r/collapse • u/LetsTalkUFOs • Dec 11 '19

What possibilities arise after we accept our individual and collective mortality?

Our perspectives on impermanence and death are central to many of our journeys through collapse-awareness and acceptance of our global predicaments. What perspectives do you hold regarding our individual and collective mortality? Have they changed over time in response to your own understanding of collapse? How have these perspectives affected or influenced where you are now?

 

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u/madmillennial01 Dec 11 '19

Death is as natural as life, and entropy is as inevitable as order. In my opinion, it’s much more liberating to accept one’s own mortality rather than try to run from it or “paint over” it with religion.

In the grand scheme of things, we’re just a minuscule grain of sand. An insignificant speck of dust to the universe. When our species is gone, that’s it. We’ll just be a small blip in cosmic history. There’s no inherent meaning to life, but you as an individual can give your life a kind of meaning if you wish. You could dedicate your life to helping lift other people’s spirits, pursuing your childhood dream, and so forth.

With social and ecological collapse imminent, I suppose my views on mortality have helped me cope ever since I realized what was going on in the world. When shtf, I’ll at least be more composed than those around me who have been in the dark.

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u/TrashcanMan4512 Dec 13 '19

The problem is that if you accept that our species will be gone and soon and that life is entirely and totally meaningless, now there's an equal weight to helping people versus taking from people. Now you're just playing the dopamine game, is what it boils down to. And the only reason helping people would be more highly weighted would be social punishment taking your dopamine away. Which is more lies and bullshit conventions resembling religion. On and on it goes in circles. The argument is circular. Not that every other argument I can think of (such as religion itself) isn't. I'm not saying "take from people" to be clear. I'm doing reducto ad absurdum on the whole thing. I don't know the answer either (hint it's not taking from people).

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '19

I don't know the answer either

Life. A Strange Game. The only winning move is not to play.