'The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live'.

Since its very inception,

mankind has been seeking to answer the question of how that bizarre, variable period of
growing, respiring, metabolising, reproducing as well as perceiving our world (and trying to
make sense of it) should be lived. What is the optimum formula, the perfect recipe for a
successful human life, a life that is successful not just in biological terms but in
philosophical ones.

Firstly, implacable reality of death is the one universal certainty of life; every creature, no
matter how great, how kind, how wealthy, will one day cease to be.

The Ancient Egyptians theorised that after death, their deeds would be assessed and they
would be admitted into the afterlife accordingly, while the ancient Greeks believed that all
souls went to Hades, a gloomy and bleak underworld. Christian thought holds that Jesus
will return to Earth on Judgement Day, where all souls shall be judged by God, and those
who have obeyed God's law will go to Heaven, and those who haven't will go to Hell,
though this is a rather simplified view of Christian doctrine regarding life after death.

However, the life we have is a gift we should be enormously grateful for. We should
regards the home we have, the people who care for us, the choices we have and the fact
we can appreciate creativity and art such as music, films, paintings, sculpture and
literature.

Living a good life is often quite logically defined as pursuing happiness. Aristotle noted that
happiness is the only thing humans seek purely for its own sake, unlike money, honour or
friendship, which are not pursued for their own sake but merely so we can be happy. This
concept of happiness was called 'eudaimonia' by classical Greek thinkers, and was seen
as the thing most sought after by human beings. Socrates named qualities such as justice,
courage, wisdom, piety and self-control as means of achieving eudaimonia. Now, these
are virtues that are commonly encouraged by moral codes. There are several moral codes
followed by the human species, some more dubious than others. Of course, one of the
most famous moral codes in history is the teaching of the Bible, which millions of believers
try to follow in order to lead a good life and in this way achieve happiness. Jesus taught
that in order to achieve perfect happiness we must first abandon our own personal quest
for happiness and strive for the happiness of others. This may sound contradictory, but of
course this is exactly what Jesus himself did by sacrificing himself for the good of mankind.
Gautama Buddha entered a state free from suffering and individual existence known as
Nirvana or Enlightenment. The set of rules Buddhists have in order to achieve this is
known as the Eightfold Path, instructing people to have right view, right intention, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Humanism (with a capital H) is a life stance that has developed on the principle first put
forward by Greek philosophers by saying that human happiness in life is the goal both
individuals and society as a whole should aim for by asserting that humans have the right
and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their lives, whilst adhering to a moral code
based on human values. This sounds rather like what a lot of religions advocate, but
Humanism denies the supernatural and asserts that ethical judgement should be based on
its effect on humans, without considering any sort of scripture or dogma. The following
quote from the American actress Mae West summarises Humanism rather well: 'We only
live once, but if you do it right, once is enough'. It is a life stance that focuses entirely on
our current life, whereas religion sees our current life as a sort of preparation for a second
existence either in some form of heaven or hell, or in the case of Oriental religions, re-
incarnation.

However, we also see numerous parallels between Humanist values and Christian ones:
Christian Aid's famous slogan is 'we believe in life before death', precisely the concept that
Humanism advances. The Humanist manifesto states that: 'Life’s fulfilment emerges from
individual participation in the service of humane ideals.' – precisely what Jesus meant
when he said 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself'. The parable of the Good
Samaritan is a story that holds an important moral message for Humanists, who would
entirely agree with its message. In fact, just about all the moral codes ever drawn up, by
philosophers or religious figures from all over the world can be summarised with this
fundamental principle, the ethic of reciprocity, or 'Golden Rule: everyone has a right to just
treatment, and everyone has a responsibility to ensure just treatment for all other people,
also known as 'do unto others as you would have others do unto you'.

So, humans start at birth as mostly similar and on their journey to adulthood (the stage
most of you are in today) develop an individuality not just through their environment, but
their choices. The human being's capacity to choose between objects, decisions, actions
give every individual the power to shape their future. God, Allah, Jahweh, Brahma,
Gautama Buddha or even the International Humanism and Ethics Union are guides,
counsellors to show you the way via their codes on morality. As we have seen, the core
principles of these beliefs can be summarised with the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as
you would have others do unto you'. Ultimately, the choice is yours and yours only, but
obeying the Golden Rule is something that should be ingrained into our minds as firmly
and as irrevocably as a fact like 2+2=4 Even when you are dead, the choices you make
during your life could make your memory live on. But of course, be only remembered for
better, not for worse. Today is the beginning of the rest of your life. Start living, or start
dying. The choice is yours.