Imagine this weird situation.
You become (or perhaps always have been?) aware of yourself. Either you have no memory of existing before this or you are unable to understand what those memories are. (No language? No brain?)
Sooner or later you become aware that things can change. Things can begin and end. You experience what you will someday refer to as “time”. Your very limitlessness creates your limitedness. The existence of Nothing brings Something in.
Well, well. Isn’t this interesting? You lean in for a closer look…
Now imagine that you discover a nearby object. Later, you encounter the object again and again. It becomes familiar. You discover that it responds to your will. It becomes… yours.
Time passes. You continue to find new things to incorporate. Hands and feet. A voice. A body. Emotions and thoughts. An outlook. An understanding. Indeed, a world.
And over time, you not only identify with this world. You identify as this world. You are no longer simple awareness. You are that awareness plus the things you are aware of in a totally unique combination.
Weird, huh?
So you get used to this situation. You become involved. You may like it. You may not. Likely a little of both. Eventually, at the appointed time you get to the end of the story. You back away from the table and stop playing this game.
The experience stops. Your world dies. No more body, no more senses. No more relationships. No brain, no memories. Just…
You become (or perhaps always have been?) aware of yourself. Either you have no memory of existing before this or you are unable to understand what those memories are…