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Finding an answer to the meaning of life and overcoming my fear of death

Home→Forums→Emotional Mastery→Finding an answer to the meaning of life and overcoming my fear of death

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  • April 9, 2014 at 4:10 pm #54565
    Becky
    Participant

    For quite some time I have been occupied with a fear surrounding the meaning of life and what happens after we die. After talking to my counsellor and my parents on the matter I think I am finally establishing my true views on the subject as oppose to what are simply negative thoughts and I am starting to find reassurance in myself. I have come to believe that there is no meaning of life. Or at least not in the sense that we are all part of something much bigger. I believe that the Earth and therefore humans are here by a wonderful miracle. I do not know why the universe is here or how old it is but the Earth was made and it has given to us the gift of life, to explore and enjoy the world whilst taking care and preserving it for future generations. I believe that the meaning of life comes from within. I choose to believe that my meaning is to improve the world and preserve its beauty for future generations who are given the gift of life. It does not matter that someone else believes differently as this is simply there purpose. There is no right or wrong, no set idea. We find our purpose in ourselves. With this I am also establishing a firm base on overcoming my fear of death. I personally do not believe in an afterlife. I believe that we will simply be as if we were sleeping without the dreaming. At peace. And as a quote by Mark Twain says “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” Of course in a way we never cease to exist. The atoms that are bodies are made of may never die. Perhaps I will become part of a star. Maybe I shall even be a part of a new life on another planet. In that sense I will not simply decay or fade away. I shall always be here and my mark on the universe will never fade. And besides to wish to live forever would be most selfish! I would be depriving others of the gift of life to see this beautiful planet. I want to share this gift. And from this I take a new approach to my life. I have been given a wonderful gift and I am not using it. So I shall take the time I have and enjoy it. Fill it with the joy that my gift was intended to give me and look after the planet that has given me the gift of life. I do not need to worry about why I am here because I know what I want my meaning of life to be and that is what matters. And as for death? Well when I am finished exploring every inch of the world, when I have squeezed every drop out of life, I think I might like a nice long sleep to rest my weary self. 🙂

    • This topic was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by Becky.
    • This topic was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by Becky.
    April 10, 2014 at 3:06 am #54596
    Will
    Participant

    I like this a lot. I have very similar views to yours: I think death just means nonexistence, and there’s no need to fear it because you won’t be there to experience it. The end may be painful and sad, but death itself I think of as rest, relief, and yes, peace.

    As for meaning, we all make this ourselves, the whole messy wibbly-wobbly interlinked biosphere. None of us asked to be here, and none of us were given a task to do or a test to pass. We just put those on ourselves and each other. I think the only test is how the things you do make yourself and others happy or miserable. We all prefer happiness to misery, so let’s try to work for happiness when we can. That’s my purpose as I see it.

    Thanks for your post. It’s nice to read about someone getting on well with themselves. 🙂

    April 11, 2014 at 12:37 am #54647
    The Ruminant
    Participant

    I believe in an afterlife, but I’m also fine with the idea that there is none. To me this whole thing about meaning of life and why are we here, and whether there is or isn’t an afterlife, is something that I’ve accepted I can not understand, nor do I need to. Just like when children are just learning basic things like walking and talking and grabbing things, you can’t expect them to comprehend extremely complex things. If they claim to understand them, then there is a very good chance that they actually don’t, but simply think that they do. Like “I know how television and radio works: you switch them on!” In the same way, you can’t expect children to get everything right, and when they don’t, you can’t punish them disproportionately. That would make no sense.

    I become quite happy when I accept the “child of the universe” role and try to focus on the simple things that are within my grasp. It is not my job to understand how everything works, even though I do examine everything and try to understand it. So I guess what I’m trying to say that it’s great to be curious and ponder about things, but it’s also great to be able to admit that I simply don’t know everything and I don’t have to. The world will continue to function the way it functions regardless of my comprehension of it. Death and what happens after that are out of my hands, no matter what I do, so why worry?

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