(If you have anxiety about death then maybe you shouldn't read this post, just letting you know!)
Edit: Thank you guys for being so quick to post your comments and give your thoughts, it makes me wish I said something sooner rather than dealing with it on my own. You guys are seriously awesome, and have made me want to fight way harder to be a better person for my friends and family, and everyone else around me. I think tonight I'll finally be able to sleep, and I'm looking forward for tomorrow and to be able to talk to my Dad about how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking about all this, and to spend as much time with him as I can. Take care of yourself guys! And again, thank you so, so much. I seriously feel way better and my anxiety is a lot less now.
Before joining Lemmy I used to be a devoted Christian since my family raised me as one and have been Christians for generations. And to add important context, I'm not talking about judge mental homophobic trump supporting Christians that judge gays and everyone else they see who don't live the way they live. I'm talking about being a real follower of Christ who loves thy neighbor and knows we have no right to judge, not what most church's are today who just exist to make a profit. My family are bible based Christians and raised me as one too, not by propaganda machines. (Or at least the propaganda that politicians or "Church's" who exploit vulnerable people for their money like to spread around. The "buy my book to change your life" or "plant your $1000 seed" type of shenanigans makes me sick.)
Anywhoo, while being on Lemmy and learning a lot about U.S. politics I just have never seen on other social media sites like X and Reddit, and talking about science, capitalism, global warming, and so on and so fourth with the incredible people on here, it has really broaden my view on certain subjects and be a lot more open to a lot more ideas, one of which is Atheism.
I haven't thought about it too much, but recently my Grandfather died and so my emotions and thoughts have wandered about him and about loosing someone I care a lot about, and then a question popped into my head; is he truly in a "better place"? Do they actually go somewhere? What will happen to my Dad?
After that random thought, my brain has kind of spiraled out of control about this topic and I haven't been able to sleep well since I've been having anxiety thinking about death. What is the point if all of life (our life) is truly just our brains, and our brain stops working? Is it really just, nothingness? What is the point of making all these amazing memories with family and friends that I cherish more than anything in the world, if all these memories are going to be forgotten? Whether its today, or 80 years from now? With this ideology, when I stop breathing, I will quite literally become nothing. There will be nothing. I am dead. It's made me into this "why should I care" mood about almost everything.
I think I've kind of made my anxiety worse during the last few nights since I also decided to look up what its like to die and what scientists have said about the topic, whoops! Turns out our brain can still think 2-15 minutes after our hearts stop beating! I know I'm joking here which I tend to do when I'm in these situations but I have been extremely anxious when it comes to the fear of death. Not in a "I'm scared to use this knife to cut a slice of tomato" kind of way, but a "when we're gone there will be nothing and I will remember nothing and become nothing" sort of way.
Not trying to get political here, but with this thought in my mind for the last couple of days and hearing about situations like Palestine has made me completely rethink everything like life itself, and now every time I hear about Palestine or Ukraine or whatever else going on in the world, I can't help but burst into tears.
Sorry for the rant or whatever this is, just asking what you guys think or how you live your life if thats alright. Take care of yourself!
Life, itself, is full of incredible adventures, rewards, and amazing things to learn and experience.
In my experience, those who believe in some mythological “afterlife“ spend their time living as some of the worst, most hateful, most bigoted, and shitty people, because they falsely believe that, after they die, they will somehow be rewarded for being massive pieces of shit.
In the entire history of mankind, there has never been even the tiniest shred of evidence that this is anything which could be considered, reasonable, rational, or, especially, true.
I tend to think of more realistic terms. Enjoy the time you have, and make the best of it.
Invisible sky wizards that grant wishes are not coming to save you, nor are they coming to help or even save anyone else. They are a fantasy made up millennia ago by generations of itinerant desert nomad goat herders who never learned to read, let alone come to understand science. They are the last people you should ever be taking advice from.
Of course, if you have evidence of the contrary, I’m eager to see it.
Very blunt and to the point, thank you!
You’re very welcome. There is no freedom like the freedom you get when you cast off ancient superstitions and live in the real world Sure, it can be bleak and unsettling, but at least you’re dealing with real world problems on real world terms. Because of that, you have an infinitely higher chance of success when dealing with them than anyone, considering the problem from a false and ridiculously stupid mythological position.
Are there power is greater than us? Of course there are. Gravity is a power that’s much greater than humankind. But there is no magic to it. With science, you can rationally explain it. Just like science will always be able to rationally explain everything, eventually.
“ God did it“ will never be the answer to anything other than “how intellectually lazy, and stupid are you?“