I truly love it when people share deep meaningful thoughts that are worthy of serious contemplation. It helps those of us who are simply too busy or preoccupied with ourselves to stop and think for a moment. This is one such example, Nathan, and I thank you ever so much for laying it all out the way you did. The fact that you did so has inspired me to add my own thoughts in kind, for whatever they may be worth.
For a myriad of reasons, both in the here and now, and in our potential afterlife, as imaginative as we may or may not be, it is most wise to have reverence for and embrace the plausibility of a spiritual realm beyond that which our mortal minds can possibly comprehend. There are far greater risks in not doing so, and zero rewards - on either side of the two plausible realms.
Maintaining a well-grounded sense of perspective, gratitude, and appreciation as Nathan so eloquently describes, is a most brilliant strategy to adopt throughout the entirety one’s life.
When the Going Get’s Tough…
It’s all rather easy to accomplish when everything is generally going well, however, when tragedy strikes as it most assuredly will throughout our lifetimes, and most certainly with our very last breath, our ability to cope under such inevitable levels of duress is going to be determined by how successful each of us were in preparing ourselves fully through nurturing our self-directed perspectives and beliefs within the realms of all such enlightenment.
The more enlightened we are able to become through such pensive discourse, self-discovery, faith, and contemplation, the better we are likely to deal with all facets of life and death - replete with all of its beauty, joy, sorrow, and pain.
Perhaps, in doing so, if another spiritual realm indeed exists to which we shall embark after this life eludes us; such enlightenment will make these inevitable transitions far easier to transcend and orders of magnitude more beautiful than they otherwise might be.
Thank you for sparking these thoughts, Nathan. Much love, brother!