AJ113

When I was a christian I wasn't too concerned about all the shit that happened to me in this life, and I didn't care about death, in fact I would have been happy to learn that I had one minute to live, because I "knew" that I was going to a "better place" where everything would be perfect.

Since my deconversion it is this aspect above all others that concerns me the most.

If we simply "cease to be" when we die, then what is the point of bothering with life in the first place? What difference will anything that I do in life make to me? Nothing, because I will not exist.

I am sure that anyone who replies to this may say something like "Think of the difference that you can make to other people's lives" which is all well and good, but what difference does that make to me if I do not exist? And taking it a step further, what is the point of "making a difference" to anyone elses life, anyway, if they, too, are going to cease existing?

I'm struggling here. Anybody been through this sort of thing themselves?

Thanks

Philosoft

Hi AJ,

A common atheistic response: If this life is the only one we get, we should live it as best we can.

Always made a lot of intuitive sense to me.

lpetrich

However, there are varieties of afterlife that are independent of most known religions.

One could become a ghost and haunt a house.

Not that I find that very convincing; it just goes to say that there are lots of possibilities.

sakrilege

If you only had one scoop of ice cream would you refuse to enjoy it because that was all you got? Or would you make the effort to savor it as much as possible because that was all you got?

HelenM

Actually, no, I was more thinking, you sound depressed.

I'm not saying you're 'clinically depressed' but I would say that someone who starts wondering what the point of life is, and why bother, is somewhat depressed. Or discouraged.

I'm sure many have. I hope you get some good answers.

Reading between the lines, it sounds as if you didn't much care for life before, but you comforted yourself with the thought "there is something better ahead". Now you do not have that belief you need to find a different way of dealing with what you don't like about your present life. But please excuse me if that's a misintepretation of what you said and/or think since I obviously don't know you well.

I hope you find a way to enjoy life, as it is. I would wish that for anyone of any worldview, because even though some people may find comfort in believing "this life is awful but there's a better one coming", I don't think it's a great way to live.

Helen

Jewel

Life is what you make of it. I strive to live a happy fulfilled life while I have a life to live. I certainly do not achieve this goal 100% of the time, but that's ok. So what if life is finite. All the more reason to live it.

AJ113

How perceptive, Helen. You've hit the nail on the head.

So applying my current frame of mind Sakrilege's scoop of ice cream:

I wouldn't refuse to eat it, but I might leave it simply because it is inconsequential whether I eat it or not.

Or I might eat it, because it's in a dish in front of me and I have a spoon, but I'm not likely to place any importance on, or even notice whether the experience is enjoyable or not.

Sad, huh?

AJ113

Yes, I know that's how you and many others see it, unfortunately I see it differently. If life is finite what's the point of it in the first place? If I become nothing when I die, what difference does it make if I die now or in sixty years' time?

HelenM

Yes, it is.

Loss of appetite is a sign of depression. Literally and figuratively.

Is there anything you do enjoy, in life? Anything you feel makes life worth living, for you? If so is there a way you can incorporate more of that into your life?

Helen

AJ113

Thanks for your concern, Helen.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a lost cause who is about to top himself, although I do think that I'm a little depressed. (As you say, not clinically.)

I do not have loss of appetite, either. The ice-cream analogy was utilised to show an enjoyable experience, not an act of satisfying hunger.

There's plenty of stuff that I can and do derive enjoyment from, but none of this addresses the main issue.

My problem is that I am struggling to come to terms with my own mortality. As a christian, mortality didn't come in to the equation, but as an atheist it's never off my mind.

Thanks for the input, everyone