what you guys think.

[water dog]

without an afterlife, there is no "meaning" to living at all, even if it's a superficial meaning.

an afterlife does nothing but obfuscate and confuse "meaning" in the real world - to say that this life has meaning, as an experience, when that meaning is almost entirely derived by what will happen after its over is kind of fallacious.

a trial itself doesn't have any meaning, it only exists to allow for the thing following it to exist - punishment or freedom. everything about it is defined by what comes after. in a manner of speaking, life is not defined by heaven and hell, but heaven and hell are defined by life.

the lack of an afterlife removes this obfuscation: it forces you to consider both the conditions of your existence and the meaning of your life at large. You can't just passively ride on someone elses meaning, you have to create it for yourself - what is it that you want out of life?

to be honest, being forced to live life and doing good things solely so that you don't go to hell sounds like... uh, hell.

thats exactly it though, i dont want to live life. theres nothing want from it. why? because "in the end it doesnt even matter" (~lincoln park, 2001). if there is no afterlife, only emptiness, then what was all the work you did during your life for? you wont ever remember it, it wont be a fond memory you can look back on, especially since living isnt a particularly enjoyable experience anyway. there is no point to the struggle that you justify by reaching goals or whatever the hell other goodies you think you get at the end of the road.