Article written by Charles Oputa. Enjoy
I was born in 1950’s.
Before I was born, the universe came into existence with a big bang about some 4.6 billion years ago, our solar system formed. Life arose and lots of animals evolved. Somewhere on the continent of Africa, modern man arose, and spread across the other continents. Civilization blossomed, along with the domestication of animals, tools, technology, and information; I was oblivious to all of these events.
I didn’t exist yet, but
everything that ever happened in the universe, happened – and it went by in an
instant. That “instant” spanned about 13
billion years. It could have been even
longer, it doesn’t matter, because to you and I, it was still an instant. We have the luxury of science and history to
tell us of our universal past, but without that, the only recollection we could
possibly have of anything is what we actually lived through.
What’s the point?
The point is that when you die,
it’s likely the same thing. The only
difference is that there is no “instant” at the other end for you to suddenly
become conscious, like birth. Instead,
time and events like the ones listed above will happen on their own, without
you, just like they did before you were born.
Time will go on until the end of the Universe, if there is, but you
won’t be able to know it
.
Should we be afraid of death?
I will freely admit that death
itself does not scare me. The physical
act of dying terrifies me. I don’t want
it to be painful, and I don’t want it to be drawn out. I want peace and tranquility, like any other
normal person would want. Though I am not afraid of death, the thought of it
saddens me. I love life so much that it
crushes me to think that I wouldn’t be able to spend time with family and
friends. Of course, losing a loved one
is equally painful for the same reasons. It also saddens me that I wouldn’t
witness the next great advances in technology.
Imagine the people of the 1800’s; they could never have imagined
BlackBerry, IPad, Facebook, Skype, Email etc. I’m in my 60's now; can you
imagine what kind of technology the human race will discover in the next
century?
Now to the Koko of this matter, this is not to rattle your belief in Heaven or
Hell and life after death, but just to make you think. After all what do I
know, even as I write this I maybe so high, but it is my opinion and not yours.
It would be reassuring to know
that there was some sort of life after death, but simply put, there is no real
evidence for this, no matter which religion is scrutinized. In fact, it seems that people’s life after
death experience is biological in nature.
After all, they can be simulated with drugs and put in a lab. It also seems very anthropocentric to believe
that we are so special that we deserve an afterlife. There are all sorts of problems with life
after death – based on religious views and different versions of “heaven” and
“hell”; the concept of the soul; the age
of the person (for example: do one day old infants get life after death?);
animals (do they get to experience it too?)
Some people would be asking by
now, which one be all this grammar sef?
We have got one life to live on
this planet, just one. You should do
everything in your power to enjoy it to the fullest, no slacking my guy and to
make sure that everyone and everything around you has the same opportunity. So,
what happens when you die? - I think the answer is mundane and simple, Nothing!
