WHAT IS THERE BEYOND DEATH?
It is clear that nobody has any answers to those questions and those who say they do are just charlatans and religious fanatics.
One thing is certain, it is very clear to me and it is what I believe: that nobody has returned to tell us what there is beyond and even if there is a beyond. Whether the essence of your intelligence and what you perceive to be your “self” somehow transcends the physical demise of this flesh is an enigma.
It is useless to even worry about it because death is something that has even more certainty than whether the sun will rise tomorrow. As for myself, for the time being, and that is a very short period of my allotted biological span, far too short to even enjoy all the things there are to enjoy; I will not agonize over the question…I am not smart enough, nobody is.
I am going to make it my quest to seek the earthly pleasures, only second to my instinct of self preservation and as far as my contributions to humanity they are very modest; I limit myself to leave this world a little better place than I found it and I find it compelling to fight ignorance and superstition, mostly in the form of organized religion but I am also concerned about bigotry and racism.
Yes, I intend to drink just one more glass of that good wine, eat that gourmet meal at a fancy restaurant, eat a very decadent and fattening dessert or partake of some attractive young flesh…I want to live longer so I can see beautiful landscapes, pristine and unpolluted; I want to visit museums and galleries so I can appreciate the genius of human creativity. I want to read more great books that make me think or make me feel good. I want to attend live classical concerts rather than listen to them on my cd player, I want to see more operas and to be able to paint a few more paintings.Screw the guilt and full speed ahead…when I die the punishment or reward does not concern me.
If you don’t agree with me, it is acceptable to me…you probably have found some answers I have not although I really doubt it, particularly if you tell me that you have found Jesus or Buddha or green unicorns from Tasmania. But don’t fool yourself, you accepting these superstitions and holding on to them do not make them the truth nor will it bring you some kind of reward in the hereafter.
I should think that religions are playing one of the cruelest jokes on humanity: to convince people that if they hold a set of beliefs, a particular religious ideology they will be granted admission into that exclusive country club where there are harps playing and everything is idyllic.
PHOTO SOURCE: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/258060902/Chateau_Margaux_Premier_Grand_Cru_1994.jpg
0 comments:
Post a Comment