Beyond Death's Door

A short opinion piece in regards to the afterlife and the common bond that we share in being human.

Everyone who has walked the earth and taken a normal human breath has one huge thing in common. Some day we will all see our last sunrise. Someday we will all talk to a loved one for the very last time. That permanent cloak of darkness called death will embrace us all.

It would seem that there are many ways that we deal with the end of life. Some live this life exclusively and expressly for what they believe will come in the next life. Some try to stay healthy, watch their diet and weight, and try not to do anything that would hasten the appearance of the reaper. Some don't give death a second conscious thought as if to cancel the foreboding occasion altogether. It would seem that the latter type would be your optimistic personalities that love to “live life to its fullest”. Not necessarily your hedonistic type, but the types that avoid the topic of death like the plague. But how can one avoid what he is guaranteed to experience someday?

Don't smoke, drink, eat greasy foods, or skydive it matters not. We all have a place in the eternal abyss of death. But is it an abyss? Is it the end of existence? According to experts 90% of the world's most recognized religions say that death is merely a stepping stone that leads to a greater consciousness. 50% believe that what has transpired in this lifetime will reflect greatly on the type of afterlife that we will experience. This being said, we can see why people flock to churches, mosques and other religious dwellings to save the pain of the after-life for those who are not attentive enough to do so in this life.

We have the “save the world” groups too. You know the ones. Knocking on your door trying to invite themselves in for the sole (not pun intended) purpose of trying to save you from the fiery depths of hell. I've never had the time for these ones and it always seems like they have a hidden agenda to meet for their own purposes; save a soul, get to “heaven” free type of deal. But truly, I can't condemn his or her beliefs or actions nor can I condemn anyone's belief system. For who's to say who's right in the grand scheme of things. This is the point of this whole blurb. Tolerance. People have been living and dying in the name of God for hundreds of years. There are still wars based on ethics, morality, and religious condemnation going on in our world today. If the root cause that people are fighting these wars stems from what they believe happens to us when we pass on, doesn't this seem a tad ironic and counterproductive to you?

A wise man once said to me of death and baptism: “Bury them or burn them, sprinkle them or dunk them, it's all the same in the end”. I wish more of us had the frame of mind to see that we are all brothers and sisters on a cosmic scale (despite our earthly beliefs) and when we finally cash in our chips, the currencies all the same!