Recently I’ve really liked thinking about this idea that things end.
I’ve always known things end. But. I always think there’s redemption. To everything. Redemption means karma will catch up and the universe will rebalance. Redemption means there’s an afterlife of some sort and the tension today will be resolved tomorrow. Redemption means my guilt will be my payment back to the universe to rebalance things. Redemption means I can learn from my past and do better tomorrow to make up for my mistakes. Redemption means I can pay it forward. Redemption means I will have another chance in some form or another. Redemption means this isn’t it. This isn’t the end. There is more, and the more is better.
Redemption gives the comfort that it will get better. Redemption is predicated on the foundational idea that this is not the end. This is not it. There is more.
And the idea that things end erases redemption. If things end, there is no better. There is no balance. There is no second chance. That was it. This is it. It happened, the end.
The Greeks believed things end, and they said the beauty of mortality is that everything is precious so you must seize the day.
Religions that came afterward believed that things do not end, and the beauty of that is there is hope for a better tomorrow. This isn’t it. Perceive the present and be aware of it, but focus and move towards the future.
This idea that I can redeem my actions has led me to make some terrible actions. If someone asks me for help, I can say no. I’m not in a helping mood right now. I can help later, when I feel like it. There will be another chance. This failure to help will be redeemed by my help given later.
This idea that I can redeem my actions means I can make mistakes. If I hurt someone else, that was part of my learning process and journey. I will have a chance to either make it up to that same person, or I can carry those lessons forward to my future relationships and that’s how I can pay back the universe for my actions.
And the idea that I cannot redeem my actions, and the idea that things end, and the idea that this is it, means I will not be able to redeem my prior actions. It means that the choices I make today are the choices that will define me. It means that delayed gratification…it’s not wrong, but it’s not entirely accurate either. This was it. Your time is limited. The more you spend it on nothingness with the idea that things will get better later, the more of your life you spend on nothingness. The idea that things end makes me feel I should be squeezing more out of my present moment, because every moment that ends, ends forever.
Ending Explained: https://youtu.be/_qJi3B4rINQ
The View from Halfway Down Speech: https://youtu.be/Pt21dU5Pu8g
Actual Ending to the show: https://youtu.be/KNpY-RrY2A4
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