While I'm willing to put my bets down against an immortal soul ascending to heaven or descending to damnation, I'm simply agnostic about the fundamental nature of awareness as a phenomenon in the cosmos. Given how little we understand about the roots of consciousness, it simply doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to make commitments one way or other when it comes to questions of what exactly dies and how.
the real question before us today is not what happens after we die but, instead, how do we approach death now.
We are here for such a short time, surrounded by questions both intimate and vast. For some questions we have definite answers. (Why do stars shine?) For some we don't really know what an answer should look like. (What is the meaning of life?) And for some questions we are just going to have to wait to find out.
In the face of that inescapable truth, what else is there to do but remain true to ourselves and stay radically open and deliciously curious?
Through sorrow and joy, gain and loss, we can always keep asking that one question: what is it like to experience this life right here, right now?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/11/19/245996903/embracing-life-and-death
