Infinite Possibilities in Small Infinities
A Blog Post
No one lives forever, except perhaps in the memory of
certain people. Even that no one can guarantee because those
who remember also do not live forever. Our lifespan upon
earth is limited. Some may live longer and some for a short
while, but in the end everyone has to die. Thankfully, most
of us do not know when we are going to die. We are saved
from that ordeal by Nature. What is most painful and fearsome?
It is knowing when exactly you are going to die, or how
long you are going to live. For most of us, unless we have
numbed our senses, it is unbearable. It happens in fewer
cases, when someone is facing a death sentence or suffering
from terminal illness. Coping with a situation like that
requires immense courage, and coming to terms with death
itself. A person whose death is imminent has fewer options
to deal with it. Whatever that one can do in such a situation
can be only done at the mental or spiritual level, by accepting
it, surrendering to it, and becoming indifferent to it.
It means one needs a fundamental shift in thinking, attitude
and free the mind from the longing to live to acknowledge
the inevitability of death.
There is an important scene in the movie, The Fault in
our Stars, which touches upon this subject. The movie is
about two teenagers who are stuck with cancer. One of them
is about to die, and the other knows that at some point
she has to leave, although she does not know when it may
exactly happen. The hero of the film, Augustus Waters, arranges
his own (pre) funeral in a Church in anticipation of his
imminent death. He invites only two of his best friends
to read their eulogies. One of them is the heroine of the
film Hazel Grace Lancaster.
In her eulogy, she uses a math analogy to express her
gratitude for an opportunity she has to know him and love
him, and in the course of it she touches upon a brilliant
concept. A person's lifespan upon earth may be limited,
but within that limited lifespan is hidden an infinity.
That infinity may be smaller or bigger than other infinities,
but each one has an opportunity to experience it and feel
grateful about it. Hazel Grace begins her small, prepared
speech by saying, "I am not a mathematician, but I do know
this. There are infinite numbers between zero and one. There
is 0.1. 0.12, 0.112, and an infinite collection of others.
Of course, there is a bigger infinite between 0 and 2, or
between 0 and a million. So our infinity is simply bigger
than other infinities. A writer that we used to like taught
us that... But Gus I know how thankful I am for our little
infinity. You gave me a forever within the numbered days,
and for that I am eternally grateful."
Her speech reflected the manner in which she came to
terms with her limited lifespan and with the imminent death
of her boyfriend. She did not feel sorry for the turn of
the events, but felt grateful for the memorable moments
she spent with him. She looked at life in terms of moments
and the infinite possibilities each moment offered. She
felt that their infinite was bigger than some other infinites
because they were able to live longer than some who died
much younger. In that limited number of days, she had an
opportunity to experience true love and express it. It was
her way of coming to terms with what life might offer, the
inevitability of death, and accepting what had become her
fate.