“Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in a physical or spiritual form for an infinite or inconceivably vast length of time.”

Fitting I’d say, that I sit here on my 28th birthday and contemplate a book I finished two weeks ago Interview With the Vampire and the odd circumstances that led to me watching half the movie a week ago and the other half tonight. 

Vampires have always held deep magic for me, sexy, dark, powerful creatures that live forever and fly around with the world as their kingdom. 

The book is amazing.  Anne Rice has woven an immortal’s story in with the hopes and fears of humans using tools only accessible to godlike night creatures to chisel out a passionate work of emotion, hope, and despair. 

And yet, with all it’s superhuman antics and hundreds of years of backdrop it tells the same story as Where The Wild Things Are, holds the same messages as Shantaram and Siddhartha or doing a Juice Fast, and evokes the same feelings as walking a highline with some good friends. 

So then, where does that leave me on this birthday of mine?  Rambling, writing my thoughts as they speed forth from my mind to meet the world.  I’d give a lot to be immortal, to take time out of the equation of life, to make that so limited resources renewable.  And yet Louis, and immortal vampire, struggles with the same pain I do when I wake up on a Sunday and realize I spent all day Saturday hungover in another world dreaming of another life (August, Claire, and I haven’t had a drink in a week and a half btw, but that’s saved for another writing another day). 

Age, what a mystery!  After spending the weekend with my 90 year old grandpa who seems like he could live well past a hundred, and coddling my newest cousin who was born 2 weeks ago I was again struck by the arbitrary nature of such a concept. 

Weather one lives forever, or was born yesterday the same is true.  THIS moment is the one that matters, and if we forget that, than 400 years of misery is no better than 40.

But something important is overlooked by this story of immortality, and every story that touches on the meaning of enjoying each moment, and it bothers the heck out of me!  What if you DO enjoy every moment, make the most of life, fill the day with passion, love, pause and BE?  Than isn’t 5400 years better than 96?  Am I missing the point? Or are story tellers so focused on telling the human race to live ONCE that they forget about the possibility that some of us are already alive?  What about us?  You, me, and the Yeti, who celebrate the birth of a moment and the death of a firefly with the same soul-shaking laughter.  *Get’s up to do a booty shakin’ dance in my boxers* 

Birthday ramblings are so much fun! Don’t like it?  Bored?  Go read something else! The internet is a big place my friend.  Go find your own nugget of passion, or stay and share mine, there’s plenty for all.

So really.  What is it about time? Age? Or the nonexistence of both?  To fully enjoy a moment we’ve got to get lost in it completely, and sometimes a moment takes a long time to build.  JWST for instance is a moment that has been building for 5 years, and continues. 

HA! Almost stuck there… me and my 28 years of wisdom starting to answer that question in an sentence?  That’s what larkinflight.com is all about, the quest for these answers, and the continued asking of the questions. 

So, what is Death then?  What roll does it play?  What roll should it play?  Well F$%& Death!  I’ve had a great conversation with sickness (did I blog about this yet?) and we came to a happy agreement. We understand each other.

Death, come see me, let’s chat.  I don’t need you in my life anymore because I’ve learned your lessons…   I’m going to live longer than anyone alive today, much longer, and more important, that life will be full of passion, love, motivation, caring goodness, appreciation, and all those things that matter most within each of us.

Got that? Fantastic.  Larkin out.  Dreamland awaits.  Seriously Death, lets hash this out.