Reasonable Dissent

I’m not afraid to die

Though the actual dying part may not be very fun. I’ll admit that I don’t have much fondness thinking about the process of dying. From what I know about my body, it will probably let me know how much it doesn’t want to die. Heck, when I stub my toe on the couch leg it reminds me for 10 minutes how dumb I was to let that happen. Imagine what it will have to say about the prospect of dying forever.

But being dead? I honestly don’t dread it. This isn’t that unique to me; many atheists have mentioned before the idea that being dead will feel the same as before you were born: nothing. Not a lonely nothing, because you aren’t around to know that you feel nothing. But this also isn’t always a common feeling among atheists, especially those who have come to atheism recently. It’s a common concern for them, because they spent their life with the idea that dying would actually be a good thing, that they would be heading off to eternal bliss (though they still probably weren’t that eager to get there for some reason…). Everyone is different, but maybe by sharing how I feel on the subject I will help someone else.

First of all, let’s get one thing out of the way. Being true and being nice are two very different things. It would be very nice if heaven existed, and our souls would shoot out of our noses and off into paradise when we die (or however it would happen). This has absolutely no bearing on whether or not it is true. So the first step is to just accept that not liking the idea doesn’t mean a thing. If you’re going to be comfortable with dying into nothingness, you probably shouldn’t leave some lingering hope that it won’t really be the end. It is, deal with it.

Now, I happen to like living, breathing, experiencing, learning, laughing, loving and just all-around existing. But this doesn’t have to be true either. Life could suck. You could hate every minute of your existence. Again, this doesn’t have any bearing on what’s true. But, I maintain that you will be happier in either case if you accept that death is really the end. If you hate your life and see no reason to be happy, it’s that much easier to look for a religious pacifier, thinking, “How grand it will be when this painful existence is over, and I begin my eternity of happiness!” But wanting it doesn’t make it so, and instead of doing something about your situation now, you close up and wait for death to set you free. I think of death and think of the end, and it reminds me of all the things I want to do and to experience before that happens. So what might make you happy today? Have you always wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter before it gets killed? Go do it! Maybe you would love to spend a week in Tuscany in the summer. Pinch some pennies until you can make it happen! Maybe all you want to do is try to eat a whole can of cinnamon rolls at once. If that’s your thing, go make it happen.

The great part about knowing that death is the end is that you know you can’t regret things after you die. This isn’t an excuse to run out and rob a bank or anything like that, but it is a motivation to find out what you want and make it happen. Stop dreaming of the chocolate milkshake waterfall that you look forward to in heaven and find happiness here.

It’s not a depressing thought that there is no heaven; it’s liberating. You get to live now, so what experiences are good enough for your life? Let’s make it happen!

Tags: atheism