The way things were

I don't know why people feel that if this is the only life, then it follows that one must be hedonistic, or live hard.

I should think that if this is the only life, if really and truly there is this and nothing else, then one can relax, squander one's life with impunity, spend it reading, sitting in a chair, or learning languages. Wait it out, you know. Treat it like a throwaway thing. One-use-only.