Sitting cross legged on my bed, listening to the tune of Munngaru Malle resounding faintly from across the road, I’m suddenly wondering blankly; without any thoughts coming through. The mind has this uncanny way of working and churning out subconscious half processed thoughts to be completed later, a time unknown and unaccounted for. Discussions and way laid lines from a conversation before, recollection of something read somewhere while without you knowing it, pieces of puzzles put together come together to make sense of something one would have never thought of. The art of doodling comes naturally to me, I have caught myself many times deep in thought over nothing in the conscious mind.
Phases of slow and steady progress broken by in between surges of activity and gap filling thought mingled with a sense of wonder as an afterthought over the power of the mind, the task at hand and the humour of the unknown.
“She has become very old, almost 12 years; not long before she packs in”, my colleague was explaining to us over coffee earlier in the day about how his dog was losing her eyesight and banging into things. It was the most natural think to say, he had rescued it as a one year old puppy and had since become a loving member of his family. I remember my science classes in school, learning about an elephant living till 70-80 years; our eyes becoming as big as tennis balls in wonder of a tortoise shooting past the 150 year mark. The simple explanations of why and how satisfying our curiosity for that brief period of time when the bell rang and the teachers rushed away with sighs of relief from our never ending inquisitive questions. With more lessons came answers and practicality; such simple things were accepted with out questions as more intriguing and engrossing questions took away to the limelight.
College came and suddenly we caught ourselves discussing vast topics including society, population and it benefits and disadvantages to the country in general; many thinking of regions with no boundaries, such shocking and new attributed never thought of before ideas and brainwaves. From suggestions simple to silly, thought provoking to complex, we had the most hope, young unbridled and tense filled with the fresh zest of life.
The heart beats only a certain number of times and then shuts down, such an insensitive and scientific way of looking at a demise; almost in resemblance to a much loved dog packing in. While we roam the vast reserves of complexity we build for our emotions, it is our actions that speak their language while the words roll out vivid scenarios with the tongue. We slowly will become immune to such ranges of sensitivities; having to pinch hard to feel the pain.
Would logic go to the extent of calculating the life period justified for a man to live before being ordered to close his eyes for ever so that he may make room for a new life to experience all that he has. Humans were after all designed to live for a maximum of about 50 years. People often wonder of why it is that they grow old seldom realizing that it is because they eat. Oh yes, we do grow old only because we consume food.
The body is like any other machine, it needs fuel to do any activity and food we must have. So this food is converted into energy with which we then swing the cricket bat, walk or even type the keys of a computer. And like all machines, we don’t have one efficient to use up all the raw material put in to burn. While cars and bikes spew out black smoke consisting of carbon dioxide and unburnt fuel; the body releases carbon dioxide and something called free radicals. These free radicals flow through the blood touching every tissue and cell, creating havoc because of the positive charge in them. As the cells grow old and weak, their regenerating power slows down; which shows up as wrinkles on your face. Of course my ancestor’s heart-rate which was 120 beats a minute is no match for my 70 odd beats, so while his average age was 35 years, I live a lot longer. Now that really doesn’t mean that my body has kept up with the reduction of beats of my heart. So while my heart chills and can go on a bit longer, my knees don’t know that as yet.
So where is it that I’m going on with all these seemingly unrelated streams of thought? Will we in the future set a limit after which euthanasia not only becomes legal but compulsory or will the longing to live longer and longer take each of us beyond 150 years? And which is the better option for this world?
One option is the best method along with other combinations to control population on the earth while the other allows you to enjoy life to your own individual fill
I don’t know but do you even think we will come to such a stage where we would have to decide?Do drop in a mail if you like the style of writing, I am looking to improve it so feedback is very expected.
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