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One Lifetime, Many Deaths
An actuality no one has been able to escape in our many years of evolution
Mofesola Banjo
April 02, 2024
The world celebrated the death of one man last weekend, and we’ve done this for two millennia already. I don’t see that celebration ending any time soon, and that’s such a beautiful thing.
Greetings and a warm welcome to my new readers. How was the Easter holiday for you ?
Mortality is a scary thing, and it is something that looms throughout one’s existence. In fact, it is probably the only certainty in life — an actuality no regular human has been able to escape in our many years of evolution. The mere thought that everything ends at some point, and the finality of it all, sends the coldest chill down even the strongest of spines.
Today’s letter is not as dark as it already seems. We aren’t talking about when we draw our last breath, no, but we are indeed examining the many, many deaths that make up our “one life”.
We die many deaths in one lifetime.
Think about the several phases of your life that have passed and are forever frozen in time: the last time your parents picked you up, never to do so again; the last time you saw your childhood friend, whom you thought you’d grow up together with and live in the same neighbourhood; the last time you held your last pet. There was a version of you that loved your previous love interest to the bones, another one that held certain beliefs very strongly, and probably another who could’ve sworn this current version of you wouldn’t exist. Where is the five-year-old you? Still somewhere inside us, we like to believe, but the truth is, their timeline ended; they only exist as fond memories now. Sound familiar?
Our lives are made up of phases—fractals within a fractal—the start of each new one often marking the definitive end of the previous one, all leading up to the final phase — where we face our own ultimate end. In reality, it is a beautiful thing, however scary. Another way to think of this is: 'we live many lives in one lifetime.' That doesn’t sound as ominous now, does it?
There’s an interesting variant of this thought that inspires marvel every time it crosses my mind: the way our lives are stories of stories — where every action and interaction creates a new story, and they have the ability to significantly alter the narrative!
What will you remember this phase for? It’s certainly going to end, but the memories last a lifetime. What do you imagine your next phase will be? I hope it’s one where you are happy and satisfied with the outcomes of your choices.
🥂