dreams, as long as we can do that, we shall never die. For our creative thoughts, our imagination, our dreams, our longing for a better world…all of that and more… never die. In fact one can be certain that they can find home somewhere after the body perishes. Upon reflection, one might find that this continuous creation may need us as much as we need it. After all, we may be the only mean it has to be conscious of its existence. Or perhaps, the continuous creation itself is trying to create a universe by far better, by far more exciting and more beautiful than anything based on biology, chemistry and physics alone. In the infinite universe, clusters of galaxies are known to be in perpetual motion, they are in a state of continuous travel, and they keep transforming their shape and the structure of their mass by going through cosmic clouds of energy and dark matter. We are no different; indeed there is strong similarity between us and the universe. We are both destined to stay alive. We never die, we only travel from one place to another and transform ourselves from one state into a different one. In the grand scheme of things, there is no death. Though, in our limited time as human beings, we have been only able to observe what goes on in this short period of time, where death and life seem to be part of a circle. In the infinite universe, in the infinite existence of all things material and spiritual, there can only be life. There is only existence. Void, nothingness and death are not allowed in the infinite universe.
The reason people are constantly thinking about life after death is simple: We are greedy and we should never feel bad about it. Actually, as intelligent beings, it is only logical for us to believe in the afterlife, for a good reason, it would be very depressing to admit that all things end with death. Not only that, but in view of all the suffering and the agony we endure in living, not too many would be choosing to stay alive if it were not for this glimpse of hope provided by the belief of an eternal life. If this is greed than it should be classified as good greed. Though I do believe in the afterlife, I also realize that we have been going about it the wrong way, for we have been completely focusing on protecting and enriching the self and our lives as individuals without paying much attention to the survival of the entire species on this planet and beyond. We must realize that without an interactive civilization, an individual can only reach the stage of mechanical intelligence or biological programming. True, on occasion, our greed may lead us indirectly to help the human cause. For instance, many of us help others in need hoping for a heavenly reward. Yet as greedy as this may be, by doing so they end up enhancing the survival of the race - albeit unintentionally. Beyond that, we shall find that helping the species survive is not only confined to the rich and powerful. It is somewhat in-coded in our brains. Take arts for instance, on the surface, it seems only useful to nourish our mind, a deeper look, however, will reveal that arts are as essential to our survival as water and air. They are the subtle invisible tools designed to help us cling to life. Writers, singers, actors, performers and a whole army of creative minds, all share one thing in common, they never quit. Once they have a vision, a dream if you will, they become obsessed with realizing it, and often enough they succeed against all odds. This obsession that turns into an addiction is uncontrollable for a reason: the soul must be nourished and the mind must be entertained. Without arts, without music, poetry, and other exciting intellectual activities such as cinema and theatre, our lives would become dangerously dull and boring to the point where we may lose interest in life itself - worse yet contemplate suicide. An intelligent species requires intellectual pleasure. Owing to genetic randomness, the mission of creating these intellectual pleasures has been assigned to artists. Yes, sciences may be more important for our biological survival, but when it comes to the afterlife, only arts are able to introduce us to anything eternal. There is no greater mission than the one to keep human beings happy and interested in life; this task rests with artists. If in our short history on this planet we feel the need for excitement which has been generously provided by all kinds of artists, imagine how much more they are going to be needed in the future, millions or billions of years from now when the risks of becoming completely disenchanted with life are bound to increase dramatically. Furthermore, arts and literature can indirectly help science and technology. On the surface, science may appear to be more important than arts. A more profound assessment however, may dispel this perception. To their credit, scientists are more inclined to be logical and reasonable when compared to painters or poets. Their contribution to our survival can’t be denied. As long as the conditions we live in stay the same, their discoveries and inventions are of great help to us. However, we live in a changing universe where nothing remains constant or stable, a fact we are all well aware of. Here is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Scientists, engineers and technicians have perfected the art of auto production. Cars and trucks in particular, have lately been very useful to the economy of the world. The same can be said about the aviation industry. The question one must ask is who is going to be most helpful to the survival of the human race once the crude oil becomes a rare commodity in the coming decades. In my opinion, imagination and creativity are going to play a much important role in finding the right solutions and devising successful strategies to deal with this challenging situation, to a degree, where science could never hope to reach. Even when one is dealing with science, without imagination and creativity nothing can be advanced. They are always important regardless of the degree of sophistication reached because improvement can always be made. To better identify with my theory just take a look at the history of any invention and see for yourself how it evolved. From the car to the elevator to the refrigerator to the video camera, practically every gadget or invention one might encounter, they all went through numerous innovative steps to reach the present state they are in, and if anything one can be certain of is the fact that despite all these changes they will be going through more in the future. The conclusion to be drawn here is that without creativity and imagination this whole process would have not existed, including the initial discovery or invention itself. Now here is the case I am trying to make for poets, writers, painters and all artists. These people are always creating. Their imagination and ability to create are limitless. They may not be creating anything directly useful to the economy or the survival of the human race, but it is a fact that they have been improving the genes of imagination and creativity, it is the fact that without this pool of genes, very few scientists if any, would have been able to invent or discover anything of any use to the human race. One more thing. At the turn of the century, time magazine chose Einstein as the man of the century because he was a scientist. While I agree with their choice, one can easily see why I dispute their justification. The reason Einstein shines above so many bright stars like Edison and Bell is his ability to be creative, his courage to dare imagine what was beyond the obvious and his dreams of exploring past the limited confine of science. To me he was a sage poet as much as a scientist and if it was not for his poetic aspiration, I doubt if he would have accomplished much in the field of science. Science can enable a person to learn a craft. However, to invent, to discover, one would require the imagination and creativity of an artist. You would probably agree with this opinion once you realize that Einstein himself strongly believed that imagination and creativity were more important than knowledge.
Of course the primary goal of any artist is to establish a money making career. Of course many artists are vain enough to be motivated by the silly notion of fame and immortality. Nonetheless, all artists are subconsciously doing what they are predisposed to do which is simply the enhancement of the survival of the race. Frankly, I see nothing wrong with this ruse of nature - if one elects to classify it as such- since in the end, it is going to benefit our race. Intelligent life is not easy and will never be. We have emotions, feelings and aspirations that need nourishing. Without an active life, boredom sets in - posing a serious threat to our very existence. We should be grateful for anyone who helps us enjoy and appreciate life even when the effort is going to benefit the person involved.
Scientists, politicians, warriors and many others would also like to see themselves immortalized and many of them have easier time in achieving their goal than artists - since their contributions to humanity are more tangible than those of the latter ones. So like it or not, from the common person who performs a simple act of kindness to the genius whose work might change the way we think and live, the underlying motivation happens to be an innate obsession with immortality that is inherent to all human beings. Believing in an eternal life has less to do with religion and more with greed. We are using religion to get another shot at life. People who believe in such possibility are no different than the ones looking for a heavenly reward for their good deeds. They too want to stay alive - actually they even expect a better