I took a philosophy class in college a few decades ago where we discussed this very question. Some of the best philosophers we ever had wrote some books on it. In one, hm m m m m . . . . was it Being There?. . . . there's a chapter on a guy who was doing wild cross-country skiing and got buried in an avalanche, and of how he felt all warm and cozy and at peace with the world as the anoxia set in for good.
I got my A for that class when I wrote an essay on the rapture of morning bowel movement.
In the last analysis of philosophy and religion, it's all in the head.
Those of us who can do the dance and stay sane are the ones who don't "go fishing" for those turds, but learn to flush them. In more esoteric language, the great achievements of life consist of being able to realize the value of not getting hung up on keeping our stuffiness so much we can't really let go when we need to, and actually pull the lever, and get up and get back to work. True happiness consists of being focused on appreciating others/things outside ourselves and keeping our own inner esteem/importance just moving along in ways that fertilize the world. So nice to see other things grow.
Come to think of it, there is a macabre sort of propriety about putting this thread in the NBA forum this year. Who knows, maybe those managers and players would read this and just decide to play ball.
