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A study conducted by the Rambam Medical Center and the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) came close to creating a rejuvenation mechanism. It turned out that injecting a special protein into the skin rejuvenated it cosmetically and even genetically. During the experiment, signs of the aging process disappeared and even molecules identified only with young skin appeared.
Lead researcher Professor Amos Gilhar explains: “We previously demonstrated that transplantation of human aged skin into young mice causes regeneration of the epidermis of the transplanted skin. In this study, it was found that regeneration of aged skin is characterized not only by the appearance of the skin, but also by regeneration of the genetic structure in a way that is characteristic of young skin. Indeed, as a result of the transplantation, signs of the aging process disappeared. In addition, there appeared molecules identifiable only with young skin”.
Assuming that this is possible, and that life can be prolonged significantly, if not to infinity, we would have to ask ourselves: why? Because without a good purpose in life, we won’t want to go on living.
It seems like everyone wouldn’t mind taking such a pill or a shot that would rejuvenate the body. Any person who has a chance to improve the welfare and happiness of humanity should want such a gift because it allows him or her to do more good.
However, on the whole, it does not appear that people want to extend their lives beyond a certain limit. Why? People who have reached the “golden” age, as a rule, quite calm about their life and the approaching end.
The only reason for the feverish search for the source of youth is to sell it for profit. Perhaps some people are really interested in finding this source of eternal life, but no one has seen anything good come of it. Therefore, we cannot say that if such a product were created, it would be in great demand.
There is no doubt that science can make life easier, make us healthy long-livers. But what’s the point? Just over a hundred years ago, people lived on average about forty years. Now they live twice as long. But what has mankind gained from it? There are four times as many people, the land is polluted, so is the air and water. What have we gained from our extra forty years? What will we gain if we get forty more years? What will people know at 120 that they don’t know at 80? Fear of death is not in itself an excuse for endlessly prolonging life.
Although there is no meaning in endless life, the fear of death has a purpose. He makes us search for the meaning of life.
When we look for the purpose of our existence, we find that it has nothing to do with prolonging the existence of our physical bodies. Moreover, so far all we want is to derive pleasure by thinking only of ourselves. At some point we will get tired of endless hedonism and either look for a deeper meaning in life or just get tired of the chase. When the latter occurs, our passion gradually wanes, our interest in life dims, and we gradually fade until we die, with or without the elixir that guarantees eternity.
Our life is like a bowl that we fill with contentment. When the vessel is full, nothing else can enter it, and our life ends.
On the other hand, when we want to help others fill their bowls, we become conduits through which the life force flows to others. Think of the satisfaction a mother feels when she sees her child enjoying a meal she has prepared or a new gift she has bought. The mother’s delight is much more intense and rewarding than the child’s delight. In fact, her delight gives her the fuel to give more and more and more.
This endless giving, the endless outpouring of pleasure that one can give to another, has no limits. Just as a mother feels about her child, we can feel about all of humanity. And since it is infinite, it is eternal. Just as a mother’s energy comes from the joy she has given to her child, giving generates an infinite life force that generates eternal life. This is the meaning of eternity.
In short, giving is the source of youth that scientists are looking for. It is the one thing that never dies and never fills to the brim.
