What is it that makes us go on, and what is the driving force which fuels our will to live. I suppose some might argue that it is the basic drive for all living things to survive. But that is the physical consideration of one�s being. Or is it? Let me put it this way. A rock is a physical thing. It has form and substance. Like all physical things it ages, erodes and weathers until it is broken down and is a rock no more. It seems oblivious to any concerns of it�s existence for it has no mind or emotions. It is inanimate and without life. So looking at this example I feel that it is not so much a physical drive towards survival, but perhaps one of mind and emotion.
So following this premise I would have to look at the mind and emotions of living beings to determine the drive for survival. I look for flaws in this continuing line of thought and come up with the obvious of those living things without mind or emotion as we know them. Take for example plants and single celled organisms. Neither have a mind or emotions, yet each of them too strive to live and grow. Such organisms may meet adversity and yet through seeming determination they persevere through many such difficulties. Cut off a branch and new ones sprout. Damage either type of organism without destroying them and they work to repair themselves. But what is the root of such persistence? Is it merely a physical thing after all? A combination of chemical reactions and molecular structures which create life and replication as a by-product? And if so, is the mind and it�s emotions yet another by-product of this phenomena?
Now, what of energy? All things composed of matter have some degree of energy contained within them. Molecular energy if nothing else. But the complexity of living things seems to utilize energy rather than simply contain it. Lifeless matter seems merely to give off, contain and absorb energy in a predictable and basic way. But add life to the equation and the living thing directs and fluctuates energy within it�s composition to suit it�s need for survival. It regulates energy to build, replace or destroy portions of its physicality. Sometimes needing more energy, sometimes less. Building an elaborate system of energy relay ability which grows more complex in relation to the being�s own complexity.
So I ask my own mind if it is simply a physical effect. I then wonder if it may be the energy itself which builds such complex machines to serve as a conduit for the sake of it�s own flow of motion. Light is that which causes all things to change and be. Without the absorption and emission of high energy photons to create chemical change then nothing could exist as we know it. This is a basic concept of science which mankind has discovered about this universe with a sense of definiteness, and then only recently considering how long mankind has been around and it�s history. So ultimately it is light, with it�s flow and motion, which is the determining factor of existence. But so far as we know, or shall I say by our definition, light in and of itself is not a living force.
Jesus is referred to in the book of John as the light of the world and the light of men. (John 1:4 and John 8:12) But is that all that he is? Not nearly so. For light is a part of absolutely everything that exists. It is the very foundation of creation itself. There are theories in science that state that all matter is in fact composed purely of light itself which takes solid form. That all matter can be converted to pure energy in the electro-magnetic spectrum (which we collectively call �light�, visible or otherwise). So how did this �man� who lived some 2000 years ago come up with such concepts of light and creation while science would only discover it nearly 2 millennia later? Those who live by faith need not question it. It is the very fabric of their existence and they know that that light lives within them. It is that light which is the foundation, the cornerstone of the drive for survival. To live life as a gift to treasure.
Why our minds heighten the desire for survival is varied. Some desire to survive for the sake of experience. New events, adventures or even the next season of Survivor or the Amazing Race! Some seek meaning or wisdom, to understand the mysteries of their own existence. Some desire to survive for fear of change and the unknowns of what lies beyond life and question if there is anything which lies beyond at all. But energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Simply transformed. Perhaps the mind and emotions will cease to exist just as the body does at death. Or perhaps one�s �soul� is merely a collection of experiences from life�s events and is contained somehow in that ever changing flow of light energy. Perhaps those experiences are never lost, since light is everywhere and always moving. Time is a perception of matter, for light is unaffected by time. Only when it is absorbed by matter does it know time as it is now part of that matter. But as it is absorbed, then re-emitted, it carries with it an imprint of information of what it was a part of. The most obvious example of this is our ability of sight. The image of matter is brought to our eyes by a stream of light. Who knows? Perhaps every facet of information about matter is somehow carried by that light, and our eyes only see the tiniest part of that information. Who knows indeed.
Well, the question remains unanswered. At least universally. For myself, I find an odd sort of duality from my beliefs and understandings of existence. I truly and thoroughly enjoy life and it�s experiences. I treasure each day and strive to see the beauty of all that is surrounding me every day. And yet, I am at any time ready to let it all go. To accept the end of this life�s journey and go on to what is next, if anything does exist for me at all. I believe there is something but yet accept the possibility that the sense of mind and personality may not transcend death, thereby ending that which I know as �me�. But I have no fear of it. And in fact, I have very little fear of anything, in this life or beyond. I often long for that end and the experience of it, but until that day I will live this life fully as often as possible and count each day as another blessing of the miracle of life.
