Life after death?

What happens when we die? I really have no idea.

I have seen a few dead bodies in my time, including my father who died back in 1987. What struck me then is that it was like a butterfly and a chrysalis: that which made him "him" was no longer there.  His body was just a shell. Somehow, I hope we do fly above the world in immortality. However, I do not remember anything before I was born and if eternity was a total absence of life, like before I was born, would this be so bad?  However, without eternity we lose our moral compass perhaps?

At one time these questions were academic but in recent years my own mortality has come smartly into focus. Nearly 2 years ago I so nearly died. I survived and may yet live many more years. All the major religions of the world talk of life after death, but is this just a way of coming to terms with our mortality? No-one has come back to tell us what is beyond the grave.

Life and death remain mysteries. All I know is we are on a journey and it is the journey that matters, not the destination. Some would argue this is the key to all the major religions: concern yourself with living a good life now and don't worry what happens after we die.  I remain agnostic and open-minded.