Immortality: Would you want it?

I was recently asked by a friend, if given the chance, would I want to live forever... be immortal. From there, I I let my mind wonder and I have to admit, my first thought was, Heck yes! 

It's something that I've thought about, especially when reading paranormal books. When I think back to some of these books, I noticed a lot of these characters didn't have a choice. They weren't asked up front if this was something they wanted. They were bitten, born that way or however else one can become immortal. Do you think if they knew what the journey was and how the overall outcome would be at the end of a book, they still have chosen immortality? Or would they want to go back to their normal existence. Maybe it would have been worth it in the end? Maybe not. 

Before I go any further, let me assure you that, yes, I do know we’re talking fiction here. So today I wanted to step outside the box and question our fiction. What if it wasn't fiction at all? What if vampires and werewolf's roamed the Earth and faeries waited for us to slip into their secret world, never showed us the way out? Would you want to stay, live their kind of life with their rules?

I ran down the pros and cons as how I see, because really this is a decision you should jump right into. As far as the pros go, there is the living forever part... and I would never have to worry about getting sick, having an incurable disease, or getting old. Also if I were immortal I’d assume that would come with some kind of special powers and/or strengths. I’d only have to figure out how special I am and how these would work to my benefit. Then with time comes knowledge and wealth. How nice it would be to go anywhere in the world whenever I wanted and have the time to learn everything I possibly wanted to know... well, that my friends, be awesome. 

And another pro that should not be overlooked would be these guys. I mean, as far as I know, they aren’t claimed by anyone...  which would make them totally available!  Right :)

Damon- Vampire Diaries

Stefen- Vampire Diaries

Alcide- True Blood

Okay, now on to the cons.

Has immortality only become a figure of speech these days? As with fiction, I’ve learned there is always someone out there that can kill you. Knowing this, I should be aware that there’s always going to be someone that’s better than me. So I’ll always need to watch my back. Someone out there is going to want what I have and will try to kill me for it. That would kinda suck!

What about the price of immortality? What “curse” would I inherit? Would I have to be a vampire and drink blood or a werewolf and change into a mean wolf every full moon? What exactly will have to do to be a part of the immortal crew? This would heavily sway my decision.

Another con—a depressing one—would be age. Where I may age in years, my body will not. This could pose serious problems if I decided to wait till I was, say seventy years old. If I was given the option to live forever, I wouldn’t want to do so as an old person. Immortality should also be beneficial. Being old would be pointless, but late twenties or thirties would be a perfect way to blend into society!

Also with age, I would have to watch my children, my husband and the rest of my family and friends grow old and die. The thought alone saddens me greatly. I think it would be hard to let go of that part. How easy it would be to take them all with me. The Cullen family in Twilight got along great… why wouldn’t my family? Stronger in numbers, right? Maybe so, but if I did that, I would be robbing them with their freedom of choice. They should be the ones to decide if that’s the kind of life they would want. 

My last con… what would I do when I’ve lived for thousands of years and I’m ready to end it? How do I die? If immortality is really what they say it is, I’d never be able to die. Ending your immortal life should always be an option. So, I’ll just have to hope the fiction I’ve been reading all these years is actually right and my enemy would be able to find me…I’m sure they’ll be easy to find, after all, I’ve got all the time in the world.  

So, what’s my verdict? Would I want to be immortal? Maybe so, if the conditions were right.

It would hurt to lose my friends and family, but to be honest; if not immortal, they’re going to die anyway. Death itself scares me. It may be a natural occurrence, but it still scares me nonetheless. It’s not the worrying about where I'll be after I die. I know without doubt where I'll go, but rather the process of actually dying. *squirms* I just don't want to go through with that.

With my immortality maybe I could use it to do more good in the world. Concentrate on all the people I could help in my many, many years. It's nice to sit back and think about all the great I could do in the world and all I'd get to see.

In the mean time, I think it's best to remember this: 

"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering."

-Bruce Lee

So, what about you? Would you want to live forever? Would your pros outweigh the cons?