he now rests among the stars

i came across a term the other day: high-functioning depression.

people who have it are people who seems to be anything but depressed.

...

two days ago, Stephen Hawking passed away, a person who had lost almost everything when he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and yet, still attempted to define the universe with the theory of everything.

i was reading one of the many orbituaries and of course, many wrote about his atheism. reading them brought me back to the time where i used to believe that there was afterlife or reincarnation. i even believed there was a god, except there isn't.

i never was a strong believer in any religion, i used to identify myself as a Buddhist (because there's an altar at home and it is a 'normal' thing to have a religion) but why do so when i no longer believe anything in it? while the ultimate goals of each religion are kindess and compassion, i don't see a need to attach myself with a particular one. nor i believe there is a higher up that dictates how the world and universe works. to be kind and compassionate are basic human decency.

moreover, we should be able to live our lives without aspiring to emulate what religious scriptures said. we are responsible of our own being and actions, and we make the best of our short, fleeting lives. why relate our lives to someone who can't even prove its existence? why place so much faith in someone in order to assure ourselves that everything that happened, is part of 'his' grand plan? what grand plan, exactly?

it frustrates me when people question why i don't subscribe to any religion or believe in god. shouldn't we be kind to people anyhow, regardless of our varying (non)religious views? it is completely unnecessary to complicate matters with religion or even drag in a non-existent third party. you can keep your god-fearing views to yourself.

first post for 2018 and it's a rant, more to come!

"be curious and however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. it matters that you don't just give up."

- Stephen Hawking (1942 - 2018)