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There are many valid and intelligent reasons why living forever is not a good idea. There are physical aspects to consider, as well as emotional ones. Please keep in mind that in this context the concept of an immortal soul will not be the focus, rather the unending existing of body and mind.

From a physical aspect it would be hard to make your body go on forever. Most everyone seems to understand that the human body shows physical signs of aging, as well as comprehends that it takes longer to repair as time goes by.

While some now believe that technically there is no proof that we really age and that our cells are renewable, nonetheless we feel when we get older. Not necessarily in the sense that we feel old, but our bodies simply refuse to keep up with things that they were capable of during earlier decades and stages in life, even if our minds feel young. To give an example, drugs like Viagra are popular for that very reason.

This aging, or feeling older if you will, also manifests itself by taking longer to repair in the case of injury or illness. Just think of flu season, shots are usually strongly advised to the elderly. Imagine if this aging process were to last forever. It would manifest itself in a slow and torturous deterioration of the nerves, bones and muscles, surely resulting in a lot of pain. How would this impact the quality of life for each individual? Besides, people that have chronic or incurable illnesses would be doomed to a life of suffering, a living hell if you will.

In addition, the longer a body is around, the chances of suffering illness and injury increase statistically. Not only would everyone be more prone to accidents, but also people would have to recover more frequently from painful injuries, which would lead to an increasing amount of unpleasant memories stored in their minds. In essence, even though the body would repair itself eventually, the mind may in time get fatigued by having to struggle through all the memories of illness and injury.

This leads to the emotional aspect of living forever. How many memories would the mind retain and where would be its limits? Would a lot of painful memories, such as having to recover from bodily harm, drive people slowly insane? There are also emotional scars to consider, such as broken relationships. People have a hard time now staying in long relationships. It would be nearly impossible to commit to a partner for eternity; the way things are at present.

The same goes for people with mental or emotional illnesses. They would be doomed to go on the way they are, until cures could be found. Judging by history and scientific development, this could take hundreds of years. Surely this is a long time to wait for relief.

While death is never easy and seems most painful for the survivors, look at the alternative: living forever would be by far the greater agony and is not a good idea after all. If you are still not convinced, read "On a Pale Horse" by Piers Anthony. It is about how Death gets killed and stops arriving for a while, and it's not a pretty picture.

Learn more about this author, Alexandra Heep.
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