I would like to state that this page is of a more personal nature, and that you needn't attempt to apply anything here to your life, since this is more of a matter of seeing the world rather than changing it.
I am a speculative individual and the idea of a hereafter strikes me from several different angles. I am not one of those non-believers who is appalled at the idea of a paradise to come. In fact, I could probably find myself quite content in a rather uncomfortable one, so long as there were still instants worth experiencing, and thoughts worth thinking. Death is of course an unpleasant prospect, yet I have often spoken with people of faith who say that they do not fear it because they are certain of what comes after. I myself doubt the likelihood of a possibility of a hereafter. I admit that I am not one experienced in dying so of course I am not certain of the impossibility of the soul either. While we may have scientific explanations for a great deal of things it does not negate those possibilities beyond living experience.
What I am certain of is that I am already immortal. A bold statement, but one I have come to conclude as being true. Though not necessarily as it sounds. I will explain further:
Time is constantly moving forward, and every instant in the past has had some measure on the present. Since we have already existed we guarantee some effect upon the future. No matter how slight we have changed the course of the universe. We may not be conscious of what comes after us, but it will be in direct line with our actions. Whatever we do carries on for eternity, until the very last bit of matter crumbles away and the final energy of the whole universe has spread so far that it is indistinguishable from the nothingness. All that comes after us, from the conditional to the inevitable will be different due to our actions. The sort of difference we make is entirely up to us.
Everything we do carries on forever, regardless as to whether or not we have done anything grand. Not only do our actions ripple onward, but those actions we choose not to take carry on as well. Every choice you make is in effect a finality that removes all other possible actions. When you perform an action you are doing so in exclusion to all other possibilities that you may have taken. Once you do, you can't go back and try again. By extension, this means that you are faced with very, very difficult decisions everyday. Every action is an act with vastly exaggerated moral consequences. As such we are endlessly caught up in a moral dilemma that we are actively participating in during every moment. This idea is understandably uncomfortable to have to face. At first I actually found the idea somewhat depressing. That in order to sit down and take a breath of air for a moment was essentially me denying my aid to another. Yet, this is not where my thinking came to a close, because it is very clear that a person has limited resources, both mentally and physically. Using your own resources to the maximum will eventually wear you down to nothing. A person working toward every moral act available to them would die of exhaustion. From there they certainly aren't going to be providing much help at all.
While this does not provide much in the way of a practical philosophy I find it to be a rather important look at the morality of our daily efforts. To allow ourselves to see the significance of what we are and what we affect on the world around us.
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