As human beings, we have many fears that control us and inhibit us from fully participating in life in a joyful manner. One of the greatest fears we all share is that of death. There are many theories as to the nature of life and death, and what really happens to us after the fact. I think we can all recognize that nobody really knows, we simply repeat what someone else has told us. The reality is, these other people have no more understanding than we do. We will, nevertheless, continue to be obsessed about it anyway. This preoccupation with what could be, does not allow us to pursue the here and now. You see, we’re attempting to understand something in the wrong way. To understand death, we must understand life. We can find the answers to the mystery of life and death by focusing on the present. It is in our present moment where life and death meet. They are one and the same. Unfortunately, our misunderstanding about the purpose of life and existence creates a lot of unnecessary fear. This fear creates certain behaviors in which we become misaligned with our essential truth. When we identify ourselves through fear, we create death. When we align ourselves with love, we create life. Let’s take a look.
Is this all there is?
There are some of us who believe there is no life after death. On the surface, this may be a good thing, because it provides for us a strong will to survive. In other words, although we may not know the purpose of our existence entirely, we are aware that we certainly have a lot to do while we’re here. Great, we’re creating! However, if we believe this is all there is, we allow an undefinable and powerful fear to underlie our every motivation. What this creates is a tendency to take from the world, from others, and from life itself. You see, if we cease to exist after death, then we live life from a place of terror. We will unfortunately have the perception that all creation, and all that we do, is finite. We go about our life as though we’re the only one that matters. We feel as though we’re always being taken from, and everyone else is to be feared. Not only that, we’ll never be able to move beyond the fulfillment of our own selfish needs and desires. Life becomes one of “me against the world”. This is fear. This is death.
Judgement Day?
There are also those who believe death brings some kind of ultimate judgement. I think it’s important to keep in mind that, although we may not understand what God or the greater universe is all about, we have a natural tendency to try to mimic it regardless. If we believe we could be made wrong in the end, then we will take the opportunity to judge ourselves and others at every turn. Life then becomes a game of mutual trespass. Hurting others in order to save ourselves becomes acceptable. Forcing ourselves upon others in every way, without consideration, becomes the norm. This isn’t life or living. This is fear and death.
Here and Now
To worry about what happens next will not help us resolve the great mystery of life and death. What we must understand is how to live now, in the present. If we could just take a moment and observe nature, of which we are most definitely a part, we could see death and life happening all around us all the time. Death simply brings in the creation of new life. Nothing is ever lost in the end. Life continues. The same is true for us. If we change our perception of life and death to one of an ongoing transformation, then we can trust and relax. Yes, we do have a right to seek fulfillment and acquire what we feel we need, but it doesn’t all have to happen right now. You see, there’s plenty to go around. We already have everything we need. If we allow ourselves to believe that we will always exist, then our life will have an entirely new meaning. If life cannot be destroyed, then there is no need to destroy. With a simple change in our beliefs about reality, we will earn a new level of respect and appreciation for all life and all others. There’s never a need to worry about or fear death, if we live now. We have no reason to believe that life after death would be any different. If we’re doing the best we can and attempting to enjoy life to the best of our ability, future judgement becomes irrelevant. We take care of things here, my friends. We have every opportunity to be at peace with ourselves and the world. This is love. This is life.
We live, we love, we create
All my love and support, be well