How I deal with no afterlife

[Primordial Bisque]

If I am special and have value as a human being, that creates a major conflict for me.  This conflict would be that for such a special and valuable person as myself to just forever rot and decay away would be the greatest insult to my value and specialness as a human being.

It would be utterly demeaning of my value and specialness.  It would be just tossing me away like trash.  So in order to resolve this conflict, I would have to deem myself as nothing special at all and of no value.  However, if I am immortal and do get to live forever in heaven, then there would be no conflict.

So, in short, if there is a heaven for me to live forever in, then I would deem myself as valuable and special since that conflict would not exist.  But if there is no afterlife, then I would just view myself as a piece of shit who might as well just die anyway.

This would also apply to the relationship I have with my own family and how I view other human beings.

Why would you let it bother you at all? You should make the most of your life regardless of what you think may happen afterward. Hell, I'm happy just knowing that I'm a part of this universe; however insignificant and short lived a part it may be in comparison.

[Losty]

There's no afterlife for any living thing on earth...I mean that's a pretty high bar you're setting to be special.

I could say I'm really special and I should be able to live under water, that would be a lower bar as tons of things live under water.

The point I'm trying to make here is that you don't need to be more special than everything else in the universe to be special. You're special to some people. You're special in you're own little world in you're own little life. Outside of that...being special isn't really important. You exist in a universe that is massive and pretty fucking cool. The world around you is special and you get to experience it.

[SuperMarioGamer]

There's no afterlife for any living thing on earth...I mean that's a pretty high bar you're setting to be special.

I could say I'm really special and I should be able to live under water, that would be a lower bar as tons of things live under water.

The point I'm trying to make here is that you don't need to be more special than everything else in the universe to be special. You're special to some people. You're special in you're own little world in you're own little life. Outside of that...being special isn't really important. You exist in a universe that is massive and pretty fucking cool. The world around you is special and you get to experience it.

Thank you, but thinking of myself as special and valuable always creates that conflict I mentioned.  There is no way past that conflict.  Whenever I think of myself as special and valuable, that causes me absolute rage since it is the worst insult to that value and specialness to have me just forever thrown and decayed away.  It just doesn't work for me.

So, like I said, the only way for me to remove that conflict would be to deem myself as nothing special and nothing valuable at all.

[Losty]

Well I mean like I said, we all only matter in our own tiny little lives, on our own tiny little planet, in our own tiny little solar system which is a teensy tiny little thing in a great big universe. And for all we know that big universe is just a speck on a clover so in a sense you're right but it's not really as depressing as you make it seem.

[brewer]

Would you like to tell us how your are "special and valuable" and how that separates you from the rest of humanity?

[purplepurpose]

You need to become an absolute servant of God, according to holy books. No egotistical or pleasant activities, only work/suffering for the ideals of religion.

Very few can handle so much stress. But there are people who manage to endure such ideals. Price tag for immortality/eternity is unbearable.

[Losty]

You need to become an absolute servant of God, according to holy books. No egotistical or pleasant activities, only work/suffering for the ideals of religion.

Very few can handle such stress. But there are indeed people who manage to endure such ideals.

Umm...what would be the point?

[Faith No More]

So you cope with no afterlife by telling yourself you're a piece of shit?

Yes.

Well, that's unhealthy.

And it actually kind of mirrors what Christians believe.  They also believe you're a piece of shit, but they believe you deserve an afterlife in hell for it if you don't beg for Jesus' forgiveness.  Kind of weird, no?

[Chad32]

You always deal with the possibility of no afterlife, whether you admit it or not. Given who I'd be dealing with in the afterlife, I would feel more content knowing there isn't one, than thinking I'd be someone's slave for eternity. This is why I like the idea of reincarnation better, though that's likely not true either. And apparently groups that do believe in it are meant to try to avoid it.

[Longhorn]

Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody's gonna die. Come watch TV?