(December 31, 2011 at 2:51 am)ThinkingTom Wrote: Personally, I've got a slight fear but it isn't as serious as it use to be. The only reason I was once religious is because of the fear and like many other people the concept of an afterlife was comforting. Once I finally accepted that wishful thinking won't change reality that's when the long and stressful journey to atheism began. It's like I always knew what I was believing was bullshit but it just took time to finally realize it. I'm sure many people that were once religious would agree with me that becoming a non-believe doesn't happen instantly.
Anyway, I was wondering what anyone here would suggest I do to overcome this fear of mine because its always in the back of my head bothering me. Being dead doesn't scare me, dying doesn't scare me (Not sure why) but the fact that it lasts for eternity is what scares me. I know once I'm dead I won't have any consciousness or realize time passing but now that I'm alive and well that bothers me. People have told me that acceptance is the key but I'm having a real hard time accepting it, could someone give me some advice or something along the lines? This has gone on for to long.
(December 24, 2011 at 9:17 am)Azazylix Wrote: I remember a quote by one of the ancient philosophers that said (VERY loosely):You might be thinking of Epicurus;
"Where I am, Death is not, and where Death is, I am not. Why should it then be of concern to me?"
“Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come,we are not.”
Never been religious but once I was certain that god was bullshit I had the same fears. Now it's more of an acceptance that one day I'll cease to exist, for all time - just like the all time that happened before me. Yup, it can be scary to accept that, but I find comfort in the fact that it is not escapable to anybody, we all have the same ultimate fate - even the earth and sun does.
I still get occasional "oh shit!" flashes when I accidentally contemplate my existence and think about how when I die, I will never even know I ever existed - that will always be hard to take and is probably something I'll never get over.
You're not alone.
You are currently experiencing a lucky and very brief window of awareness, sandwiched in between two periods of timeless and utter nothingness. So why not make the most of it, and stop wasting your life away trying to convince other people that there is something else? The reality is obvious.
