an end. The box has disappeared and so shall I. You will go back home and think about this. Either you will accept it, or you will return to your eternal search, not for knowledge, but for the acknowledgement of the so-called truths you held before your visit. I have answered your questions and told you what I wanted to share with you” The dark stranger took a sip from his tea and closed his eyes. He let the final words of the old, wise man echo through his skull while staring at the back of his eyelids. A warm feeling of relaxation came over him. He did not understand, but he felt he was somehow willing to accept. ‘We are’, ‘I am’ and that is enough. When he opened his eyes, the old man was gone. Alone in an empty café all seemed serene and in perfect harmony. Homeostasis.