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I have thought this before and its somewhat true, we will all die someday and most things we were worried about or wanted will be meaningless. Everything we work for and own will be useless as it cant go with us. So yes, whats the point?
Reason I laugh and move on is we still must survive in the here and now, continue to try and succeed as best we can. I believe were all here on earth for a reason, even though its a short time.
A huge part of my thoughts and subsequent emotions is that i do feel strongly that we are NOT here for a "reason." It's a cosmic joke that we evolved to have a frontal lobe and think about this stuff. I suspect that most people rationalize by thinking of a greater "reason" and/or an afterlife. But I unfortunately have no evidence for these concepts so I don't believe in them.
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Originally Posted by silent hypnotist
Surely one answer to the OP is to say that sure, as in Ecclesiastes all our lives will blow away into the wind. But that doesn't change the life that we had WHEN we did have it. And then of course you can bring theories of circular time into the issue. Will all time repeat itself? If so that makes your life infinitely important because your actions and experiences could be repeated for an infinite number of times.
I guess that's something. To try and push it out of my mind because if only because I don't want to be pulled into a pit of depression for infinity.
Surely one answer to the OP is to say that sure, as in Ecclesiastes all our lives will blow away into the wind. But that doesn't change the life that we had WHEN we did have it. And then of course you can bring theories of circular time into the issue. Will all time repeat itself? If so that makes your life infinitely important because your actions and experiences could be repeated for an infinite number of times.
Man, I sure hope this theory is wrong! Just think about all of the horrible events (the holocaust, slavery, Hiroshima) that have happened which would repeat themselves for infinity. I cringe at the thought of a never ending cycle
Man, I sure hope this theory is wrong! Just think about all of the horrible events (the holocaust, slavery, Hiroshima) that have happened which would repeat themselves for infinity. I cringe at the thought of a never ending cycle
Yes. And someone who has a bad life has to repeat it.
It reminds me a bit of the Kali Yuga theory that you can be reincarnated back in time. You could end up in the great plague.
For as long as I can remember, no matter how busy I am, I usually come to the thought at least once in the day of "why do I bother doing any of this?"
I don't mean that I think about the meaning of life or God, or that I'm depressed. I mean that I think "why bother with anything when I will be dead eventually and this will all be futile? There is no point."
Even when I worked in the "helping professions" I often thought that about the people I was helping. I understand that I made their lives better for a short time but so what? They will all die too. And why do THEY bother?
It's kinda like the song "Is That All There Is?" is how I feel everyday. I know this is probably sounding like depression to those who don't feel it but it's not.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.
If you have to ask yourself those questions every day it is probably just your sub-conscience telling you something is not right and you need to make some changes.
The real purpose of life is to figure out what works for you and be happy with it. For many people this never happens because they do not exert enough effort or put themselves into the right situations. You could just be in a transitional time of your life.
I believe most of depression to be caused by being around the wrong people and situations. If you are depressed find what is bothering you and make the necessary corrections.
If you have to ask yourself those questions every day it is probably just your sub-conscience telling you something is not right and you need to make some changes.
The real purpose of life is to figure out what works for you and be happy with it. For many people this never happens because they do not exert enough effort or put themselves into the right situations. You could just be in a transitional time of your life.
I believe most of depression to be caused by being around the wrong people and situations. If you are depressed find what is bothering you and make the necessary corrections.
I know. The bolded is my best rationalization as well. It is still not a genuine "purpose," just a justification to silence my seemingly negative thoughts.
I hear where you are coming from, but honestly its something i remember feeling and thinking since being conscious of feeling and thinking.
Its nothing new and not a transition. i don't "have to" ask myself these questions, they are intrusive thoughts that i try hard to not ask myself.
I've been depressed and it's not that. I think these things whether i'm having a depressive episode or not. Just wanted to hear from other people who are the same. I am not so deluded or narcissistic to think i'm the only one with this "affliction."
It has been suggested there are three basic things we all encounter: struggle, change, and interdependence. Perfectly understandable to react negatively, and everyone (hopefully!) have their own ways of coping.
I could say that what I'm typing right now are just pixels on a screen, and that would have some truth. But at the same time, since we have learned to decipher the groups of letters and the spacing between, then some meaning can be gleaned from them.
So, similarly, with the interactions we are involved in on a daily basis, we can say sure what's the point? But if you learn to intimately inquire as to the true nature of how (not who) you really are, of how everyone and everything is subject to the endless cycle of growth and decay, and of how we're all interrelated yet also a uniquely reflective facet of that process... it can be a kind of liberation.
With a relaxed attentiveness, you may see there is always limitless space to expand around these bouts of seeming futility or negativity. Or, maybe not.
I never go and see a movie. I mean what's the point. Sure you'll enjoy it while you there, - but, inevitably, the movie always ends. So there's no point.
Am I right?
Its futile going to the movies.
Or perhaps my thinking is AFU and I need to rethink this one.
Hi OP,
Join the Fire house, live on the edge of the shelve, the rush you'll get making your first save is like no other, you'll find out real quick what makes you happy and how simple life can really be if you just go for it and reach higher.The band of brothers is like being Tier-1 Delta, AKA-The Hardey Boys, making a differance brings true meaning of life, living like a Rock Star, going further, making it look easy, a team member to be proud of is all it takes, then you'll shine. Hell yeah, young man, It maybe the very meaning you need and that your searching for. All you have to do is jump.
From "Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen" by Philip Ball (2015):
Quote:
"(Text cites first & second laws of thermodynamics)
...William Thompson pointed out that the flow of heat involves ‘dissipation’ of mechanical energy: it flows into random motions of molecules, at least some of which can never be recovered to do anything useful. This process, he said, must eventually create a universe of uniform temperature, from which no useful work can be extracted, and in which nothing really happens."
"How can [free will, in a religious sense]...be reconciled with a universe heading inexorably towards an inert, lifeless state ?"
^Bolded the line that struck me as important, the rest is just for context (book is history of the search for invisibility technology through the centuries).
If nothing makes any substantial difference (in a manner of speaking, the big picture or long view),
one could say not only is one's good work inevitably undone (which may induce hopelessness),
but by the same token, one's bad work is eventually unmade (which might allow for some sense of hopefulness) ?
No matter how good or bad (however defined) one was, every person dies-
that universal inescapable equalizing limitation can be depressing or comforting,
depending on how one felt towards the deceased.
I'm an atheist who only believes in the relevance/validity of what time one has between birth & death.
Life *is* the journey, period. Arriving at the "destination" only happens upon taking one's final breath, then it's all over with.
Everyone's story ends exactly the same, in that he or she dies/died. So the only wiggle room one gets is in how to live the living part, while it's still available.
Does it make me feel sad to think that shortly after I'm dead, no one will ever even know that I once was ?
Sure, since I'm currently alive-but at *that* point (when I have passed away) I'll be beyond ever caring (or any other perception) again.
I realize that being wholly forgotten is the fate of nearly everyone who ever was (or will be), sooner or later.
In 5 billion years the sun will go out (run out of fuel) & then blow up (nova or ?), so y'know...
if it's not one thing (that will obliterate this fecund planet we call home), it's another.
Doesn't mean that the here & now don't matter to all of us, people living on a non-cosmic scale, day-to-day.
If there's anywhere a person could possibly make a difference, have some minor influence, it's going to be on the human-sized scale of existence.
Everything is temporary, fleeting, ephemeral (incl. each of our lives, people past present & future)-
even the stars & galaxies undergo constant change & upheaval, recycling (destruction & reconstitution) of raw materials.
One has to develop other motivations & reward systems to remain engaged with the world.
Fortunate is the person who is able to find one's bliss or renew one's sense of inquisitiveness.
From "Men Explain Things to Me" by Rebecca Solnit (2014):
Quote:
"To me, the grounds for hope are simply that we don’t know what will happen next, and that the unlikely and the unimaginable transpire quite regularly."
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