SOME QUOTATIONS ABOUT LIFE

Life is this context means existence in the physical world; the quality that makes living animals and plants different from dead organism and inorganic matter according to Microsoft Encarta Dictionary. Thesaurus sees it as existence, being, and living. Life on earth is full of challenges. There are things that are real life experiences we go through every day. Some of them either make us or mar us. Some the life challenges make some people more adventurous and motivated depending on the way and manner they handle them.

Every stage of human life development has its own challenges but what makes life more interesting is the way we handle those challenges. There are so many lessons we learn in living our life. However, to overcome life challenges and live well, some of these quotations can be useful for us. Read on and learn from them because life itself is a teacher.  

1. Oftentimes the test of courage becomes rather to live than to die. – Alfieri

2.  Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers. – Andersen

3. With every rising of the sun, think of your life as just begun. – Anonymous

4. I expect to pass through this world but once.  Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now.  Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. – Anonymous

5. Our lives are a manifestation of what we think about God. – Anonymous

6. Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. – Aurelius

7. It matters not how long we live, but how. – Bailey

8. I live for those who love me, for those who know me true; for the heaven so blue above me, and the good that I can do. – Banks

9. Life is a long lesson in humility. – Barrie

10. Life is occupied both in perpetuating itself and in surpassing itself. – Beauvoir

11. God asks no man whether he will accept life.  That is not the choice.  You must take it.  The only choice is how. – Beecher

12. Every human face is a special door to Paradise, which cannot possibly be confused with any other, and through which there will never enter but one soul. – Bloy

13. Be such a man, and live such a life, that if every man were such as you, and every life a life like yours, this earth would be God’s Paradise. – Brooks

14. Life develops from within. – E. B. Browning

15. Life has meaning-to find its meaning is my meat and drink. – R. Browning

16. Life is a fragment, a moment between two eternities; influenced by all that has proceeded, and to influence all that follows. – Channing

17. I count all that part of my life lost which I spent not in communion with God, or in doing good. – Donne

18. To give life a meaning one must have a purpose larger than one’s self. – Durant

19. Life is rather a state of embryo-a preparation for life.  A man is not completely born until he has passed through death. – Franklin

20. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. – Franklin

21. A useless life is an early death. – Goethe

22. Life is the childhood of our immortality. – Goethe

23. Study as if you were to live forever.  Live as if you were to die tomorrow.

- Isidore of Seville

24. Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity. – Lavater

25. Someone has said that all living is just learning the meaning of words.  That does not mean the long ten syllable words we have to look up in the dictionary.  The really great words to master are short ones-work, love, hope, joy, pain, home, child, life, death. – Luccock

26. Make sure the thing you’re living for is worth dying for. – Mayes

27. So live that after the minister has ended his remarks, those present will not think they have attended the wrong funeral. – The Mortarboard

28. Live every day as if it were your last.  Do every job as if you were the boss.  Drive as if all other vehicles were police cars.  Treat everybody else as if he were you. – Phoenix Flame

29. The purpose of life is not to be happy-but to matter, to be productive to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all. – Rosten

30. The unexamined life is not worth living. – Socrates

31. Our life is scarce the twinkle of a star in God’s eternal day. – Taylor

32. Take care of life; and the Lord will take care of your death. – Whitefield

33. You can never get all you wanted in life – Morgan Tabugbo Uzoma

34. Challenges make life adventurous and worth living – Morgan Tabugbo Uzoma.

35. Life is only meaningful when it is not selfish. Morgan Tabugbo Uzoma

36. Essence of true life consists not of what we acquire but what we give out – Morgan Tabugbo Uzoma.     

You may think that your life is secure and unshakeable.
What if it’s be predestined to change drastically,
and it’s a steep fall from where you are today?

Will you have what it takes to climb back up again?
What’s your breaking point?
Can you rise above it when you’ve reached your breaking point?

This is what will make the difference 2 months from now for you:
Who you choose to be 2 months from now to all eternity.
Who you are from then to all eternity is totally up to you.

Choose to be you and you will live
life to the full
and be able to face eternity…

Photo by Rick Mortimer

     There is a graveyard behind my house.  It is a huge graveyard of about one hundred acres and has existed since this city was incorporated about one hundred and fifty years ago.

 Yesterday when I was walking by it I saw graves where the people had died almost one hundred years ago.  Some of those people where old at the time they died and some where not. 

   I tried to imaging what their lives must have been like.  These must have been pioneering people who came to this city when it was young or maybe even still pretty much a wilderness even.  And then I got thinking about what their world was like for them and of all the technology and changes that have come and gone since their deaths.

   You know, they were normal people.  They had issues and pet peeves, and things that gave them pleasure.  They had families and bills to pay and jobs to go to and food to gather.  They had things they cherished and things they hated about their lives.  The had issues.  They had relationships.  They had sadness and happiness come and go in their lives just like I do.  They loved living as much as I do.  They lived and saw other die.  They had their own social circles and valued their friends just like I do.

  But none of those things matter now.  It’s all gone for them.  Their earthly trip is over.  Not one thing matters to those people now except where they are spending their eternity. 

  Think about it.  

The only thing that really matters in our lives is our relationship to God. 

When someone walks past your headstone one-hundred years from now, what are they going to think about the things that you value and place importance on  today?  What are they?  Are you putting a priority in your life on your job?  Politics?  How much money your pension is going to bring?  If your child goes to this school or that school? What your boss thinks about the last report you filed?  Where you are going to vacation this coming summer?   Which hockey team is going to win the Stanley Cup?

    Are these things going to matter down the road to you?  To others?

The only thing that matters in our lives is our relationship to God.  When that is in place, the rest will be added to you.

  What did you do to Praise God today?  Did you ask Him to spend the day with you?  Did you thank Him for bringing you the prosperity that you have and for giving you the good health you enjoy?  Did you thank Him for loving you today and paying the horrid price of the death of His precious Son so that you could know Him today?  Did you thank Him for delivering you from the fear of death and for inviting you over to His house for the next bazillion years of eternity?

What value do you put on God?   Because that is the only thing about you that is going to remain one hundred years from now.  The only thing.

  What value you give God in your life today, is the only thing that is going to remain in the future, because this is what is going to determine where you spend it.

  Keep the important thing the important thing.  That’s what really matters.

Posted by Rick Mortimer at 3:05 PM

Some see this as an act of heroism, as others view the man as a cold blooded killer, responsible for the death of three men who’s lives were not destined to be over. Either way, what these rapists have left the poor daughter to deal with is terrible, and she will always have to deal with a virus that could at any point take all that she has left in punishment for inhabiting this cruel world. They did that without regret, without morals, without a drop of remorse, and yet what they were dealed in return is not, by law justified by their actions.

This leaves another uncomfortable predicament; what if those were the wrong guys? Now not only are they not punishable by the death penalty, they may be completely innocent. Until these victims have been found to have raped the daughter of their violent axe murderer in a court of law, these are completely regular people, having done nothing to deserve been hacked into two pieces by an angry daddy.

Reports are yet to be heard of how the father’s court battle is playing out, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s facing three counts of murder and one of attempted murder on the man who escaped. He is also looking at charges for stalking his victims for several days before the event.

My spirit is connected to my mental body also. As is my causal body to say, like cause and effect body which our intentional selves adhere to for incarnating here, the body causal, like the mental body, is not in danger of any sort of annihilation. We are living under a great many illusions we need to shuck off for the new age.

 In another life I killed for I thought I had a good enough reason.
Then later I changed my mind about that. Now I am a conscious objector type. You are not. You said you would kill for the right reasons. I would not. For I had the right reasons. It wasn’t good enough. Your crimes of passion return to haunt you. Hell is real but not forever,

I had to face it. I faced myself. And still I continue to face myself. I will not tell you to face yourself. You have enough intelligence to do that without me telling you what to do.

If I were Jesus I would say forgive them, for they know not what they do. I would ask the creator to forgive them. While I was doing the forgiving, or God was doing the forgiving through me. Forgiveness is also something we cannot do without God’s assistance. So it’s no use running to my window to see if I have forgiven yet.

When I met you I uttered a kind word. At first you were silent, then it seemed you made kindness into something somehow ugly; so I was uglied then as I loved you so. Now I have aged overnight. I was so proud I met you. Then I died inside as if you had killed the most beautiful, innocent thing inside me I had going on. Oh wow! Growing pains for sure! You only understand pain. You do not understand joy that is deep down and consistent from God.

I saw our egos both were vicious. ACIM showed me everything I know in experience. It was all true. For if you set out to destruct what is the sacred word of God to one, that has given them life, then you may as well plunge into them a knife upon their physical body. It would be more merciful quite. But no quick painless death for you! Your twin came along and explained how thrilling it is to watch the pain on the face of the victim as you choked the life out of them.
For heavens sake! Is it any wonder everywhere I looked I saw you confessing some crime against humanity? And calling it poetry? Artistic license? I think not. You were still abusing your power just as the dream said to you that you did that.

My god. I have sinned to love you. There is nothing now to do but ACIM’s forgiveness task. God is like, taking forever with me, but I have faith.

Pity that my love must die a horrible death now, I had an entirely different image of who you were and it was only  your ego talking. A fine ego! However, not one easy to stay in proximity to. Remember it was I who crawled across cut glass to get to you.

Do you see, now, we all have an ego beset with illusions? For you held illusions of myself too. I was not she, sexy, young kitten that you thought. Oh many years past I might have been young and sexy and so willing to take chances with my heart. This is now though.

We both listened to each other and heard the past speaking. Many years would pass by and we would change with the passing of time. Hold new ideals, develop different beliefs to follow. Here again you said I could make it through! Of course I can! And then you said you could too. So once in awhile you tell it well before contradicting yourself.

We go back quite a ways, but don’t worry, I do not know any more than you do regarding other lives we’ve shared. So let it be.

I can only conjecture on the other lives that they were no more pleasant than this life with you…who stands over there. Yet we must forgive, is this not true? You would love a glimpse of my dark thoughts. Forget it. We are making shit up again. I will take only 50% of the blame. My share only. I will no longer make excuses for any other. I would only be making further shit up to play in. As a matter of fact, you most likely think all of this is me making shit up again because you do not subscribe to ACIM, my foundational belief system…of,  yoo-hoo, forgiveness. If you do not forgive you but try and attack God.
Attack is loss of faithfulness to God’s plan.

The buck stops here forever more. Through forgiveness we do not perpetuate the illusion that we must fight for something to gain, which has not been lost.

There you were again last night beating on my window screen and couldn’t get in. Before that your head arose from a black lagoon. I saw it was only you and thought, hmmm, how appropriately you it was, and not a monster, I never could take you seriously.

And then a psychic awareness you had raced to my patio door and stood there wondering if I would let you in. I awoke, struggling up from slumber to go and lock the doors. I do not want to see you and talking is worthless, to accomplish little.
I will talk here and you will read or you won’t. I do not care which you do. I saw you in my dreams killing women. A serial killer. You were nice to them and then once you’d lured them to your car, you killed them over and over.

You could not get to me for I was already dead to your charms. You wanted to use women. Keep them in your house for using. You wanted to keep your sexual ideas about them. Women to you belong over in this corner, and men in the other.

It’s awful the way you divide women from men. You finally met a woman you cannot  get over to your point of view. Me.

And why? Because I suppose I’m not afraid of you. Nor afraid to die. After meeting you, I wish you would kill me sometimes. That’s how bad it is.

Why do you use people so much? You manipulate them asking them to speak words for you when you could do it yourself well enough with a bit of effort.

Your dreams are every bit as crazy as mine. I’ve heard about them. These communications to you through the written word are responses to your dreams and mine put together.

The reason you want to talk to me, is because you can’t. If you did, you’re afraid of what you’d say. There will come a day no one else will speak for you. You’ll have to say it all yourself. I’m waiting.

Not for an apology. I’m waiting for your spell to be broken with me. For you to see we are not separated really, we agreed to this mish mash we do.
Our relationship is like so many others. If we forgave each other, then the world would be inspired to forgive also, each other.

And the forgiveness must happen in the closet, slilently. It need not be public anymore. You don’t have to write any more songs about women and men, yet because you are watched, the people will get the message.

So do it. If I can forgive a serial killer, well, you can forgive a woman who has rejected you as a possible lover. If you want to be good friends, that’s different.

Yet, understand, if it came to that, even good friends are not able to always agree with one another about everything. As well, friends stand on equal footing.

We may not be able to be friends because there is land you walk on, and I am in the water. Two different worlds. You said that. I didn’t. You also said you were going on alone. That’s what I said too. We are creative of our lives.

You must think of all you have said. You have said it because you do want your privacy and to be alone.
So do I. I enjoy my own company and being alone. I think you do too.

God bless you weary traveler. Try to think a good thought of me now and then.
I will do the same.

Oh there’s more. I slipped up. I felt some love for you. My guides call it leaking. I leaked love. Oh my goodness! Have to watch that! For you pick up on this leak quite easily. You want to be forgiven by me.

I think it’s really regarding another life, not this one. Of course I tried. You know I did. However that forgiveness won’t come in the form of my leaking love for you. What happened is the leak caused you to come swiftly to my door, to my window. For you await the time when I will let you in.

We made an agreement long ago we would forgive one another so we could advance along our respective paths.

That is the reason for this post. You showed up upon my leaking of love. Is it time? You might have shouted this if you’d spoken.

If it was time to forgive all, I wouldn’t have to write this would I? So I write it for some one in a similar quandary who will benefit.

Yet your showing up inspires me to write of what I know best; passions futile acting out. Of that other life where I did kill.

Who better to talk to of it, than you who are quite forceful in your opinion?
For is force not what we use when killing?

I am here then to ask all to lay down their guns. I am like a Ghandi. I am like a Jesus. I have been a devil. I have been angelic.

Now I wish to be nothing at all, but to sing a song “I had a love of my own.”

If you pick up again that I think of you fondly, do not come a’running please, neither in dream or reality. Which you’ve done both.
This forgiveness will not look like what you expect, but for sure you can expect it before we are finished. Then you will know how it sets you free.

Dreaming is a healthy thing. It’s free. Like what’s frequently said, the best things in life comes free. Though freedom does not always for a fact provide interminable good long term result like we think or at least hope it can be. Emancipation is enticing. It’s a bait that most of us grabbed offhand. More often than not, it gives us the license not only to do what is morally right but to have a taste of what is unlawfully just.
If we did so, we try to make excuses. We try to justify our every action. Say, we’re just human. C’mon human are perverse. Is it by nature or by choice? We opted to do things beyond reasoning. We want to stay on top. We tend to abase others. We reluctantly extolled on others triumph. We want to be applauded even with the slightest little good thing we’ve done but refuses to be criticized for our wrong doings. Actions which we repeatedly do and repeatedly regret and realizing that each day you live your life with remorse will not bring you any good.

Okay. Much of being bad. We can be good. From a simple gesture of thank you and a simple smile would be enough to brighten a gloomy day. Wishing peace for your brothers and reaching out a hand for the needy. Giving utmost respect to everybody would earn you one. Performing your moral obligation by heart. Heeding to the call of those who were lost. Giving comfort to those afflicted with adversities. Spend time with those who think of themselves no less but trivial.

Being good or bad is your choice. Choice that would preempt your destiny, eternally. What then avert you from doing good? or doing bad?
Load your faith with good deeds and you’ll stay on the safe side. Unloading it entails you to consequences that will cause you unbearable sufferings. We can’t envisage what tomorrow would become coz if we could we would live each day like our last. We would save our strength for doing good ones. There will be no room for wrath. We need not to ingratiate just to seek others pleasure. We will toil on everything. Don’t be such a smug for nobody is self-sufficient. You can be dregs yet your notion still matters to many. Good and bad are everywhere. Near us. At a distance or within us.

Which way we want to go? What legacy we want to leave? Living in this world will always come to edge but leaving this world is a sure thing which all of us should always be prepared. It may come anytime and of course we don’t wanna be caught off guard coz we can never come back. Eternity is forever. What would you take with you on this final journey? To your final reckoning? Is it good or bad?

BE GOOD then.

We can see the difference in five aspects of life as follows:

1) Business

 In business,it is urgent to quickly attract a customer and make a sale to him because selling determines the survivability of the business at least in the short run. But it will be more important to the business to ensure that the customer is satisfied enough to make a repeat sale.Customer satisfaction and good service delivery is more important to ensure repeat sales which is necessary for the longer term survivability of the business.

2)Family

  Many parents work hard to be able to provide for the family’s needs and wants but many neglect and leave the upbringing of the kids in terms of morals to teachers,peers and house helps which could be injurious to the kid in the long run. Working to provide the family’s needs is urgent but the upbringing and training of the kids in terms of moral development must not be neglected.

 In homes where house helps are available,the kids will naturally see her as their second mother because they spend much more time with her than with their natural parents.Where the house help is deficient in character and behaviour,the kids in her care will easily imitate her ways because they see her as their mentor.

A child who grows up,deficient in character and moral upbringing is a likely menace to the society.This explains the widespread availability of wayward and in-disciplined children from affluent homes where the parents paid greater attention to earning money than the moral training of their kids.Education is both in academics and in morals and must go together to produce a well brought up child.

Therefore,parents should create time to seriously monitor their kids and their development both in school and at home.Watch the company they keep,what they say,how they say it and where they go.Parents should set ethical standards for their children to imbibe.However a parent cannot impart to his kid a value that the parent does not have.A wayward,in-disciplined and irresponsible parent cannot teach his kid to be disciplined and responsible.Also essential to good upbringing of the kids is marital peace and stability and parents should strive to ensure this.

3)Health

Many workers tend to work for longer hours to meet set targets and schedules but in the process many neglect to take proper care of their health or take it for granted.Health is wealth and it is a healthy person that can continue to work for the organisation. Eating right,regular health tests,adequate rest and sleep and exercise are essential to good health.

4)Savings and Investment

  Saving and investing towards retirement is more important than the urgent needs such as a flashy new car.

5)Relations with God our Creator

  While living in the world and pursuing the things of the world which seem to be urgent,we should be focusing on the issue of eternity and strive to improve our relations with God which is a necessary ingredient to qualify for eternity in His Kingdom. God is asking us “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?

   In conclusion,while pursuing the urgent,we should also be focusing on the more important for the longer term.The time to make the adjustment is now.It is an illusion to postpone the adjustment till tomorrow because procrastination is the thief of time.

“people have hope because they do not see death standing behind them”

What is death?

Death is essentially what allows people to say there is life.  In its most basic study, people know things by what they are not.  Therefore, death is defined by life and life is defined by death.  By this, we mean that if people never knew what it was to not cease being, there would be no reason to define life as it would simply be and there would be no end and could not be completely understood.  On the same side, death is defined by life because if there was no one to say anything because no one “was,” then it too would have no real meaning or definition. 

Since death is essential in defining life, then death is must also be used to define the meaning of life.  After all, if it is assumed that people have a purpose of some sort, then death becomes important in facilitating this role so that people understand their limited time to accomplish whatever their purpose is.  This is one of the most critical questions about life which is what its purpose is.  For each, death has a new definition and needs a new outlook.  At this time, we shall simply leave that death allows for life to have meaning. 

Also, death theoretically gives life value.  This is slightly different from meaning where there is a purpose and value where there is intrinsic worth in living for the sake of living.  Death does this by making life something fleeting and passing which can never be regained.  Therefore, time, or “life time” has the greatest worth to an individual since they have this one chance to know what it is to live and each day passed, can never be used again. 

Today’s society and the fear of death-

Today’s American society is one that is based on a purely scientific outlook of the world.  However, this does not mean it is based solely on reason, but rather runs on the changing tides of what is known and then creating speculations to whatever becomes the new unknown.  Thus, for death, a scientist must stop and state that a person is dead once their vital organs have stopped or when they have “ceased to be human” or in other words, there is such brain damage that although they are technically “alive” they could never be conscious again.  As such, there is a belief that once the body has stopped there must also be an end to all existence.  The reasoning for this is based on speculation because “when you ask the dead they say nothing” and no real data can be observed from a decaying corps.  This does not mean the scientific view is wrong, but rather states what it is based on.

                There can be no idea brought about that does not have a consequence.  As such, for the basic scientific outlook, death has a very unnerving look to it.  To die is to cease being altogether and what person could ever even try to imagine what it is to “stop being,” or to be nothing?  Naturally, for anyone who lives a good life, this becomes horrific as by not existing, one has no memory, no body, no communication, simply being nothing which can’t even be mentally conceived.  The reason why this is horrible for the person who is happy is because they realize that once they die everything good will be no more.  At least for the person who’s life is to say a “living hell” to end one’s existence would seem something like peace because to be nothing is a gain from the misery of living.  Death has become one of the scariest realities.  No one is there for the deceased and everything ends to the unknown.  It would seem that this could be a cause for America’s obsession with youth; they don’t want to think about death.  Inwardly, Americans are horrified at death and so the beat relentlessly on time to hold onto it with everything they have.

 What does this mean for life’s purpose?  The purpose must be defined.  Most often it is to help humanity, or to live a good life.  The possibilities of what to live for are endless, but the end result is all the same: death and end of being.  Thus, what Solomon writes is seemingly true when he says “all is vanity; it is like chasing the wind.”

There is only one thing that makes death worse and that is the philosophical outlook derived from evolution.  The reason being is that to claim that everything is a matter of chance then there must be no reason for living.  Life needing purpose is a lie.  To live is to be a product of chance, people die by chance and when did chance ever need a reason?  Thus, death is an end and it can only be assumed that to make life have any meaning whatsoever was an attempt for peace of mind for the thinking person to obtain peace of mind, but in reality they are delusional.  Even to say that life is to help humanity or the Earth is lost in a sense of vanity when one looks at the future of the Earth.  The Earth will one day melt by the Sun, and with all the complications arising out of resource depletion, it might seem that even if there was a way to create effective space travel, there is no where really to go.  But even if it is given that humanity can run from planet to planet, the purpose of life has become survival, but the question would have to be asked: why?  Because evolution and chance cannot give an answer to “why we ought to survive,” all meaning given to life is a lie and life simply has no meaning and so there is no escape from the lonely realm of death.  

Why there could be more?

                There is a reason why this section is entitled “why there should be.”  This is not to start claiming the need to the existence of deity, but rather the reasons why logically why there should be more to human life though it does not necessarily have to be taken as a reason why life does have meaning.  However, this line of thinking will allow for greater development on the subject on the whole. 

                To start with, humans have a distinct need to display immortality.  In conventional society, we see immortality as fame.  To be famous and to be recognized as “one of the greats” is a way for people to live on, so to say, into future generations.  For more ordinary people, they wished to be remembered by their loved ones and hope to be remembered in the future.  That sort of imitation of immortality softens the blow of death and loss of being.  However, the language is incorporated into American vernacular with phrases like “you’ll live on in my heart” or “I may be gone, but I’ll always be there for you.”  How can people say this and deny they do not desire immortality in some shape or form?  While this may simply be part of culture, the desire to be remembered and the notion that the dead are not gone forever keeps in people’s mind as a defense against hopelessness.

Also, this desire is demonstrated throughout the ages and the monuments of past civilizations.  There are the pyramids of Egypt, the statues of great leaders and people in Greece and Rome.  In our own society there are numerous autobiographies and biographies that preserve people into the future as well as memorial plaques and scholarship donation which hold the name of the person who founded it, or a loved one for whom it was made for that lives on even when the founders have died.  It is not so rare to see how people routinely seek remembrance in the future. 

On a final note on immortality, we shall not say that people all desire immortality, but rather they have a sense that there is more and that our “being” will not simply disappear.  While this could be explained away as part of a false hope on our inevitable demise, humans have a sense of awareness unlike any other living being and cannot fathom the loss of this self.  Even when a person feels that death is a good end for a horrible life, there is a subtle feeling that it will be like a sleep keeping in the notion of a continual self conscious.  In the end, the argument on humans’ fight against ultimate end could simply come out of humanity’s own vanity and fear, however, since there is no evidence to completely prove the contrary, then while the argument may be logically weak or cannot stand wholly on its own, it must still be considered as a possible factor.

                Next, another possibility or reason why there should be something else is because of humans’ outright need for purpose.  Nowhere else is there conflict requiring the explanation of purpose.  This is where we have diverted slightly into religion.  We have to assume that one of the major differences between animals and humans is the innate desire to know, to seek and to have purpose.  While science claims there is no empirical ground for a soul, there is a whole area of research that is still largely a mystery and mostly theoretical in nature.  This area is the conscience.  It is the entire concept that humans have a sense of self far beyond any animal.  If this was done only by creating certain synopsis in the brain, then it is still puzzling why advanced computers do not have a sense of being.  With consciousness, sentience is not a factor.  As written by Blackmore, author of Consciousness a machine can be programmed to feel pain, but that does not mean it has a self awareness.  So, what lies in this area of the unknown?  Is it possible that people are more than chemicals working in the brain?  The concept of consciousness leaves a lot of room for hypothetical thought as a science and in philosophy as it needs to be considered the purpose for this aspect of humanity. [Though technically it could still be wiped away by claiming it was random chance and anything can happen]

                Alongside this argument, it must be noted that humans can only live a happy life if they have a sense of purpose.  Why is that?  A person who willingly admits that there is no reason for being and lives their life in such a manner [because it is easier to say that life has no meaning than to live it and thereby proving it] will most likely go insane or ponder this notion which states that “the only real philosophical question is why I have not already committed suicide.”  Human beings cannot live only to survive and for no other purpose.  For this, they must create some sort of exterior reason to keep going such as living for loved ones, for the future, for a cause etc.  Day to day living has never been easy which is why there is a common phrase which states “it is easy to die, but it is a battle to go on living.”  Why then, if there is no purpose, which in short probably allows for most people to consider the option of being selfish, will people keep on living when they are in hard times?  It is though there is a duty to live, but the question remains, “why?”  With this, there must be some consideration for why people have such strong tendencies toward curiosity, knowledge and hope.

                The next argument arises from the fact that humans distinctly prepare for the future.  This can be argued from an evolutionary standpoint that it was beneficial for planning and general survival as it is infinitely better to plan ahead.    However, there is a distinctive difference.  Where animals will plan ahead for a season, humans will plan ahead for years to come at a time.  But more importantly, it seems as though humans are the only creatures aware of their inevitable deaths.  Animals have fear of deaths, but humans are resistant toward death and like to give death a good fight.  Also, because an animal fears death only when faced by something threatening in the immediate time, it is hard to state that they truly can understand it, whereas humans all know they will die and strives to overcome it.  Again, why are humans able to have such strong knowledge of this fact and does it have purpose?  This stated, if it is absolutely true that there is no purpose to life, then human beings are the most tragic of creatures because they hope so much but can’t see that life is all a waste of time.

In conclusion for this section, these are some general arguments to push for a debate as to “why” there might be more to life and death than meets the eye.  While all these points may indeed be misinterpretations of a true evolutionary theory, nevertheless, they must be examined to see if there is some truth or merit to the claims of purpose.

The religious side of death-

When it is being discussed that death can be discussed on the religious side, for the time being, we will not use any specific religion.  Also, when discussing such an issue, it is important to eliminate the idea that religion is simply there to comfort people or is overall illogical.  While to some it is presented as such, with appropriate theology and applied reason, there is more to it than meets the eye.  It is quite possible to make a meaningful statement while invoking God.  On the discussion of death, in modern times and in the age of skepticism, religion is seen as a superstition, but there is some necessary logic.  It was Kant who stated that even if there was no god, it would be necessary for humans to create one.  The reason is thus; with a supernatural power superior to humans, there becomes a being able to define purpose for us.  This is why Nietzsche, with his “Death of God” declared that man would have to become God so that he could create some sense of purpose [though in the parable it seems more like man is lost and has to play God rather could really become God].  Aside, a deity gives purpose and meaning for our actions.  Even if for some, the motives are wrong for doing such an action, nevertheless, there is a reason why it should be done even if solely for the sake of one’s immortal soul.  Further, religion creates a new meaning toward death whereby death is alleviated its lonely and horrific state and transferred into something peaceful, a pathway, and a transition to something better [though in some beliefs there are conditions to the degree that if those conditions aren’t met, dying is a transition to a much worse state of being].  But in each of these cases, the problem of man’s sense of being immortal is met and there is less of an issue with being true to the self.  Now then, we shall move into more detail to a few religions and then make some final remarks.

Hinduism-

Hinduism starts with the general belief that death is a mean where a person may move to another life form whether it is animal or human.  By being a “good” whatever, one moves up or down the hierarchy until they achieve a state where they are one with Brahman.  With Hinduism, death is ultimately a good thing because it frees people from this world.  Further, as death being a definer of life, by the cycle of reincarnation, the problems of life represent tasks to be overcome and position in society is legitimized because those with good conduct in the past are promoted and those who did not are brought lower until ultimately all people learn and can be one with Brahman.  Also, this belief encourages humility and peacefulness since death is not the end and the person’s overall existence with come to the earth again, thus there is less reason to be overly distressed at the thought of death.

Islam-

For the Islamic worldview, when a person dies, he or she will go to see Allah and be judged.  Because of this, death is still viewed as a transitional phase, but it also marks the end of all “testing.”  Life is a trial and so one dedicates one’s life to being presentable toward Allah so he or she will receive favor and be allowed into paradise.  Unlink Hinduism; there are punishments for the evil doers so this prohibits reckless actions because they will ultimately be dealt with in the next life. 

Christianity-

Christianity holds some similar ties to the Islamic worldview in that the wicked will be punished eternally.  However, for Christianity, works and being a “good” person does not help anyone.  Salvation is received by faith and belief.  Now, while some will quickly say that then why anyone should be good, the response would be that being “good” is done out of love toward God and shown through obeying his commandments.  For this, the Christian often finds himself in a hard dilemma.  Under the belief, only faith saves and all the rest are punished regardless to actions and so while theoretically the Christian does not worry about death themselves, they are concerned about the faith of others.  [I will not discuss this further in this essay, but a good place to learn more is C.S.Lewis  Mere Christianity which could probably do a better job explaining the entire belief system and logic]  Again, death is not something to be worried about and promises of heaven appear to show a continual of the individual’s self conscious identity.

Secularism’s last stand- Nietzsche

                We have already discussed the problems of meaning in the purely secular worldview which gives little hope for living.  However, one philosopher stands out in his defiance to accept such a nihilistic approach.  Subtly standing by is Nietzsche, one of the founders of existentialism, and his hope for humanity.  Nietzsche believed partially in some means of reoccurring life.  In his view, there was an endless cycle of breakdown and growth and so what was, will ultimately come again since time is infinite and matter is finite.  For Nietzsche, there was no transcending being to put hope in but rather, man needs to put hope in himself and transcend his current state of being.  This is essentially the point of Nietzsche’s superman.  His views are found in psychology where “fear of death” is little more of a problem of “terror management” and that what a person needs to do to relieve this tension is to have a strong self confidence that surpasses the fear of death.  Through this, a person can affirm life and be truly free to create meaning for their own life.  This comes directly out of Nietzsche and is the only thing that can be adopted to eliminate the tensions of death and loneliness that is derived from the scientific and existential worldview.  While under this theory there is no specific ways given as to how one ought to live their life, death is still given as a means to define life.  For this theory, recognizing death people can be freer to chose and be decisive, as well as feeling freer to act since everyone will die regardless.  On the same coin, since death is inevitable, to neutralize the fear of death, a person will ultimately neutralize fear itself. This makes sense because if a person knows that they will die, then what difference does ten or twenty years make in the long run?[similar to the concept of the samurai who lived as though they were already dead]  Lastly, the notion of death is used to keep everything in perspective of importance.    

                      this is just a summary of what i think, when i say it it is  much more complicated

                                                       thank you for reading my article