Permanence

Over the summer, I went to Poland to visit my family. As usual, my mother and I stopped at my grandmother’s grave; but this time we also stopped at my grandfather’s grave who died a few months ago. His death had seemed fake. Even when I saw his grave I was not convinced that he was truly gone. Even now, months later, I feel like he is still alive, going about his everyday business. I am not sure if my mind is playing tricks with me, or if in fact he is still alive just not physically. Is that immortality that I feel that my grandfather is around, even though I know where he is buried? The answer lies in humanity’s inability to cope with the concept of mortality.

Humanity has known for millennia that we cannot avoid our deaths. We know that eventually life will move on without us in it. However, most people feel rushed in life, that they cannot fit everything into one lifetime. So it should not be shocking that the “Fountain of Youth” or the “Resurrecting Stone” have found their way into literature and society. Most of this anxiety comes from an inability to predict the future. “When the Anunnaki, the judges, come together, and Mammetun the mother of destines, together they decree the fates of men. Life and death they allot but the day of death they do not disclose” (107). Not knowing when we will die is probably the single factor that keeps us going everyday. Instinctively, a human’s primary goal is survival. But if we all know we will die, why fight to remain alive? Why not simply jump off a bridge? The answer is quite simple. We want to leave a lasting impression on those around us. We want families and friends who will remember us and carry on our ideas for generations.

Utnapishtim told Gilgamesh, “There is no permanence” (106). Certainly life is constantly changing; however, to some degree, I must disagree with Utnapishtim. There is some everlasting characteristic to every life. Throughout the misery and the hate on the earth, humans still have love and hope which are traits that have been passed down for centuries and will continue to be passed down. These ideas are permanent. We find this similar concept in the myth of Pandora’s Box. When Pandora opened the box evils and plagues were released upon the humans; however hope remained in the box comforting humans in their misery.

I asked my grandmother once if she was afraid to die. I expected her to talk about heaven and how she will have eternal life with God. I had become so used to the church’s teachings that I should do good on Earth while I am alive so that I can go to heaven. In response to these teachings, humans have developed natural laws, which condemn killing and lying. But my grandmother responded differently. She told me that she will die but not in the hearts of those around her. Cliche, I thought. Then she continued by saying, “I am influenced by my mother, who was influenced by her parents; I have had the wonderful opportunity to raise two daughters who I have influenced, and my daughters influenced their own daughters. The chain is everlasting. I am not afraid to die, because I have done everything that I wanted to do in my life and know that the future generations after me will have a little bit of my life in them .” And it made sense; my grandmother’s meaning of life is to influence her family by means of her love. Generally, in the end, we simply want to be remembered for what we did. And only that individual can decide how they will be remembered when they die.

Humans find eternal life in the lives of the new generation, somewhat like a chain reaction. One person has an idea which influences a person and that idea branches out causing an eternal chain reaction. “The destiny was fulfilled which the father of the gods…had decreed for Gilgamesh: ‘…None will leave a monument for generations to come to compare with his (118).’”Gilgamesh, illustrates this idea that a life can be immortal not physically but conceptually due to his actions. Gilgamesh has eternal life; millennia after the story was written down, humans are still reading about his adventures and quests.