Life, Death, and the Things in Between

A close relative passed away quite recently and that got me thinking about death.

When we die, there’s no ‘soul’ that emerges and heads up to heaven, from where we sit on chairs (chairs in heaven, do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Are there carpenters there who sit and make chairs and tables for people? Or do you snap your fingers and a chair just appears? If so, can you snap and make anything appear, like a shirt, and pants, and can it just snap a new soul into existence?), looking down at the people who are still alive, and cheer them on.

We’re not sent to hell either, where a demon stabs you in the eye if you aren’t complying with their punishments.

We die, and that’s that.

Your kids, your partner, perhaps close friends, they’ll remember you from time to time. They’ll continue living their lives, remembering you occasionally, but they’ll move on, eventually forgetting you entirely.

You may think you’re special, and perhaps you are. But, in two, perhaps three generations, you’ll be forgotten.

You’ll have amounted to nothing.

And, for all intents and purposes, you are nothing.

That’s a depressing thought.

Perhaps that is why people need religion, to continue living normally. The idea of a god, of your own soul existing beyond death, that comforts people and lets them continue living lives, lets them continue making money, having kids, having their kids deal with existential questions, and then retiring, and eventually dying.

I, thankfully, am not one of these people. I do not believe our ‘souls’ continue living, I do not believe in god, and I’m too dead inside to really notice how depressing life really is. Hey, I’m listening to Rose and Bruno Mars belt out APT (which is a drinking game, by the way) as I’m typing this thought out. If there was ever any evidence required to illustrate this point…

My point is, life is meaningless.

Truly, entirely, meaningless.

Nothing you do matters.

So, don’t burn the place down, because others live here too, but throw bottles at the wall, pick your nose and wipe the boogers on the underside of that sofa in your boss’ office, make art, make science (wait, do you make science, or does science make you?), make love, make a face, make do with what you have, and try to help people along, if you can.

Otherwise, just, take care of yourselves.