Live forever?

angelfruit · Live forever?

I was sitting here typing and through the door started listening to an evening news programme that was talking about .... living forever?

What do you think?
Would you like to live forever?
Do our views on living forever change as we get older?

Tony Benn quoted his mother saying "Death is God's final gift to the living" (or something along those lines).

Nannyp

If I could remain as fit, and energetic, and physically and mentally able as I am now, I wouldn't mind living for 130 or so years.....

Mind you, Mark would have to live to that much too, wouldn't want to be without him

angelfruit

I think that's the crux of it for me to be honest Nanny.

I wouldn't want to be the only left and to have had to say goodbye to so many friends, family and loved ones as they leave for their eternal resting place.

I know that the older I get the younger people seem to be dying. When I was a child, you thought people were past it by 50 and gone by 60 - now I am quite old myself (well 46.5) people are going in their mid-70's and I think that is way too young.

patweb

I think probably your views change as you get older. My Mum will be 95 tomorrow and she is fed up with life now. She keeps saying that she's lived too long.
When you're young and able, yes it does sound great to live forever.....if that's how you would remain..... able, and with all your wits about you. Otherwise, no I wouldn't want to live forever.
As you say Dawn and Kathy, friends and family would have to live forever too.
My Mum's war cry is "Don't get old"

MandyJ

In no other area is quality far far more important than quantity.

My MIL is 92 and can't wait to die.....she hates every day of her life.

We should be investigating dignified and humane ways of ending life not perpetuating it.

Hecateh

Hecateh

my Dad is 91 and can't wait to die either - and my mother is 86 and feels pretty much the same though I would say her quality of life is slightly better (Dad is going blind and is very much slowed down mentally - but not confused) Mum is still very much all there mentally - though her short term memory is going.

Recently she has been saying that she will be really happy to go and she is also scared because she understandably believes that one morning she is going to get up and Dad isn't.

They would not make this choice at the moment as it is against their life values and I respect that but for those that do want to make that choice the option should be readily available.

angelfruit

I think this is the problem - the quality of life seems to diminish so much in the elderly after a certain age. I wonder if this is what affects the British way of dealing with old people too?

Guest

As you know, my dad died earlier this year. He was nearly 84, and he'd had enough.

On the other hand, my mother, who is nearly a year older than he was, is still full of life and hopes to go on living "for many a year to come". Mum is registered blind, with just partial peripheral vision in one eye ... yet she's cheerful and independent.

I think the key to "wanting to live forever" is health. If you're fit and healthy, you want to go on for longer; if your body is tired-out, you probably don't.

angelfruit

That's probably it, isn't it?

Hecateh

Definitely quality not quantity and I think as we get older the fear of dying is far diminished by the fear of having to survive with a body and or mind that is no longer really living.

I'm ot sure whether or not many people would want to take an assisted route out but I think knowing it was available would be a comfort to many people. A sort of safety net - prefer not to use it but good to know it's there.

angelfruit

Hmmm - more thought on this one I think.

lauzc

Here's the real answer to living forever!

angelfruit

I admire the good lady's resolve but thankfully could not (and would not) subscribe to her life choice. There's not many things in life to enjoy when you're skint, but some things are still free .....

Hecateh

angelfruit