As a Catholic, I have, of course, been raised to believe in an afterlife. And now that I am old, death's eventuality is often on my mind. I have always instinctively felt that nothing, once it is, ever quite goes out of being. But my settled view regarding myself has for quite some time focused on life as an undeserved gift from the start. God has been kind enough to grant me life. For however long and in whatever manner I leave up to Him.
Yes, none of us brings ourselves into existence, and life is a gift, a temporary gift. The thought of my own eventual death brings me no anger. How can anyone be angry after having been given life? Life is short, a short miracle. I am thankful for the miracle, that's all. I don't even need to believe in an afterlife to be thankful.
ReplyDelete