Dealing with existential nihilism

[Nanny]

If there is no afterlife, as I expect, then this life is all the more precious.

Religions that say this life is a sham do a grave disservice to the living. If this is the only time I get, I want to make the most of it. When your ride's here, that is it. Your chemistry is returned to the earth and others' memories of you, and your progeny, give you at least a chance of living on in stories and memories and in your genetic success.

The promise of an afterlife is among the most cruel concepts we as a species have invented. Since this life is nothing, strap this on and walk on to a bus, or a plane, or insert example here.

But if we instead shift that perspective to "we have limited time, let's try to learn as much about this life as we can" through curiosity, partnershio, teaching, and fun, we have succeeded

Further thinking on this: 

Let's say we've accepted that there is no supreme power or afterlife. Why bother from there?

A different way to put it: there's a planet full of experiences out there. Why not seek them out? 

Pass on learning from these experiences to others. Some people write books still. 

Nihilism is the easy way out. Life is full of experiences and some of them suck. If we tell the stories right we prepare the next generations. Passing on learning is culture. We're not the only species to exhibit culture, but we can communicate it better than any species discovered so far.