Tuesday, January 15, 2019

An Atheist's Perspective on Accepting Reality

As is likely the case with many other seniors, I often consider (but don't dwell on) my mortality.  I know that there's a chance that I could live into my 90's as did my maternal grandfather. But the odds that will happen are slim, and of course there's the matter of possible / probable deterioration in the quality of life itself, as my physical and mental health may fail even if I remain ''alive''.  That's the real world.

But most other elderly people whom I know are theists and are convinced that when they die, they will go to heaven and be with God and their loved ones for eternity. How sad that they can achieve peace of mind only from illusions like this.

I have to admit that it's a bit daunting to contemplate the probable reality that the life we're now living is the only one we'll ever have and that when we die, it's lights out forever. Yet, it's that same likelihood of complete ''finis'' that makes me realize that the good things that I have here and now should be appreciated and enjoyed.while I'm still able to do so.

This post originally appeared  as a comment in response  to the Dec. 26, 2018 "Atheist Revolution" blog  post "Welcome to the Real World''.

2 comments:

Alan said...

Rick,

Believers flee from death into fantasy. When one of them told Bill Maher that "I'm going to a better place," Maher said, "Well, why don't you kill yourself right now?"

My approach is similar to yours - involves practice (getting used to the idea takes years), appreciation/gratitude, putting a high value on time (I never take surveys), and when the end is near, good drugs.

Secular Guy said...

As always it's goo to hear from you. I agree with your end of life game plan.

I think that some theists are content with their lives and look at the afterlife as a kind of completion. So they're not in a hurry to check out. But most God-believers are likely actually afraid of death either because deep in their hearts they know that it's probably really the end after, or if they believe in a "next world", it will be one of eternal damnation to hell.