Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
stay in today darlin'. truly. just live each day, as it comes. do your best. that's all. I remember what Mr. Rogers said about living a happy life. First, be kind. Second? be kind. Third? be kind. that is your mission in life, to be here day by day doing your best, being kind. it's that simple. I'm right this very minute, looking at the aybss of death. these are days like all my other days. just a simple day. where i am kind to myself. and kind to others. it is enough darlin'. it truly is.
I do not know where this came from but lately I have been stricken with thinking "so what? I am going to die anyway"
Regardless of what the afterlife may hold (heaven, hell, nothing at all, something else), I've been feeling as if what I do here does not matter. So for example if I build a homestead and live a self sufficient lifestyle that is great but what does it matter after I am dead? I can build up skills over the course of my life but I am just going to die anyway and go somewhere else. If I get reincarnated then my skills and experiences from this life are discarded. If human consciousnesses never dies and when we die we continue to "live" (this is what I believe) as nebulous beings, then does what we have done as physical humans really matter?
It does not stop me from doing things in the present moment. If I want to do something, I just do it. But, I do not necessarily have the future in mind. For example, if I am interested in watching a video about a technique in a video game, I do because that is what I want to do in the present moment. However I am not necessarily thinking about building my skill in this game long term, because I am going to die anyway. It is a very depressing feeling. It has been demotivating me I would say about 50%.
I realize that this life as a physical being and at least as "*my name*" is the only one I've got so I SHOULD make the most of it. But I am finding it hard. This does not mean that I am necessarily afraid of death. I used to not care if I lived or died when I was depressed. Now I want to live but also recognize that physical death is inevitable and that is okay.
What is your take on all of this? How can I program my mind to keep away from these thoughts?
TL;DR I feel that no skill I build or anything I collect or anything I DO matters because I am going to die anyway. How do I stop thinking this way?
I have only been feeling this way for a month or so, and never before in my life. I am in my twenties, so young.
I think these thoughts -- questioning existence and meaning -- are normal. No one really knows why we're here, why we have consciousness and ability to question our existence and ponder our own mortality. I personally don't know if there's any meaning to life as far as an objective or a purpose but I like to think if there is, it's beyond the scope of anything that the human mind can comprehend.
As far as how to stop your thoughts, just think: when you're 85 years old and looking back on life, how will you feel if you spent the majority of your life worrying about death? You'd probably regret it and feel like that was a waste of time. It's better to focus on what you can control, which is day-to-day life. Death is not something any of us can control. I think that's why society chooses not to focus on it.
Imho, there is only one meaning to life, and that is to live it as a serious, practicing Christian. The Christian faith is that Jesus Christ was born, suffered on the cross, died and rose again to save believers from their sins. Believers have the job of working together to bring the Good News to the world so that others can be converted and saved. This gives great meaning to the lives of genuine Christians, saving people from everlasting death.
and in my humble opinion, what i choose to believe in, who i choose to believe in, IS AS VALID and AS SERIOUS as your belief..... to say any other belief is not living a life with true meaning? sad.
It seems you're having a bit of an existential crisis. At some point your mortality hits you and it can range from mildly discomforting to downright horrifying, panic-attack inducing episodes that lead to complete life changes. I think it's a curse of being a highly intelligent species: that of trying to assign meaning or purpose to our life beyond that of just existing.
I have felt unfulfilled for 3 months or so. I've recently graduated college and am adjusting to not being in school for the first time in oh 17 years or so (school prevented me any free time to think these thoughts.). I am working as an engineer, but I somewhat bored. I have some hobbies, but no PASSIONS.
Thought about doing any self-directed further study? Maybe you're just feeling set adrift from formal education and its goal-oriented structure.
The things you do to enrich others' lives or to make a difference, even a small one, are the positive things you leave behind when you die.
If you are in your twenties, then you likely have years left to live. So, your job is to make those years count for something. And, I recommend living in the moment as much as possible. Some day, in the future, you will look back and decide you were either sleepwalking through life, or you really lived your life fully.
So, practice more positive thinking, do a good deed every day, and try to find ways to add value to your and other's lives.
Imho, there is only one meaning to life, and that is to live it as a serious, practicing Christian. The Christian faith is that Jesus Christ was born, suffered on the cross, died and rose again to save believers from their sins. Believers have the job of working together to bring the Good News to the world so that others can be converted and saved. This gives great meaning to the lives of genuine Christians, saving people from everlasting death.
I take it, this your honest opinion. Sounds pretty self-serving and self-centered, not to mention, egotistical.
I take it, this your honest opinion. Sounds pretty self-serving and self-centered, not to mention, egotistical.
Yes ultimately its very narcissistic and egotistical - I am so special that I don't die when I die. That's just unthinkable. Although its ok for everything else from chimps to mushrooms to whales to trees to die. Not me tho. I'm spesh.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
