In another post, TheraP asked the following question:

"So, how do you value your life?   How do you value what is most precious but cannot last?  Does it affect how you live, knowing you will die?"

This is a very important question in my opinion.  I posted a response and TheraP suggested I post it on it's own.  I respect TheraP's opinion so am posting my response here in response to that request with a minor change or two in the hope it is of some value.

Having grown up and been raised in the very serious and dour religion inherited from many generations this is the sort of question that is present at all times for me.  It is present not because I am necessarily a believer in the religion but because the question is vitally important and valid on it's own to each of us in relation to this world, to other human beings in the present and also both to those who have gone before and who are to come. I believe the context of our existence is important and that we have an ongoing relationship to the past, present, and future.  What we do with our lives is important, if for no other reason, because our lives impact the world and have consequences.

As Americans, this viewpoint has always been present since before independence. That is why the Constitution speaks in terms of forming a more perfect union "to ourselves and our Posterity." The generation of the founders understood well that their actions had meaning and influence not just in their lives and times but far out into the future. Our lives too impact the lives of others today and in times to come far beyond the time we actually live. If we are not mindful of that we are still having an impact. One hopes that by being mindful, by caring about the impact of each individual life and of our collective impact in the present we can improve the human condition in some way.

One needn't have the Puritan heritage or be a child of The Enlightenment to think this way. Gandhi and King had very different origins and beliefs but each focused on the same goal. One needn't be a saint or a selfless devotee of a strict life regimen to help bend the "arc of the moral universe" more toward justice. Whether we do this in our individual lives or on a grander scale we achieve something of value, we leave a positive mark. All actions great and small matter. All kindness, decency, fairness, love, respect, courage, compassion, strength, suffering, joy, sacrifice and celebration contribute to leaving a positive mark. The opposite is also true.  Hate, greed, moral indifference, violence, and so on all leave a negative mark.  But I believe the power of love (for lack of a better catch all) is far greater than any other force.

I cannot say that I know with certainty or even have much insight on why we are here, how we "ought" to behave and live our lives. But I do have faith in the ability of human beings to choose a positive path for their lives, one that is ruled not by fear but essentially lived with courage, confidence and in loving service to ourselves and to others.

For me, life has to be more than a brief period of time that we inhabit our bodies and consume things until we die as lower life forms do. Having been given greater capacity and the ability to reason, it is our obligation to do and be more than that in my opinion. We owe it to ourselves and others.  In a real sense, we owe it to the universe that produced us and bestowed upon us these tremendous powers of understanding, reason, learning, self-awareness and more.

And regardless of whether we have divine or cosmic purpose in our lives, as rational beings, can we not all see that whatever is going on, this planet is a magnificent and valuable living whole from which we are not separate and thus we would be crazy not to use the minds and muscles we have to preserve and improve it? If there is no other reason, we at least should keep the world and improve conditions for future inhabitants because we wish upon them the magnificent and wonderous experience this planet can be. That alone should be enough of a moral imperative for us all to want to leave a positive mark in the universe during our lives. I don't believe it to be so, but even if it is a losing or even futile proposition I choose to be on the side of mindful, positive action.  Whether or not there is any cosmic "reward" why not do good when you can?  If nothing else, I believe it to be a better use of what little time I've got here on earth. I figure we may as well make it count for something positive right?

Of course, that's just my opinion, my perspective, and everyone else is entitled to their own and just as entitled to ignore mine.

One last thing I'd add is a quote I read often to myself because it comes from one far wiser than I will ever be: