Carl and Ann

 How can someone concur to some one more than  this? 

Here is a rendition of the accord of two of my favourites, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan on life and the afterlife.

When Carl passed away and Ann was bombarded with questions regarding their relationship nuances, this is how she responded,

“When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me- it still sometimes happens 

and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife.

They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again.

Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions.

The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again.

I don't ever expect to be reunited with Carl.

But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive and we were together was miraculous-not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance. . . .

That pure chance could be so generous and so kind. . . .

That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space and the immensity of time. . . .

That we could be together for twenty years.

That is something which sustains me and it’s much more meaningful. . . .

The way he treated me and the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other and our family, while he lived.

That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday.

 I don't think I'll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful."🤍

How can she say something else, because this is what Carl said when he was alive, 

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. 

I want to grow really old with my wife, Annie, whom I dearly love. I want to see my younger children grow up and to play a role in their character and intellectual development. I want to meet still unconceived grandchildren. 

   There are scientific problems whose outcomes I long to witness—such as the exploration of many of the worlds in our Solar System and the search for life elsewhere. 

I want to learn how major trends in human history, both hopeful and worrisome, work themselves out: the dangers and promise of our technology, say; the emancipation of women; the growing political, economic, and technological ascendancy of China; interstellar flight. If there were life after death, I might, no matter when I die, satisfy most of these deep curiosities and longings. 

But if death is nothing more than an endless dreamless sleep, this is a forlorn hope. Maybe this perspective has given me a little extra motivation to stay alive. The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. 

Far better, it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides”

#carlsagan #anndruyan #cosmos

Thanks for Nissaaram•