Death

[SublimeDonut]

I feel pretty pathetic talking about a subject like this in a forum for a Nintendo game, but I want to hear the opinion of people of people around the world, and this is the only site I can think of that may help me.

Includes constroversial opinions about religion. Proceed with an open mind.

My family is spiritist, that is to say, they believe in reincarnation and heaven (basically). Since birth I've been taught these beliefs, so I've always thought of death as just an inconvenience. You die, you're rebirthed instantly, that's it. But after a period of questioning my faith, and ultimately abandoning religion, I realized how much bigger of a deal it really is. I rejected the concept of soul or spirit, and began to realize what makes us us is our conciousness. I researched and learned that conciousness is in fact mere electromagnetic waves produced by our brain, and once we die, these waves cease to be produced. This is the revelation that disturbed me: that there is nothing after this. That this unpredictable, short life, that may end at any point without warning, is all that there is for us. After it ends sooner or later we simply are not anymore.
Because the thing is, life is incredible and amazing. I love being alive, I love the universe, I love people and culture and movies and music and art and animals and plants and food and colors and tastes and smells and sights and feelings. And there is so freaking much to experience in our planet, that the thought of having only 60 or 70 years to enjoy it all makes me feel devasted.
I've tried to talk to my atheist father about this, asked if the realization was as crushing to him. He said that when I grew up, I'd learn to cope with the sad reality, because it is inevitable. Yeah, that answer didn't help much. So I asked what could I do to cope with it for now, and he said I could go back to mom's religion for relief and escapism. But I found that advice wwas even worse. I mean, yes, if I believed in reincarnation I wouldn't stress and panic over death. But I can't go back to this belief system anymore. I changed, I grew out of it. So I can't try tricking myself, I can't pretend that I still believe in afterlife, because deep down I know I don't.

All in all, I feel crushed and devasted about death, and from the opinions and reaction of other atheists I know, none of them seem to be as devasted as me. I think I might even have some degree of anxiety or other mental condition. I don't know. I want to know if anyone in BTF relates and hear all of your opinions. Thanks for reading my confused rambling. Good night.

 

[gaydani]

tbh this is kinda one of the reasons why i want to believe that there is something after death
to me the thought that nothing happens after death is just so scary and sad to me that i really want something to happen after we die and not just eternal nothingness

 

[Livvy]

Sorry that you're feeling so much anxiety about death. I used to be atheist, but now I'm religious, so while I have a different feeling about death now, I remember feeling how you do. Something that used to make me feel better was a Mark Twain quote my step dad would share sometimes, "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." So basically, if you didn't comprehend being not-alive before you were born, you probably won't mind once you're dead either. For some reason I still find this comforting, sorry if it doesn't help!

 

[chai latte]

it's apparent that you have anxiety not only because you're unsure of what happens after death, but because you are scared you aren't going to live your life to the fullest--and that's okay. a lot of people have anxiety about what happens after we die and because they aren't doing the best that they can and just living their best life.

a lot of your relatives or friends don't share the anxiety you have anymore because they've come to terms with it. from my experience, a lot of my relatives and friends have been apathetic towards the topic because they don't want to think about it or talk about it.
simply put, there's nothing we can do about death. there's no escaping it, and you probably aren't going to find out what happens after you die.
they have shifted their gaze from "what the heck is beyond life" to "how can i be my best self and live my life to the fullest". the best thing you can do for yourself is to live your life. if you want to travel, travel. immerse yourself in art, in music, and in things that make you happy. cherish moments. death is inevitable so make the most of what little time you have here.

 

[moo_nieu]

I personally do not fear death, but I'm sure I will be nervous if I'm aware that my time is coming soon. I've thought about reincarnation, heaven/hell, and an empty void. Honestly, I don't think there's any way that I could know what is going to happen. The unknown can be terrifying, but it can also be intriguing. Reading about some near-death experiences makes me think that there is more to all of this. Maybe it is just a simulation we keep getting put into. Maybe we have chosen to come to this world to help others or simply feel pleasure. It does not really matter to me because I cannot control it. However, I am curious as to what will happen.

My advice would be to forget death as best as you can. Life is fleeting and can be extinguished at any given moment. I understand that many people would rather have never been born than think about living/dying. I am guilty of feeling that way sometimes. I think this world is magical, and there is way more than we are currently able to explain/realize. Living in the moment might help some. You could try meditating or practicing mindfulness. It does not help everyone, but I wanted to at least bring it up as an option. Lastly, do not assume that life is over after death. There is no way to know that for certain.

 

[matt]

Nothing is after death, it is eternal sleep

 

[visibleghost]

i dont believe in anything after death. if there were an afterlife i'd be pretty pissed because if im dead i dont want to have to keep living like thats just mean

 

[MalinkaLuna]

This is a super sensitive Topic for me and I regularly get Panic attacks from thinking about death and just start crying out of nowhere, no matter where I am, it can be at home or in the middle of the street, which probably Looks really weird, a Girl, or rather a Young woman, Standing there, with no reasong whatsoever, gasping for air and fighting the tears.

In my head I am really torn. I know there is nothing after death but I desperately want to believe it. I am pretty balanced in being a dreamer and being a realistic Person and in this Topic I struggle really hard. I dont believe in God and therefore I dont believe in heaven.

It makes me feel sick thinking about being old and one day, there is just nothing. I try to understand this void, that will come, but I cant imagine not thinking anymore, not dreaming anymore. I wonder, how it will feel to sense "oh ****, im dead soon", if my time draws near, I wonder, if my brain will be able to process, that in a few moments, there is nothing, no thoughts, no dreams, no words, no Imagination, nothing.

Whenever I have moments like These I try to Keep my mind buisy with other stuff. I listen to Music, I cuddle with my cats, I Play Video games. It helps for the Moment but even when I dont think about Death for weeks, it will crush down on me again at some Point.

So therefore I try to stay as calm as possible and force myself to believe, that there is something after death and seek comfort in that.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Tbh this is something that's always on my mind. I used to be religious, but I'm not anymore, so I'm pretty certain that once I die, that's it. Just reading the title of this thread gave me a cold chill... and I feel my heart sinking in my chest.

See, a few weeks ago, I had spent a whole week staring death in the face. My kitten that I only had for a few days was not doing well at all, my mom's friend's husband died of cancer, and then a few days later a good friend (adult) in my youth group passed away in his sleep. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.

The only thing that really bothers me about death, is that I always think, someday, we're all gonna be gone and nobody in the universe will remember us. I constantly feel like there's really no significant reason why we're where we are; because millions of years from now, who knows what our planet will be like, and billions of years from now it'll cease to exist after out Sun inevitably turns into a red giant and consumes it.

(Sorry if I made anyone else scared, I'm just placing my thoughts on the issue).


Though as a future astrophysicist, I like to think that we're not really gone, you know. Our universe simply started as nothing but gaseous elements, and over the course of billions of years, here we now are. We are born from stars, and when we die, we'll go back home, to the beauty and mystery of our galaxy.

If you can call that a religion, that's what mine is.

- - - Post Merge - - -

So basically, if you didn't comprehend being not-alive before you were born, you probably won't mind once you're dead either. For some reason I still find this comforting, sorry if it doesn't help!

Yes, when I get worried about what life is like after death, I just think about this. It's not particularly soothing but it's very true.

 

[moo_nieu]

The only thing that really bothers me about death, is that I always think, someday, we're all gonna be gone and nobody in the universe will remember us. I constantly feel like there's really no significant reason why we're where we are; because millions of years from now, who knows what our planet will be like, and billions of years from now it'll cease to exist after out Sun inevitably turns into a red giant and consumes it.

I am sorry for your losses.
I agree that our lives are nothing compared to all of existence. We are just a spark and will be gone just as soon as we've arrived. I suppose some might see that as insignificant, but I truly think it is beautiful. We have a chance to make an impact on others while we are here; I think it is fulfilling to make the most of it. Maybe you don't see yourself as significant, but you might have already impacted someone's life in a powerful way.
I agree that we will not be gone. Even if we cease to consciously exist, we will still be cycled into the universe and become a part of the Earth. Like all living things, death is the natural end. My hope is that I will be ready to leave by the time my time is up.

 

[duckykate]

"I love being alive" cant relate

 

[Midoriya]

I used to fear death, but I “metaphorically” already died once, so I’m not afraid of it anymore. I’m a Christian, but putting that aside for now, I’ve talked to my dad about it and what he said really helped me: “You cannot control when you die. A plane engine could land on your head this very moment and you would be dead. So you have to live every day of life to the fullest and be productive.”


@xSuperMario64x:

From RWBY “Wings” on YouTube:

Douglas Zahn2 years ago
To quote One Piece: "A man does not die when he is shot through the heart, stabbed in the back, or succumbs to disease, he dies when he is forgotten." Monty has passed away, but he is not truly gone, for so long as we remember him, he is still alive, and we all carry a piece of him inside us. As he said, we must keep moving forward, and we shall, all the while carrying his spirit with us as we live our lives creating, animating, writing, drawing, and inspiring others ourselves.


This applies to all people. This is why, no matter how many people close to me I hear about dying, I know they are not really dead, because so long as we remember them or someone remembers them, they are never truly dead.



The shaman from Cowboy Bebop: “Do not fear death. If you fear death it will take you and strangle you, but if you do not fear death, it will watch gently over you until it is time to go.”


I hope this helped.



EDIT: Also, the sun isn’t the only problem to where we could all die. Yellowstone national park’s volcano could explode and engulf the US in mass death, a giant meteor in a decade or two (scientists are tracking it) could hit the Earth and kill everyone, and there’s a number of other things that could happen to us before anywhere near the sun dying. Enjoy life while you can.

 

[Tao]

I used to worry about death, then one day I just made the decision that I'll just not die.

So far its going well. So long as I don't get into an accident where I'm trapped wishing only for deaths sweet release, I'm golden.

 

[Tomoe Hotaru]

This is a beautiful thread, thank you all.
To be honest I?m thankful that death exists, because if we couldn?t die, we couldn?t really be alive either.
I consider myself agnostic. I can?t tell you what will happen after you die, just like no one else can.
But just the fact that we are able to die, age, feel pain etc. makes us so much more aware of life and all the happy things within it.
When I feel pain and suffer, I appreciate all those times where I just feel "good" or "normal". The concept of death works simmilar for me. We all die, we don?t know when or how. I could spill my tea right now, slip on the wett wood floor and break my neck on the desk. But I also couldn?t. I?m alive now and plan to enjoy it, no matter if I don?t wake up tomorrow or make it to 100.
The only thing I care about is how I will die. I hope that I will die suddenly without any great suffering, while my mind still functions and thats what I wish others as well. My grandmother died a few years ago, I still have to cry when I remember her. But the fact that she just didn?t wake up one day, that she just fell asleep unlike her husband and her mother, whom she had to nurse for many years, just makes me feel really happy for her.
On a side note, I don?t even know if a life with the existance death is scarier than one without it.
I changed so much in the time I have been alive, so if I lived for a thousand years or even eternity, would I still be myself? Humans change so much over the course of their lifes and many of us end up being content with death by the time it approaches. You may not be able to fathom it now but, just as death can scare us, we can also get tired of life.

Thank you for this thread, and while i enjoy talking about death, I may not have contributed something useful.
Even then, thanks for reminding me today that I wont be here forever,
I feel good and motivated now.^^

 

[Hellfish]

I have managed to stray from my religion a bit similar to you how science explains all too much of things for religion to be true. However I took an odd approach that's worked for me. While God making earth, Adam and Eve and all that stuff is bs to me and Jesus somehow cloning bread and fish and healing people wasn't possible (unless your one of those ancient alien believers), I have just reformed God into my own thing where if I can't explain something then God must be behind it. Like if I'm late for the train but then the trains randomly late on the same day and it arrives when I get to the station, most people would be like wow that's lucky but I like to thing its God helping me, same thing with bad luck too. I know it sounds super messed up like I'm just using this fake thing for my own purposes, but it gives me comfort somehow. The same thing applies with death, I like to imagine that not a single thing will become of me during death because everything will.

TL;DR rather then thinking hard about what happens in the nothingness when you die, dream of everything that can happen. Pretend your reincarnated. Pretend you watch over earth and fly around as a ghost. Pretend you live in the garden of eden with all your loved ones. Science can't fully explain what happens after death, even if your electrical signals stop what's to stop you from thinking the seemingly impossible happens.

Look at quantum physics, there's mysterious forces that are limiting our understanding of things, like God or something doesn't let us know everything.

I think that mystery is precious, like our imagination. It doesn't have to be true as long as you believe in it ^-^