Sleep is the Cousin of Death

Hello again! Thank you so much for sticking with me on this writing journey. Every time you read, comment on, or share my articles, you motivate me to keep going. I truly appreciate you, and I hope the Almighty blesses you greatly.

In my last post, I promised to continue the Great City series, but I’ve been a bit too lazy to follow through on that just yet. I’ll get back to it after this post—hopefully!

Now, let me admit something: I overthink—a lot. And one of those thoughts I can’t seem to shake is about what happens when we die. Where do we go? What becomes of our loved ones? Is there life after death? Are we reincarnated? I’m not suicidal, just a thinker. Recently, I was rewatching Ozark, and one episode called "Sleep is the Cousin of Death" got me pondering again.

Let me clarify that I’m not here to push any beliefs or question anyone’s faith. I’m just exploring my own thoughts, not offering any answers.

For me, I feel that when we die, that’s the end—no eternity, judgment, suffering, retribution, or reward. You know that deep, dreamless sleep when you’re totally unconscious? I believe that’s what awaits us in death: a permanent, peaceful state of nothingness. 

Some might say that people see ghosts or dream of the dead, but I believe that’s just the brain’s creativity. Dreams, like imagination, come from the mind. Anything we’ve encountered or imagined is stored somewhere in our memory, and it can surface in our dreams. Our brains have immense storage, so these memories linger. When people claim to see ghosts, it might be their minds visualizing fears or emotions, like a mirage of what isn’t really there.

Then there’s the question of religious teachings. Yes, pastors, imams, rabbis, and priests speak about an afterlife. But let’s not forget that religion is a human creation, offering hope and structure in life. Religion has its place, maybe even preventing chaos in society. But what happened to those who lived before religion? Did they just vanish? I think so. And I feel that just as they returned to nothingness, the same awaits us.

You might also wonder about justice. What about those who do evil in life—won’t they be punished after death? I think not. If they escape justice here, they escape it completely. Life has both good and evil, and everyone experiences some of both. It’s like nature’s balance. Think of it like Lamarck’s theory: favorable traits often dominate, so “survival of the fittest” reigns, even when it seems unfair.

Consider other living beings, like trees and animals. Do we imagine an afterlife for them too? If not, then why should we assume it’s any different for us? When they die, they rest eternally. And I think it’s the same for us.

In sharing my view, I’m not trying to sway anyone from their beliefs or to undermine anyone’s faith. This is just my take. In that sense, sleep truly is the cousin of death—the only difference being that sleep ends with waking, while death remains.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to continue the Great City series soon.

Your friend,  

K. Nakamoto