Moments.

The show Radiolab from WNYC has been doing a week's worth of podcasts regarding our scientific understanding of death and all the notions of what it truly entails. The last part of this was a simple four minute video of small moments that make up what many of us might associate with a lifetime.

The meaning of all this nonsense we experience here on Earth has been pressing on my mind a bit lately. On one hand, a woman who in her relatively long life I have known only to show kindness and generosity recently received a rather grim diagnosis and may be gone within a year. On the other hand, I am aware there are several new lives coming into being in the next year, which given the individuals I know becoming parents will provide endless possibilities for joy and growth in my life and the world at large.

There is of course the question of what defines a life well-led when it all comes down to it. The very same podcast included a couple readings from the book "Sum" by David Eagleman, which suggests various ways of looking at the afterlife. In one particular version, your life is relived, but now instead of the normal sequence of events, things get re-organized by activity and those events happen in sequence. So, for example you might spend 8 months sitting in the bathroom or a month flossing. Eagleman is a Neuroscientist and in my mind is trying to make us think more about what constitutes a life and less about the actual events that transpire when we die. However, sadly, I think a great deal of my time would be spent alone, on this futon or another semi-comfortable digesting some huge amount of science, news or pop culture while waiting for something to happen in my life.

The truth is that I love discovering something new about the world mathematically, figuring out something about the world I had not previously understood through reading an article or novel, as well as simply hearing something I think will make people laugh. However, to me all of those experiences for me are enriched when you are able to share them with someone. In fact, most of them turn out to be pretty meaningless until you are able to share them with someone. This blog helps, though in many ways it is an artificial form of sharing. The feedback comes in the form of comments, much later, rather than an engaging conversation when the issue is fresh in your mind. This past year has given me a lot of time alone, which hopefully will help me shape who I am in the future in a better way. However, I look forward to a time my life revolves around others who need me around so that the moments I want to experience again happen far more frequently.