In 1969 a singer named Peggy Lee published a song titled, “Is that all there is?” She sings, “If that’s all there is my friends then let’s keep dancing let’s bring out the booze and have a ball.” Today is the one year anniversary of my husband’s death. and it’s hard for me not to ask myself that same question, i.e. is that all there is?

It also makes me wonder what people of various faiths think when their loved ones die. I know there are faiths that believe people achieve a state of enlightenment after death. There are others that believe in reincarnation. Some believe in reincarnation as another human as in past life regression and others believe in reincarnation as various animal types. There are some sects of the Hindu faith that believe people come back as cows and therefore the cattle are worshiped. Then there is Christianity which says that when you die you will come back to life in a glorified body and you will be reunited with others who also believe as Christians believe.

Now I am not here to belittle or argue the different types of religious beliefs in the world. I’m only saying that I am personally glad to be Christian because I want to see my husband again and I want to see him in a form that is recognizable to me. Also he had polio, and I want to see him being able to walk and run freely as he never could in this life which is something that Christianity also promises.

I also wonder what atheists think about death. I know they don’t believe in God, but do they believe in an afterlife? I would really appreciate hearing some feedback on this because I’m very curious. I have never studied atheism. I’ve studied a lot of religions but not atheism because it’s not considered a religion. However, when you think about it atheism is really a religion. Religion is simply a type of belief system. An atheist believes there is no God which is a system of belief.

I am also very curious about what atheism and the other religions find or feel is the purpose of their lives here on earth. For an atheist is life simply just existing? And in the other religions what is your purpose of your life as let’s say a Buddhist or Hindu or a Muslim. Christianity makes it very clear what our purpose is and that is to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have very clear directions as to what our purpose is in life, but I am wondering what do the other religions find as their purpose in life, I am including atheists in this as I do believe atheism is a type of religion.

I am also wondering how people of different faiths find comfort when their loved ones passed on. If they know they will never see their loved ones again in a recognizable format where do they find comfort? If any of you out there would like to respond to me I would love to be able to discourse with you on these topics because the one thing I have learned in my studies of religions is that the more that I know about them the more I realize I don’t really know very much.

Dedicated to Jake Segovia – Came to Visit 9/19/1953 – Returned Home -01/05/2016

Pictures courtesy of Pixabay