Do you believe in life after death?

We have sometimes heard the phrase “The transient nature of being.” Is this just another way of saying that life is short and passes all too quickly? Transient means passing with time or of short duration. Being can mean living or existence. Thus, the phrase in one sense means to live a life of short duration. However, in another sense it implies a deeper more philosophical appreciation of life. To understand our transient nature is to accept that we are all just passing through one level of existence or being which we call earth and humanity. On another level, the possibility exists of many planes of existence which we may eventually or inevitably pass through. Each plane may exist for us as a transient phase but the entire process continues forever and is thus eternal and universal. Our life as we know it on earth may be transient, but our spirit and soul will live eternally and continue to migrate through these other planes of existence. This is one theory of life and afterlife. There are other possibilities.

Perhaps life is not transient and perhaps it is just a cycle of “from dust to dust.” Some of us want to believe in a life after death and others believe in reincarnation. However, many do not believe in either. For some, life ends with death and we simply return to the earth that created us. This latter view does not elevate humanity above the other creatures and species that walk the earth. People are just one element of the universe and no better or worse. Why should people have souls and be reincarnated if bugs and mice are not? It is because we have minds that we can create concepts like “transience” But what if transience only exists in our minds? Would we stop living or would we be more careful of the lives we live today? Think of the numerous people who throw their lives away everyday. Do you suppose they worry about transience?

Some people subscribe to a theory of life after death and others think it a bunch of hooey. What is your concept of being? Do you think life is too short or too transient? Do you think you will somehow be recycled? Will your recycled life be better than your present life? Why? What is going to make it better for you? What if you could live to 300 years of age? Would you live a better more fulfilling life? Why or why not?