An Atheist's Scripture - Unlikely Church #4

Let us seek to understand our existence in the realm of the "already named," a world that is both vast in its cosmic indifference and intimate in its human narratives.
 
We are mere animals whose fate is sealed in the nature of our mortality. Our ultimate end is known to us all. Death awaits each of us without prejudice or pause. In this recognition, we must face the stark truth that we can gain no knowledge of absolute goodness during our fleeting moments under the sun. Such absolutes are constructs of the mind that seeks certainty in an indifferent universe.
 
We are ephemeral. Our lives are spent in vain. Some may despair, saying, "If this life is all there is, what purpose do I have?" Exactly!  We are devoid of ultimate purpose, free from the chains of absolute meaning. This is not cause for sorrow but a call to embrace the beauty of our autonomy and our intersection with other humans.
 
Don’t let the absence of divine decree nor the silence of the heavens deter you from the pursuit of your desires. Let human desire, tempered by the wisdom of our collective journey, direct your paths. Seek fulfillment through pleasures of the flesh but let all your members do so with kindness toward others. For they, like you, will partake of the same death. Living with the knowledge of our deaths is a common bond that unites us all.
 
The joys we leave on others is the closest we come to immortality. Let our legacy not be one of indifference but of a benevolence that echoes in the lives we touch long after we cease to exist.
 
Rejecting all faith in the afterlife, let us find salvation in the present moment. Strive to live fully, love deeply, and leave the world a little kinder than we found it. For in the end. This one single life is all there is. Let us make the most of it together.  
 
~From, The Sacred Union: Wisdom, Lust, and the Divine, pub. 1967