I ask this in all sincerity, if it's your born, you live, you die and return to a state of utter oblivion... what's the point of living for anyone but yourself? Do the hedonist have the right of it? Is the real bit of life to get what you can, live wild and die when life isn't worth it anymore? After all, the moment you "cease" it won't matter if you were Mother Teresa or the most wild party kid.
I've struggled with that question, as a believer, "what if I'm wrong". Was my mothers death more tragic at such a young age, or a blessing to her not to deal with the crap of life? As an example.
If there is an afterlife, be it the "Heaven for the good, Hell for the bad" or some other post-death existence, does that make the injustices of the world less in the end, the actions of your life have more meaning?
Thanks for the question.
I am a recovered addict. That allows me a perspective not otherwise available. You see, in order to keep my sobriety, I must do certain things or NOT DO certain things that will not cause me to use. Those things include being an asshole.
Further, I must be careful about things like intense anger, or intense anything as the loss of my step mother still aches. And real early I was told that if I got in a really bad mood, I should go and do a good deed for someone. I remember the first time I tried, I got angrier and angrier as the "good deed" went on. But I ended the day without using and even had a pretty woman smile at me at the store.
Since then doing a good deed is kind of a way of life. Today, my pharmacist told me I was the most patient customer they had and, what knocked me for a loop, that I was "an optimist." How the hell did that happen?
Being good requires work I have learned because nowadays I have what the medical profession calls "co-morbidities", a series of illnesses and conditions that require medication AND remaining stable. I have PTSD, hypertension, diabetes, Mennierre's disease, diabetes type two, a heart condition (tachycardia) and, to top off this cocktail - migraines.
Some days I just want to kill some people. But if I allow that negativity to continue, all my issues will get worse, more painful and to top it off will piss off all the people around me.
So I try to lead a moral life, not judge others, not inconvenience others, be of service to my fellow man, and have good cheer....for MY sake. I have been miserable over the long term, and don't need to go back there to know it's ugly. It may be painful for me at times, but any day that I do not succumb becomes a bonus as I know that somewhere along that day something good will happen that will make me smile.
It IS a good life when you treat it well