Death

[Eilonnwy]

As an atheist how do you cope with death?
Does death challenge your views as an atheist?

If you're talking about the death of people around me, I manage. I have lost a coworker who was much older than me but still I was very good friends with him. His loss hit me pretty hard. I don't delude myself into thinking he lives on. I just kind of missed him for a long time until the pain dulls and I can think of him without crying or feeling pain. The same applied to a cat I lost a few years ago. I was very close to my cat and losing him depressed me a lot especially since I had him only a year but in that time I had a deep connection to him. But now I can think of him and it doesn't hurt. So for me it's just dealing with the pain, I use my friends as a support person and eventually the pain kind of goes away. I get used to them not being there and move on. I don't know how else you can deal with it.

I know some people find comfort in the idea their loved ones live on but it never made me feel better. It didn't matter, they are gone from this world and for as long as I live they won't be here.

As far as my own death, I fear dying. Who wouldn't? I think we all want to live as long as we can. I know when I began doubting god and religion, the idea of an afterlife was my last religious belief I let go of. But I realized there is no reason to believe there is an afterlife so I finally let go of. It definitely makes me value my life more. As a person who almost committed suicide, it actually deters me from it. I don't want to not exist anymore despite my desire back in those days to stop feeling the way I felt.

It doesn't really challenge my view as an atheist. It just is. Too me it's reality and it's foolish to deny reality.