I've always supposed that what we know as "life" is a circumstantial phenomenon that occurs when chemical reactions come under conditions that allow them to form certain distinguishable cycles. These cycles can be extremely complex, but there is another quality to their activity.

From personal experience, being "alive" is far more than just being an organic system. There is a seemingly mystical aspect to life, known as the state of consciousness, and I often wonder why lots of people believe a CNS is necessary for possession of consciousness. It seems to me that consciousness is what indicates the presence of a "life force," so it wouldn't totally be a stretch to say all living things share a sort of consciousness.

I think when we die, it is our status as corporeal member in this vast chemical symphony that we lose, as if we were a small cog in a great mechanical painting wearing out after working our share. What we would not lose is our cognitive membership, that mystical force called ego, self, soul. When our minds shed the bonds of our physical body, perhaps we will finally be able to know the "big picture" and revel in it's beauty and grandeur.