So like what makes you still "you"?
This is an important distinction. Consciousness can be split in two by severing the corpus callosum; the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres.
Is there now 2 of "you"? Where did the 2nd "you" come from?
When our personalities change, did a part of "us" die? Did a part become "created"?
The nature of self is fundamentally impermanent. Thus, the "self" appears to be essentially just a projection of symbols that change over time. There probably is no true "self".
In recognizing the illusion of self, we can see all these points of consciousness (animals, humans, etc.) from a different frame of reference; the universe experiencing itself, all at once.
Thus, the suffering of another is no longer "over there" but central; constant.
Thus why the ultimate goal of reason ought to be reducing suffering. What the Buddha layed out as the eightfold path. If not Buddhism, the answer is probably a very similar roadmap. I'm convinced it can take on various forms, but will always resemble something of the same adjacent constructs.
If time is infinite and space is constant there is also the statistical guarantee of consciousness being created again even after the utter destruction of all life on the planet. That is, after an abyssymally large quantity of time.
This essentially matches what the Buddhists call Samsara. I'm not sure that there is actually some metaphysical demon named Mara constructing it, but I am convinced that it is probably along these lines of reasoning.
mystical symbology aside, a lot of Buddhism aligns with material realism if we inspect closely.
When it seems unlikely, we might just be ascribing western perspectives, or injecting our self into the equation. Remember Einstein's theory of relativity? It depends on whether you see consciousness from the vantage point of the self or try to imagine it from the no-self.
Regardless, we benefit from taking our ego down a notch. And this means being easy on ourself, patient, kind, and cultivating joy, in whatever capacity we have.
