Fireside Chat With A Troll, Part I: Death and The Gift of Life

I am going to do a four part series on shit that is always going through my mind. Death; religion vs. spirituality; the meaning of life; happiness and sorrow, shit like that. I don't know how many parts there will be. Why am I doing this? I don't fucking know, so enjoy it.

With life comes death. There is only one absolute in life. You, I, and every single person on this planet will die some day. The Grim Reaper's scythe will catch you; there is no hiding. With death being the only guarantee in life, there is no reason why we have to lie to ourselves about it. Our planet has immersed itself in an ocean of denial; where ever you go, you will be swept up by its waves. What is this denial? Religion.

I'm not going to go on a tirade of how this religion is false due to X and Y; as that is for later. What I am going to do is talk about my views on death and why we shouldn't ignore the obvious. Religion was created to explain what we could not understand about the natural world, through supernatural means. Lighting? Zeus must be mad. Rainbow? God is reminding us that he won't flood the world again. Death will always be something we will not understand. But, that does not mean we can't try.

Death is daunting. Death is final. I can understand why people would want to believe that they are going to spend eternity with their god(s) and "saved" loved ones; only for the price of their pious devotion. I can also understand why people want to believe their dead loved ones are watching over them from heaven, paradise, or whatever; those thoughts comforts them. I find this to be a waste. Let me explain.

You only have one shot at life. Billions spend that life wasting away in the presence of their god(s); fearing, yet venerating, their impending death. Death is glorious, death is beautiful they say. They waste their life trying to "save" those who are lost, yet they will ultimately lose their life, for no one is ever "saved". This is no way to live. This is a mockery of life. Where others are dying to live, they live waiting to die. Life isn't about running around, scoring as many "God Points" as you can, then leaving. Life is much bigger than that.

For one to appreciate death, one needs to learn to appreciate life. I have come to view my life as a book. In this book, I am the author, but there are a few catches. One, what I write is set in stone; I can not go back and revise what I have written. Two, I can only look back upon what I have written; I can not read ahead nor can I skip pages. Three, the ending is non-negotiable. Four, I do not know when, where, and how my book will end, only that it will.

This outlook may seem grim and indeed, it is. Death is a grim reality. Only upon realizing this can you truly begin to appreciate life. Knowing that there will never be another "you" should motive you to get off your ass and do something with your life. Don't spend it on your knees praying to your god. Spend it on your feet, trying to make this world a better place.

While millions take comfort in the thought that the their loved one is guiding them from above, I believe that to be a disservice to the dead. I don't want my death to outshine my life, unless I die with a nuke strapped on my back, taking some commie bastards with me. I want my life to be remembered. The only afterlife I believe in is the memories of our descendants. We may be dead, our corpse withering to dust, but we are still alive in the memories of our loved ones. Don't remember how I die. Remember how I lived.

Death is the real final frontier. Who knows what happens when we die. I do know this, the Universe wastes nothing. I'll close with this: How do you want to be remembered? Do you want your life to be celebrated and carried on through the thoughts of your descendants? Or, do you want your life to be allocated to certain dogmatic beliefs, which come and go like the tides? Your choice.