Afterlife | Teen Ink

Afterlife

January 10, 2010
By sleeplessdreamer PLATINUM, Raleigh, North Carolina
sleeplessdreamer PLATINUM, Raleigh, North Carolina
30 articles 0 photos 332 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I have always wanted to write in such a way that people say, 'I have always thought that but never found the words for it.'" -anonymous


Do you ever get that gnawing feeling in the pit of stomach at the very thought of an afterlife, at the thought that somewhere out there is a world that you cannot touch until your soul leaves its home? Do you ever have moments where you think how scary it would be to die because may be, just maybe, there is nothing after this- there is no hope beyond the jaws of terminal silence and nothingness- death.

In our world, no one wants to talk about afterlife; yeah, people want to talk about their “beliefs” but no one ever touches on the subject of death- ending and permanent. It makes you uncomfortable, anxious, and terrified. The thought of leaving the world you have resided in for years, and going away… all alone.

But which is worse: the idea of going somewhere remote and strange and alienated from the world that has molded you into who you are and erasing everything that identify with you, or the idea of nothing- your soul sucked into the dark abyss where there is no life, no hope, no love?

I feel it eating at me sometimes, thinking that maybe what I’m doing here isn’t worth it, that in the end it’s all going away. Will I even remember that game, that story I wrote, the test I aced, that friend that changed my life? Where will all this I have built around me go in the end? When will it stop mattering, and when will I be ready to let go of it all? It scares me to be honest; the feeling of cold shivers nip down my spine like freezing kisses.

The soul is strong. It cannot fade. How can you feel the wind whispering sweet songs at your skin and never feel anything again? How can you be tied to something, a person, a talent, a faith in a God, so intricately and inexplicably and then just fade? How can you love a person… the hustle and bustle of the rhythm of a city beneath you… the cool calm breezes of the outdoors… and then that heart that beat solely for what you love just disappear?

If you think about all that you are, about the world that is around you, not just on this earth, of the planets, galaxies- light-years beyond even our deepest knowledge- and you, your soul, your person stronger than any of it out there, how can it not continue to press on and live after death?

In matters of the afterlife, it’s hard to have peace, even if you are like me and completely convinced someone is out there that loves us enough to save us from nothing but a black abyss. I still get the isolating feeling of dread at the thought that everything I know could be gone in a matter of a split second. But I have confidence I will be taken care of. I have confidence that I believe thus I shall live. And I have confidence that everything will be alright.

I have to wonder where the peace of the world lies. And as I wonder, I decide that restlessness in this earth cannot be ceased until the fear and dread of the world to come- or lack there of- dies with it. No one addresses afterlife cause no one wants to. No one wants to challenge others beliefs, faiths, and opinions, because it’s just too deep. But peace comes with understanding.

And understanding only comes with a little faith.



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This article has 7 comments.


on Jan. 25 2015 at 4:08 pm
TargonTheDragon GOLD, Ofallon, Missouri
15 articles 16 photos 292 comments

Favorite Quote:
First dentistry was painless.
Then bicycles were chainless,
Carriages were horseless,
And many laws enforceless.

Next cookery was fireless,
Telegraphy was wireless,
Cigars were nicotineless,
And coffee caffeineless.

Soon oranges were seedless,
The putting green was weedless,
The college boy was hatless,
The proper diet fatless.

New motor roads are dustless,
The latest steel is rustless,
Our tennis courts are sodless,
Our new religion — godless.

So many people see death as an end. They see their body as a home for their soul. They see nothing beyond them when their heartbeat stops and the blood runs dry in their veins. I was terrified of this ending. I was terrified of leaving this warm, comfortable body (albeit painful at times). Night after night I lost sleep to this fear because I knew I was going to die someday. I can't change that. I can't understand it either. I fear most what I don't understand. you know what pulled me through? research. The word for "death" as translated in texts such as the bible and similar ancient writings describes death as not an end. not a destruction. instead, death is a separation. death is a freedom. this is clearly reflected in many of the ancient cults who, to release their gods from the human form they were bound in, would slaughter them, doing them a favor. since then humanity begins to look at death as an end. as ultimate destruction. as...nothingness. Death, however, from its earliest descriptions, is a letting go. an opening. A freedom. in the words of C.S. Lewis, "“All their life in this world and all their adventures had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

bJorn SILVER said...
on Jan. 24 2015 at 4:52 pm
bJorn SILVER, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
7 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
Purple-Dwight

I enjoyed this article. Question though, for anyone. Why do the better written articles, the editor's choice and user rated ones, get less comments? Less divisiveness?

on Feb. 16 2013 at 12:30 am
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

This was so well written! And very inspiring... The last line tied it all together:)

Shelly-T GOLD said...
on Aug. 16 2010 at 9:10 am
Shelly-T GOLD, Romeoville, Illinois
13 articles 0 photos 71 comments
Nice work on this piece.  It really kindles a lot of thoughts, mainly because no one knows what happens when you die for sure. 

on Jul. 1 2010 at 12:56 am
alanacarlene DIAMOND, Mexia, Texas
55 articles 15 photos 592 comments

Favorite Quote:
Silence screams too honestly and loudly.
-Alex (aka GangstaEyes)
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four.
-Winston Smith '1984'
Don't go wishin' your life away...
-Daddy S2
"What a drag it was to be limited by reality."

Well this was good and you are certainly very opinionated and have a wide vocabulary and you are a magnificent writer...time to go read some more of your work. Haha

on Jun. 30 2010 at 7:30 pm
Lost-In-Life GOLD, Whitby, Other
11 articles 0 photos 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
It's never to late, if it weren't for the last minute many things would never get done!

This is actually not something I've thought about but as you mention it I am beginning to get that gnawing feeling in the pit of the stomach . This piece is very thought provoking. Good job!

KK2013 GOLD said...
on Jun. 30 2010 at 7:12 pm
KK2013 GOLD, Solon, Ohio
10 articles 2 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth.-J. K. Rowling

You are an amazing writer. This is also so inspiring.  And again, you never mentioned any specific religion or anything, so you yet again have mastered all elements. This is beautiful, and you have major courage for putting this out there. You are an awesome person.