Amber Campos
Religion, Ritual & the Arts
9/19/13
The Impermanence of Life
“We who breathe air now will join the already dead layers of us who breathed air once.”
(Dillard, 75) Every being walking the Earth at this very moment will eventually die. This is one
of the few things in the world that is absolutely certain. No one knows exactly when or what the
cause of their demise will be, they only know that it is inescapable. People deal with this
common destiny in a variety of ways.
Job describes humanity as frail and claims that life is short in his prayer about God. “A
mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble, comes up like a flower and withers, flees
like a shadow and does not last.” (Job 14:1) In order to emphasize death’s finality, Job compares
a tree to a human being. “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease. But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where
are they?” (Job 14:7) A tree is born again but man is not reborn from the dirt in which he has
been buried. For this reason, Job questions why God would even bother with judging such a
weak being like him or any other human for that matter. God has already decided how many
days a man will walk the Earth anyways. He does not understand why God cannot just let people
be and, “….enjoy, like laborers, their days.” (Job 14:6)
In Ecclesiastes, the thinker reaches a similar conclusion concerning the temporariness of
life. He claims that “every living thing will inevitably die one day. For the fate of humans and
the fate of animals is the same; as one dies so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and
humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 3:19) It does not
matter if an individual is innocent or evil; we all reach the same fate. A man who is generous and
gives to others his whole life will die just as a man who is deceitful and takes from others. Since
this fate is unavoidable, a person should simply enjoy the life they have been given. “All should
eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13)
Dillard uses imagery of nature to describe how quickly humans arrive on and diminish
from the Earth. “Our generations rise and break like foam on shores.” (Dillard, 118). We do not
often think about the many generations that lived before our time. Even if we did, these thoughts
would be “faded and seem to us dark and still as mummies” because they are so distant from us.
“Our lives come free; they’re on the house to all comers, like the shopkeeper’s wine. God
decants the universe of time in a stream, and our best hope is, by our own awareness, to step into
the stream and serve, empty as flumes, to keep it moving.” (Dillard, 175) I believe Annie Dillard
is conveying the idea that life can resemble an assembly line. Considering her use of the word
empty, she does not seem to be satisfied with living a life that sounds so simplistic and repetitive.
“Earth sifts over things. If you stay still, earth buries you, ready or not.” (Dillard, 122)
Dillard is encouraging action, in order to avoid wasting away in a world that is constantly
moving and changing. “Americans live about 79 years. We sleep through 28 of them, and are
awake for the other 51. How deeply have you cut into your life expectancy?” (Dillard, 187)
Humans sleep around a third of their life away. On top of this deduction, the nasty habits they
pick up shrink their lifespan even further. “We live on mined land. Nature itself is a laid trap. No
one makes it through; no one gets out.” (Dillard, 187) Since it is inevitable for a person to
experience death then why not do something meaningful while we are alive?
Amber Campos
Religion, Ritual & the Arts
9/19/13
“More than two million children die a year from diarrhea and eight hundred thousand
from measles. Do we blink?” (Dillard, 130) Often the deaths we hear or read about concern
people we have never met. People are deeply impacted after receiving word of the passing of a
close friend or family member but would only flinch upon hearing news about the casualty of a
person living half way across the world. A person may feel somber for a moment but this
emotion usually passes within a few minutes. On the other hand, when someone dies that a
person truly cares for, they often mourn for years. Grieving this much for every person that dies
would be an exhausting process and lead to “compassion fatigue.” (Dillard, 131) The
Mahabharata says, “Of all the world’s wonders, which is the most wonderful? That no man,
though he sees others dying all around him, believes that he himself will die.” (Dillard, 20)
Death is everywhere we look, people die every second. For death to be so frequent, it is
remarkable that no one ever expects to be next in line.
In dealing with the topic of the impermanence of life, some believe it is best to appreciate
life and treat it as God’s gift. They stand by the idea that man should celebrate and enjoy their
work. Others see it as a short opportunity to make a difference and avoid slumping into the same
routine. This fleeting chance comes without a price tag and what we make of it is our decision.