Imagine the fact that you could die at any moment.

Any second now, your heart might give up, any breath could be your last.

Now in my opinion it is a common misconception that this is a reason to do good unto others.

The argument being that nobody wants their last words to a loved one to be spoken out of anger or dismay.

I have always disregarded this particular train of thought to be a, at best, futile and naive attempt to raise thoughts around how we treat one another. A thought not penetrating the actual essence of what is, in my opinion, most human.

Now, criticism directed towards these beliefs are widely thought to be nothing more than arguments from people who has lost their fate in these “key” values. And to be honest, in my opinion, that is not a total misconception.

Love, kindness, empathy and the sanctity of human life, may well be concepts that we al take to our hearts whether we acknowledge them or not. Though the question I am asking is if a strong belief in these values has to go hand in hand with the conclusion that we should al do good, simply because that is how we want to be remembered.

I see this particular line of thought as an elongation of the conception that somewhere down the line we will all have to see the consequences of our actions.

Or, as Hunter S. Thompson put it; “The desperate assumption, that someone, or something, is tending the light at the end of the tunnel”

I perceive that death is the final end to everything. I consider the thought of an immortal soul to be nothing but a product of the arrogance that seems to consume al “intelligent” life on this planet.

Now, you may ask if the means that I perceive all our actions, good or bad, to be meaningless and that love and kindness are feelings that should not govern the course of our lives.

No, I do not. My conclusion is not that we should disregard kindness as a rule. But simply that we should act kind towards one another not because we are afraid of meeting the consequences in the afterlife, or be remembered as complete assholes.

But because love, happiness and kindness generally are feelings perceived as easier to carry within than hate, sorrow and ill will.

In essence, do not love other people because you think you have to. Love other people because you want to. Or if you want to push it further. Do not love other people. Love yourself.