Coping With Our Species’ Mortal Consciousness
“Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.” — Epicurus
For as long as the human race could look up at the sky, it has wondered where its place is in the “grand scheme” of things. The universe and the afterlife were concepts so much larger than humans that they challenged our knowledge of the physical and spiritual world. The stars, planets, comets… any sort of celestial body or event captured the imaginations of our ancestors, making them curious. What were we living on, and what were those things in the sky?
Physically speaking, the human species is but a minuscule piece of the vast and endless universe. The opposite is true here, on our home planet. Humans, although still a natural creature of Earth, have managed to evolve from our original forms and develop the most important thing we possess: consciousness. Homo sapiens advanced so far mentally, surpassing all other creatures on Earth in the category of thought and knowledge. The only animals even close to our capacity are our closest relatives, genetically.
This conscious thought humans possess is a thing that allows an animal, in this case us, to realize certain aspects of reality. An understanding of time and self grows in the brain as we age. Perhaps the most base of our fears comes from the things only humans can understand, such as the inescapable fact of our mortality. The human race fears death, to such a degree as to develop specialized mechanisms for coping with it…
The world’s various (and countless) religions and faiths exist for this exact reason. From thousands of years ago, these thoughts that soothe the mind are still utilized. These ancient books and theories are still believed and taught to children. Somehow they claim to know what happens to a human after they take their last breath; that any person could be assured of their everlasting soul, or consciousness, to continue on after their mortal body wastes away.
No one can prove what happens after one dies, but nobody can disprove any theories about it either. Heaven and Hell will remain, as long as humans fear death.
There are those such as myself who see death as the flame of life, finally burning to the end of the wick. Snuffed out, there is nothing left of the bright light and no way to revive it again. Once life ends, there is no second chance. There is no place where your mind goes, and our spirit does not ascend or get dragged downwards. Life simply ends. That’s the way it is on our planet, which balances itself out with its inhabitants’ life and death.
Why do we, as a species, fear our insignificance? Why do we continue to deny the possibility that this is our one chance to live? That we have not been granted divine immunity to our end? There are still those who look past their mortal life to the Great Beyond for their happiness. As far as one can tell, this is the only time in which our minds are working, recording memories, generating emotions and making decisions. A human being is a conscious creature of the Earth, and should act as such. Experiencing as much happiness and getting as much out of life as possible, that’s what a human should aspire to do.
Perhaps the inevitable end of existence could make some frightened, or at the very least uncomfortable. One must put it into perspective, or else lead a life dictated by its ending. Remember, our death is not exactly a life event.
