Are we Alive?

[Reverend Joe]

Why are you even bothering with this question?

Life is a horrible thing. It subjects us to endless downfalls, pain, and sorrow. It is relentless and unforgiving. But none of this cruelty exists, can exist, without an equal measure of good. The downs come between ups; the pain follows and preceded pleasure; sorrow is broken by joy. We all have to experience the pain, have to look at it, accept it, and then fight our way through it, so that the pleasure is all the more wonderful on the other side.

Thinking that you can escape pain and pleasure is escapism. It is utter foolishness, because it negates the very purpose of living: to feel pleasure, and to feel pleasure, you must endure pain. To lose these both is, by definition, death. It is the same as losing humanity. If there be a heaven and hell, I wish to see neither, because to me they will both be an unendurable hell: a place where we are not human, because we either experience no pleasure, or no pain, and I honestly don't know which I would fear more. Budhists, who seek to eliminate pain and pleasure, are similarly depriving themselves of humanity; they are, ironically, causing themselves the greatest pain and torture possible: that of losing humanity, of losing life.

Focusing on death is meaningless, because no matter what come after, if anything, it is almost a sure bet that you lose your humanity in the process. So enjoy being human, and enjoy it how you wish, and not how some jabbering fool tells you to: use your head, and be a human being, because it won't last long.

For once, I hope someone takes me seriously here, because I have just opened up a huge part of my own spiritual beliefs to you people.