How to Matter in this World and Beyond

Death was staring at me as I flipped to the right side of my tiny bed.
A black figure loomed in front of me, humming something I couldn’t make out.
It sounded clearer as it drew closer:

“Where is your soul going?”

I had an evangelist for a sister so I thought it must be one of her pranks. But wait, I had been living alone for some time. The ghastly object moved an inch closer. In a softened and sweetened tone, I heard:

“You think you’re going to heaven?”

Too groggy to reply, I just turned my head at the other side of the bed. Perhaps I was too sleepy to get scared. Or it just didn’t matter enough to interfere with slumber so I ignored it.

Yet cold hands gripped my right shoulder. Both felt damp and cold.Cornered, dazed, I faced the still pitch black figure:
“So I really have to die now?”

End of the story.

That would be a braver way to die than succumb to a nightmare and leave everyone wondering whether you’ve had an overdose of ecstasy or you’ve pulled a Rip Van Winkle prank. Though I’d prefer the latter sage conjecture.  All I’m saying is I could die anytime and I should be ready. I bet I haven’t well figured out whatever is included in ‘ready’.

Perhaps I should write a Last Will and Testament? Do lawyers accept blog posts as valid last will? Please leave a comment below, cunning law-makers or lawyers.

• I devise, bequeath, and give my books to our Public Library in Lupang Pangako.
• I devise, bequeath, and give my insurance benefits to my father and my mother.
• I devise, bequeath, and give all my clothes, except undergarments, to my sisters.
• I devise, bequeath, and give my house to my sister, Thara.
• Please burn my body and throw my ash in Catarman Sunken Cemetery.
• Please forget me after a year. At least remember me for year, that’s the hidden message.

I have loved and I could die happy, but religion makes life after death complicated. No one wants to go to hell. Everyone wants to be in a better, brighter place after this life, given there is. 

The promise of a good life after the worst we suffered walking on earth is truly comforting. Both gifted and fools yearn for paradise. Nonetheless, this does not stop us fighting obscurity and oblivion i.e. desiring fame or leaving a legacy. We do our best to matter in this physical world. But is mattering all there is to life? Check out John Green’s take on the subject through his engaging book, An Abundance of Katherines. 

Let me know if you’ve discovered how to ‘matter’ in this world and beyond.