Birth and Death are Experienced by Everyone
We all have concrete evidence of both. Evidence. Birth is a messy mammalian thing, which we don't actually remember, thank goodness. Death is something we all remember from observation and is evidence we see throughout our lives.
Before conception and birth, we are nothing. There is no evidence of anything that comes before. After death, no evidence indicates that anything about us continues, except for memories and genetic material, if we reproduced during our lives. There is ample evidence that demonstrates that our physical bodies decay and decompose into the chemicals of which we are made.
There is zero evidence that individuals existed in any form before birth or after death. Zero. Our lives are brief, by any measure, but they are what evidence shows us that we get by being born. For many, the certainty of death is a fearsome thing. We don't like the idea that our individual identity ceases when we die. We often reject that very idea. There is zero evidence that life extends beyond death. Zero.
Most religions offer some sort of concept of a continuum of life that extends beyond our temporary existence. Some teach that reincarnation provides that continuum. Others hold that there is some sort of post-death existence. That is one of the reasons human beings invented religion. There is evidence of neither, however. The evidence is that we begin as a couple of cells that merge and then divide. Eventually, we disintegrate into our component chemicals when we die. Of that there is ample evidence.
That is enough. It is ample. As an atheist, I find the entire life cycle to be sufficient. I was born. I experience life, growth, and everything that ensued from that event. I will die. I don't know when. So far, I've lived for 72 years and a few months. It's been a fascinating thing to observe from my personal perspective. My death will end that experience. It would be nice to have some time to reflect on my lifetime. I do that fairly frequently, and more frequently as I grow older.
It is enough. It is what it is. I am who I have become, due to genetics, my experiences, and my decisions. It is enough.
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