Transcendence

There are a few questions we all ask at one time or another through our lifes:

What is going to happen when I am no longer in this world?

What is waiting for me “at the other side”?

When will I cease existing (being)?

OK, I'll admit to it the first one is a tricky question. It depends on what we have done, but it boils down to not much: there will be pain and sorrow amongst those who love us, a few headaches (bigger or smaller depending on our ability to sort out our earthly affairs), but in general the world will keep on going around-and-around and the impact of our death will fade away as do the ripples after the pebble sinks in the water.

The second question is trickier because is based on faith. Nobody knows for certain what (if there is anything at all) waits for us at “the other side”, and whatever each person believes is their own and the result of conscious or subliminal decisions. The fact is trying to answer this question has resulted in wars, deaths and also acts of courage. And since this discussion never gets anywhere, we may as well leave it there.

The third is the interesting question. To know when will we cease existing (being) we need to separate our physical existence from a transcending existence. The physical existence ends when we die. And, when will that happen? Nobody knows. To die we just need to be alive and that is a common characteristic of everyone reading these lines. Hence, there is no point in worrying about it; “Live as if you are about to die, but be ready for tomorrow” has been my motto and it has worked well so far.

On the other hand, what would transcending existence be? Is that I cause and that goes beyond my physical entity: my children, the consequences of my actions and the ideas I make happen. Is that for which I am remembered. And I believe transcendence -and immortality- lies in the ability to be remembered long after our physical existence has come to an end. That is where we can make a difference and live for ever in this world.

That is why I invite you to transcend and for your actions to make you live for ever in the hearts of those you have touched; to make your ideas reality, to improve our world and maybe, just maybe, live for decades or centuries; to make our children a reflection of our positive qualities and to grow up with the tools to transcend themselves. I invite to start being immortal from today.

--This entry honors the memory of Angela Hernandez, who passed away last week and of whose transcendence I am a witness