Birds Don’t Age
11/08/23. 7:38 a.m. The other day someone was telling me about all these pills I just have to take if I want to live a long time. Apparently, new science just dropped: you can prolong your life if you take a Jose Canseco of daily supplements. Some weaselly — literally rat-looking — motherfucker at Harvard is talking about, oh you should do X, Y, and Z to extend your life.
Question for the Harvard rat-guy trying to play God: Why? For what purpose? So that I can just kinda hang around at 90? When all my friends are dead? So I can be a burden on my family? What the fuck would I even do with the extra time? Get mad at the news? Be terrified of technology ? Get left behind by a productive-value-oriented society and a culture that doesn’t respect its elders? That’s why I should swallow something called ‘Spermidine’? (🤨)
All these longevity science guys see life as that street game where you try to hang onto a monkey bar for 2 minutes and if you do, you win 20 bucks or whatever. Except here, you hang onto a life devoid of meaning and if you do, you still die.
I also think there’s a good chance that by holding onto life so tightly, by trying to control every little input in your biochemistry, you actually increase aging and shorten your life. I’m sure Harvard Weasel has studies that say that's not true. I just have a gut feeling. And yet, I’m right. It's crazy how that works.
“There’s people who say, I haven’t smoked in 3 years, 63 days, 4 hours, and 23 minutes. And these are the people who die from not smoking.” — Ram Dass
I’m just kind of bummed out by the longevity freaks. They preach denial of a full life now in exchange for a few lonely, sedentary years at the end. That’s the trade?
And, maybe more importantly, you can’t know God if you make that trade. You trade your soul for eternal life. When you cling so hard to this form, you deny the unity with all living things — everything before, after, and with you now. You deny God. You can’t know life when you’re focused on death. You think wrinkles have any bearing on the love-spirit that animates your flesh? It’s literally Dorian Gray shit. You think the light inside you is extinguished when your heart gives out? What are you stupid?
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That’s the thing, like, they preach it as, of course you want to live forever. “So, we all want to live forever (obviously). Here’s how to do that.” And I just disagree with the premise. I mean I don’t want to die; don’t get me wrong. It sounds scary and I’m not that faithful. But, frankly, I don’t fear it as much as they do. I’ve at least accepted the sadness of it, instead of denying it.
“I don’t want to live forever, but I don’t want to die tonight.”- boygenius
And isn’t that behind every double-blind study and food inspected and electrical wave measured and pill popped by the longevity cult — an overwhelming fear of death? A deep denial that we are all irreversibly and finally fucked.
Which, maybe they would cop to that. But I guess I’m saying, like, not that that doesn’t make sense. It does. I understand not knowing God and being scared of death even if you do know God. But is it really wise to be guided by the people with the most fear of death?
Any action or worldview rooted in fear is wrong. And bad, actually. Like, spiritually toxic. Fear blocks love. Which, in longevity science, manifests as a desperate clinging to separateness and the repudiation of unity which is always inversely proportional to the amount of love and presence you are able to give to other people.
Am I going to take 13 pills every day because some nerd with the neurosis of a squirrel guarding its acorn tells me to embalm my body so that I live long enough to see Florida completely submerged in water instead of having my energy transferred to a baby bird that will dance in the sky all day?
Maybe longevity science guy would say, it makes your quality of life better for longer. Fair enough. I would like that. Although, like, my quality of life at 85 seems way less important than my quality of life now. I’m kind of suspicious of the idea that structuring your life around not dying is more fun than accepting it. And tbh, now that I think about it, who has the better quality of life at 85: the guy who spent most of his life trying desperately not to die or me — the guy who thinks he’ll be a bird? I can’t imagine he’s going to have a good time that close to death, regardless of whether I have arthritis or whatever.
I just feel the longevity shit creates a lot of extra stress about something everyone is already maximally stressed about. One day, when I’m older, I know I will get more scared and want to live long. But right now, outside of the fear that creates the desire, I just want to hang out, love some people, and know God for a little while longer. When it’s my time, I’ll call it a night, honored by the grace I’ve received. You know what I mean? What more could you ask for?
I’d rather die at 30 and have felt that sudden wave of gratitude and love that makes my eyes water than survive to 103 totally lost, always lying, always trying to control, never understanding why some people who have less, know less, and live for less time seem more fulfilled than me.
To be able to love someone and feel so honored by someone’s love of you. You know? Give me an hour of that. Of a hug or a conversation or one of those laughs where I merge with the sky. You can keep the 100 years.
