Death is one of the most depressingly inevitable part of life. There is always that period in your life that you feel invincible, that you will never grow old. However, the harsh reality is that death is around each and every corner of our lives. It is terrifying. It is certain. However, we don't know when it will happen. I'm sure no one has an item labeled "Die" on your to-do list.

In stark contrast to the certainty of death, the topic of what happens when a person dies is up there for debate. Too often we can find that this subject is met with speculation, closed-minded stubbornness, and religious beliefs. Each and every religion has its' own theory about what happens after death and the followers of those religions are absolutely adamant that their version is the correct one. There are numerous studies ongoing which overwhelmingly support the theory of "Life" after death i.e. when we die, we are born again inside a new body and we don't have any recollection of the events of our previous life. Another popular theory is that when we die, our soul leaves the dead body but continues to exist in the spiritual world where we live with other spirits (and crack jokes about the living no doubt). To me personally, both of these theories sound like wishful thinking. They sound like theories created by people in order to soften the terrifying thought of death and nothingness. To put it in very simple terms, according to majority of the theories out there, basically, there are two options that you could believe:

1. Life after death in some form or the other.
2. Oblivion.

I know option two sounds terrifying to some people, however, it is the one that makes the most sense. There is a reason why "Life" and "Death" come hand in hand. One marks the beginning and the other marks the end. They are meant to be certainties. After our life is over, we completely cease to exist. Our consciousness gets wiped out along with our physical bodies or in other words, oblivion. We came from nothing and we will ultimately go into nothingness. To me personally, since I believe option two, I feel like I can handle the pressures of life more than if I were to believe option one. Think about it, the thought of my spirit living on for all eternity and being able to look back at all the mistakes I made in life, all the regrets that I had, that would make me extremely over-conscious about what I do in the present. It would prevent me from making split-second decisions. Basically, it would make me afraid to make a mistake and I know that's not how I want to live my life.

The fact that I believe we will go into oblivion after death, makes me feel at ease. The fact that I know my consciousness will not live on forever makes me appreciate the present even more. Humans are mortal beings who are capable of leaving behind an immortal legacy. That is only possible if we live in the present and appreciate life to the fullest.