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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2017 0:18:46 GMT
...lately.
Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything.
However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?"
I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again.
Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for?
The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot...
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Post by Marv on Sept 20, 2017 1:52:57 GMT
i always have had a curiosity and wonder...and sometimes even desire...to see whats after life.
im just not much of a gambler tho. So i plan on enjoying what i got now as much as possible.
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Post by rachelcarson1953 on Sept 20, 2017 5:28:47 GMT
...lately. Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything. However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?" I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again. Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for? The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot... "The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." Henry Miller I had thought about this, what is the purpose, during an extended period of daily exhaustion. I felt like Sisyphus, condemned to roll a boulder up a mountain, only to reach the top and have it roll back down again. I was working at an awful job, the environment there was toxic. I had time only for the 'have to do' list and no time for the 'want to do' list. I was fortunate, I found a way to quit the job yet still pay most of my living expenses; I became eligible to access my late husband's Social Security benefits. With small odd jobs, I can live a quiet life with my pets on my rural small farm, watching sunlight filter through autumn leaves, seeing the excitement of the birds when I fill their feeder in the winter, savor the scent of hyacinths in spring, and bottle feed abandoned baby kittens during the summer so they can find adoptive homes. Nothing is more heartwarming than watching tiny kittens drink formula from a bottle, so content to be eating that their tiny ears flap. I don't know of any life beyond this one, so I found a way to live the life I do have by being aware of all the beauty around me, and trying to minimize the ugly parts. It is still something I have to consciously think about doing; life is always filled with trouble and it can be hard to find something good.
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Sept 20, 2017 11:02:37 GMT
The point to life, secularly speaking, is to be happy.
There's plenty of opportunity between birth and death to achieve that and in a way that causes no harm to others.
It also has no need to involve offspring.
It is not necessary for the individual to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.
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Post by cupcakes on Sept 20, 2017 11:05:12 GMT
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Post by THawk on Sept 29, 2017 1:32:21 GMT
From a secular point of view, you would be very right. Life becomes rather meaningless.
But if you are open to the idea that there is meaning, and someone put us here for a reason, then you can start searching for it.
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Post by cupcakes on Sept 29, 2017 11:45:33 GMT
tpfkar From a secular point of view, you would be very right. Life becomes rather meaningless. But if you are open to the idea that there is meaning, and someone put us here for a reason, then you can start searching for it. Life being just a fantasy-based prelude to something not coming is what would make it actually meaningless. Embracing it and enjoying it while you have it is the only meaning not concocted wholly out of nothing. Come dancing
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 12:27:14 GMT
tpfkar From a secular point of view, you would be very right. Life becomes rather meaningless. But if you are open to the idea that there is meaning, and someone put us here for a reason, then you can start searching for it. Life being just a fantasy-based prelude to something not coming is what would make it actually meaningless. Embracing it and enjoying it while you have it is the only meaning not concocted wholly out of nothing. Come dancingBut WHY do you think that so many people are desperate to fabricate some kind of meaning out of whole cloth? If life itself is enough of a 'blast' without having to concoct some sort of bizarre narcissistic fantasy regarding the ultimate significance of their existence, then why do the lives of the majority of the world's population revolve around these myths? It's not as if people don't have access to the education required to dispassionately reject these myths...but it seems that people feel that they need them.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 12:32:23 GMT
I think about suicide constantly. I think that society criminalises suicide or the assistance of suicide out of fear that this will peel back the curtain and reveal the ultimate meaninglessness and futility of life. So suicide is heavily stigmatised, criminalised in many places, and even where it is not a criminal offence, people do not have a legally protected right to do it. I think that I'd be a lot more comfortable and content if I knew that I had a legally guaranteed pathway to suicide in the event that I should ever decide upon it. A prison becomes a home when you have the key, as a wise person once said.
Anyway, you have to just resign yourself to the fact that it's meaningless, and that may make it easier. What kind of greater meaning or purpose would you want there to be anyway?
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Post by Terrapin Station on Sept 29, 2017 12:35:33 GMT
...lately. Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything. However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?" I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again. Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for? The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot... Do you not enjoy anything? If you do enjoy things, why not just concentrate on the stuff you enjoy? If you don't enjoy anything, you probably have depression a la a "chemical imbalance" and you can be treated for it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 12:38:04 GMT
...lately. Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything. However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?" I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again. Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for? The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot... Do you not enjoy anything? If so, why not just concentrate on the stuff you enjoy? If you don't enjoy anything, you probably have depression a la a "chemical imbalance" and you can be treated for it. Yeah, my dad has Major Depressive Disorder. He couldn't hold down a job, slept all the time, weight fluctuated. He'd quit a job thinking it was the root of his unhappiness etc... Then in his mid-30s he started seeking a psychiatrist's help, started an anti-depressant and he's like his old self. He's had the same job for over 20 years now, active, happy, etc.. I know that's what I have, but I don't want to take meds. I know that sounds crazy, but sometimes I enjoy the depression, other times it's too much.
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Post by Terrapin Station on Sept 29, 2017 12:41:18 GMT
I know that's what I have, but I don't want to take meds. I know that sounds crazy, but sometimes I enjoy the depression, other times it's too much. If you seek treatment but you sometimes enjoy the depression, you could simply go off your meds sometimes. Then when it's too much, go back on them.
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Post by cupcakes on Sept 29, 2017 12:42:06 GMT
tpfkar Life being just a fantasy-based prelude to something not coming is what would make it actually meaningless. Embracing it and enjoying it while you have it is the only meaning not concocted wholly out of nothing. Come dancingBut WHY do you think that so many people are desperate to fabricate some kind of meaning out of whole cloth? If life itself is enough of a 'blast' without having to concoct some sort of bizarre narcissistic fantasy regarding the ultimate significance of their existence, then why do the lives of the majority of the world's population revolve around these myths? It's not as if people don't have access to the education required to dispassionately reject these myths...but it seems that people feel that they need them. Indoctrination. Both of the father figure type and that there has to be ultimate reasons beyond your own for everything. The religious drive for the perfection of eternity of one form or another. Facing mortality. Many people are tempted to grasp at all sorts of irrationalities when it sinks in that they and their loved ones won't live forever. Gone Daddy Gone
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 12:47:17 GMT
But WHY do you think that so many people are desperate to fabricate some kind of meaning out of whole cloth? If life itself is enough of a 'blast' without having to concoct some sort of bizarre narcissistic fantasy regarding the ultimate significance of their existence, then why do the lives of the majority of the world's population revolve around these myths? It's not as if people don't have access to the education required to dispassionately reject these myths...but it seems that people feel that they need them. Indoctrination. Both of the father figure type and of there has to be ultimate reasons beyond your own for everything. The religious drive for the perfection of eternity of one form or another. Facing mortality. Many people are tempted grasp at all sorts of irrationalities when it sinks in that they and their loved ones won't live forever. Gone Daddy GoneEven a lot of people who were raised non religious eventually embrace some kind of theistic religion which gives their life the 'meaning' that they feel that it has been lacking. It's not always a case of people being born into religion (although it usually is). Religion is obviously some kind of salve to put on an existential wound (perhaps being that at some level, people do have some kind of existential dread of the futility of life). Facing mortality is possibly the main one, and people don't only grasp at irrationalities for their own consolation, but also grasp for irrational justifications to curtail the bodily autonomy of other people in order to validate the value of life.
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Post by cupcakes on Sept 29, 2017 12:53:20 GMT
tpfkar Indoctrination. Both of the father figure type and of there has to be ultimate reasons beyond your own for everything. The religious drive for the perfection of eternity of one form or another. Facing mortality. Many people are tempted grasp at all sorts of irrationalities when it sinks in that they and their loved ones won't live forever. Gone Daddy GoneEven a lot of people who were raised non religious eventually embrace some kind of theistic religion which gives their life the 'meaning' that they feel that it has been lacking. It's not always a case of people being born into religion (although it usually is). Religion is obviously some kind of salve to put on an existential wound (perhaps being that at some level, people do have some kind of existential dread of the futility of life). Facing mortality is possibly the main one, and people don't only grasp at irrationalities for their own consolation, but also grasp for irrational justifications to curtail the bodily autonomy of other people in order to validate the value of life. Well, some morbidly depressed people field crassly dishonest and/or deranged definitions of "bodily autonomy" among other concepts and fervently wish to bring everyone down to their own state of perpetual misery. On that note, you've also called me "deranged", which is the mental illness equivalent of "n*****".
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Post by The Herald Erjen on Sept 29, 2017 16:50:44 GMT
...lately. Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything. However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?" I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again. Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for? The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot... There might be a purpose or a point that you are unaware of at present. Okay, maybe that's not much, but it's something, and something is better than nothing, yes?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 17:10:31 GMT
...lately. Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything. However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?" I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again. Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for? The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot... There might be a purpose or a point that you are unaware of at present. Okay, maybe that's not much, but it's something, and something is better than nothing, yes? My son is 7. I want to raise him. After that, I'll be 42. I'll go from there. He will be 18 when I'm 42.
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Post by Rodney Farber on Sept 29, 2017 23:53:20 GMT
...lately. Im not saying I'm going to kill myself or anything. However, I've had a lot of passive thoughts about "what's the point?" I see life for what it is. We live, we procreate, we die. So the next gen can do it again. Whats my purpose or point? Why bother? What do I have to live for? The near death experiences come in with me being curious about after life. If I knew I'd be okay would I just go there, would that change my mind about my purpose? Idk... I have insomnia and I lay in bed thinking about this a lot... Evolution. All of my ancestors had four traits: - The will to survive to the age at which they could procreate
- The ability to survive to the age at which they could procreate
- The will to procreate
- The ability to procreate
Anyone who failed to have all four of the above factors would not pass on those traits to their non-existent offspring.
In other words, we survive because it is in our DNA.
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Post by THawk on Sept 30, 2017 11:57:02 GMT
tpfkar Life being just a fantasy-based prelude to something not coming is what would make it actually meaningless. Embracing it and enjoying it while you have it is the only meaning not concocted wholly out of nothing. Come dancingBut WHY do you think that so many people are desperate to fabricate some kind of meaning out of whole cloth? If life itself is enough of a 'blast' without having to concoct some sort of bizarre narcissistic fantasy regarding the ultimate significance of their existence, then why do the lives of the majority of the world's population revolve around these myths? It's not as if people don't have access to the education required to dispassionately reject these myths...but it seems that people feel that they need them. This, and your other one on suicide, are honest posts. If all the billions upon billions of people throughout history who have had some sort of religious faith have been completely wrong about everything, and given how much this faith has shaped civilization....it really would make the entire human species one of the most preposterously deluded, laughable collections of bacteria to ever exist. No other species that I can think of bases so much of its existence on (what would be in this scenario) a total delusion. It is not at all "narcissistic" to want a possibility of heaven, if your focus is on other people and not just yourself, however. But without that possibility, yes, life becomes not just meaningless, but if we are completely honest, a nightmarish dark hole of misery for the majority of mankind. Suicide becomes a rather logical consideration in the face of such darkness. I hope that is not the true reality, I have faith most days that it is not, but if it is, then this is the honest, no-BS reflection of it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2017 12:29:15 GMT
But WHY do you think that so many people are desperate to fabricate some kind of meaning out of whole cloth? If life itself is enough of a 'blast' without having to concoct some sort of bizarre narcissistic fantasy regarding the ultimate significance of their existence, then why do the lives of the majority of the world's population revolve around these myths? It's not as if people don't have access to the education required to dispassionately reject these myths...but it seems that people feel that they need them. This, and your other one on suicide, are honest posts. If all the billions upon billions of people throughout history who have had some sort of religious faith have been completely wrong about everything, and given how much this faith has shaped civilization....it really would make the entire human species one of the most preposterously deluded, laughable collections of bacteria to ever exist. No other species that I can think of bases so much of its existence on (what would be in this scenario) a total delusion. It is not at all "narcissistic" to want a possibility of heaven, if your focus is on other people and not just yourself, however. But without that possibility, yes, life becomes not just meaningless, but if we are completely honest, a nightmarish dark hole of misery for the majority of mankind. Suicide becomes a rather logical consideration in the face of such darkness. I hope that is not the true reality, I have faith most days that it is not, but if it is, then this is the honest, no-BS reflection of it. Glad we agree on something I don't think that the desire for heaven is itself necessarily narcissistic, but merely the 'I'm so special' idea that a creator set up the entire universe just for humans and God pays special care and attention to the life of one peon, and also the idea that humans are what God specially crafted in his image as the pinnacle of his entire creation.
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