Stop me if you’ve heard this before: we’re all going to die someday.
It’s not as bad as it sounds. We’re not designed to live forever. We’ve got a beginning, a middle, and an end. And what would be the point if that weren’t the case?
There’s a lot of conjecture out there about what exactly happens to us after we die. Heaven? Reincarnation? An empty void? But death is a one way door no matter how you look at it. After you’re dead, there’s nothing you can do to change your life. Likewise, before you’re dead, there’s nothing you can do except change your life.
For my definition, death is the boundary between theology and philosophy. Theology deals with what happens after you die. Philosophy deals with what happens before you die. I include this distinction because I think of myself as a philosopher and not a theologian.
Don’t get me wrong, I would consider myself religious. I grew up in a Christian household. I believe there’s a being called God. But I love lots of religions.
I love thinking about what Christianity has to say about living a good life, what Buddhism has to say about living a good life, what Sikhism has to say about living a good life. But I don’t want to get bogged down by theological dogma.
Honestly, whether you’re Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Shinto, Sikh, or atheist, I’m assuming you believe that life is about doing good. We can’t all agree on what “good” is, of course. But we all want good.
For all I know these are meaningless and arbitrary values, but I very strongly believe that tolerance and open-mindedness are good. I believe that listening to diverse and contrary opinions and perspectives is good.
The amazing things that humanity has accomplished that make the world what it is today would not be possible without tolerance and open-mindedness.
I mean, we think we’ve now measured the age and dimensions of the universe. Which means that somehow, there’s something outside of the universe. Can you get more open-minded than that?
Maybe God exists outside of our universe and he created the whole thing. Maybe God is a naturally occurring element within our universe and he created our world. Maybe God is an antiquated device for explaining things we didn’t and don’t understand. But…
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”
Epictetus
What we do know is that we’re all here right now. And we’re all going to die someday. So the question I’m most interested in is: what do we do while we’re here?
