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Why?
Jan 24, 2007 20:14:01 GMT -5
Post by Britney on Jan 24, 2007 20:14:01 GMT -5
Every day I wake up at 4:30am to run for an hour, then drive 1.5 hours to start work at 7:30 where I work until 5, then arrive home at 6:30 (when traffic's light that is), eat dinner and have a few hours to read the news until I go to bed at 8:30pm to do the whole thing again.
After doing this for the past few months, I've started to question why it is I do this. Why does anybody do anything? Why do we bother living? Is it a fear of death that keeps us going? Alot of people cite pleasure and happiness in their lives... does happiness and pleasure distract one from the reality that everything - happiness, life, existance - is short-lived?
My question is, if life is temporary, if the existance of everything is temporary - then why waste energy on it? Must happiness be founded upon self-deception in order to exist? How can anything make you happy if everything ultimately is meaningless? Or are there other motivating factors to live besides happiness and fear of death, and if so, what are they?
Nighty night.
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Jan 24, 2007 20:24:06 GMT -5
Post by Britney on Jan 24, 2007 20:24:06 GMT -5
You know what else I just realized - people spend their lives building themselves. They spend years strengthening themselves, getting promoted, getting married, making money, learning new things, etc.
Everything somebody works years to become is destroyed in one second.
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Jan 24, 2007 20:33:56 GMT -5
Post by Thor on Jan 24, 2007 20:33:56 GMT -5
We live for the moments... the promise of happiness. There's no grand purpose, really... just living for experiances and stimulation.
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Jan 24, 2007 20:41:01 GMT -5
Post by Osama Bin Laden on Jan 24, 2007 20:41:01 GMT -5
I live to live, for the happiness, for my friends, for my lovers, to see what tommmorow brings, to do something I love, whenever that will be, and to masturbate.
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Jan 24, 2007 20:44:12 GMT -5
Post by starscream on Jan 24, 2007 20:44:12 GMT -5
I think DH is right... it's not so much about the destination as the journey. Sure, there's a nice sense of accomplishment at the end of it all, but there's always something more to strive for. It's only when you're stuck in a rut that you really question the point of it all. And I'm stuck in a damn rut.
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Jan 24, 2007 20:54:29 GMT -5
Post by King Leonidas on Jan 24, 2007 20:54:29 GMT -5
*sigh* Hell if I know, it seems as though everyday I become more disillusioned with society. And I'm reading works of Transcendentalists a lot more often... Obviously I must be undertaking a new pattern. -DL
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Jan 24, 2007 21:03:47 GMT -5
Post by attrebus on Jan 24, 2007 21:03:47 GMT -5
Why not?
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Jan 25, 2007 5:20:47 GMT -5
Post by Justice on Jan 25, 2007 5:20:47 GMT -5
Because everything you ever worked for goes away when you die. If you believe in an after life then that's not really true, but I don't.
Good topic, I asked a bunch of people this a few months ago.
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Jan 25, 2007 7:03:09 GMT -5
Post by Slipper Eater on Jan 25, 2007 7:03:09 GMT -5
Because of many things - we don't know for sure that death is the end. Our work isn't forgotten, if you're great you won't be focusing on the tiny things like promotions. Here's the thing, you can say that there is no purpose to living, then there is no purpose to dying. Life is the slowest form of suicide, but it's still the journey, the chance to influence the long, drawn out picture. Why do we focus on 'society'? Such as work, marriage, etc? - Because it's people who tell us to. Big cars, houses, a hawt wife and you have to be zomgbeautiful in order to matter... They're the ones who have everything destroyed in a matter of seconds. We never do anything with purpose because others either destroy our real meaning or try to stop us living. If you're helping out and you're in tune with nature, you're a smelly, unwashed hippy. If you enjoy helping people, you're a bleeding heart . If you devote your life to religion, you're definitely a nutcase no matter what. etc etc.
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Jan 25, 2007 10:24:50 GMT -5
Post by Osama Bin Laden on Jan 25, 2007 10:24:50 GMT -5
I say live for what you want. If you want money, live for it, if you want power, live for it, if you want friends, live for it. Who cares what the use is for it when we die? As long as you enjoy your life, or feel you accomplished something, thats all the matters.
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Ratwar
Squire
Horkers Rule!
Posts: 1,981
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Why?
Jan 25, 2007 10:43:34 GMT -5
Post by Ratwar on Jan 25, 2007 10:43:34 GMT -5
I saw this last night, but I waited until this morning so I could give it a decent reply.
"What is the meaning of life?" is perhaps the oldest and most asked question of all time, and still there is no true answer. Only a range of opinions offered by people that are, in truth, equally lost. Personally, I echo SE, "you can say that there is no purpose to living, then there is no purpose to dying." The old school yard of the question, "Why?" has always been "Why not?", and in this case it definitely applies. Is there a reason that we shouldn't live and strive to be happy? Who cares if it is short lived? It is still better than nothing.
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Jan 25, 2007 23:12:02 GMT -5
Post by Hunessai on Jan 25, 2007 23:12:02 GMT -5
My goal is to spread my genetic seed, train them to be little mini-mes, and give them a nice place to live.
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mastab
Gallant
Orgasmic Flooding
Free hugs!
Posts: 2,781
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Why?
Jan 25, 2007 23:20:50 GMT -5
Post by mastab on Jan 25, 2007 23:20:50 GMT -5
Every day I wake up at 4:30am to run for an hour, then drive 1.5 hours to start work at 7:30 where I work until 5, then arrive home at 6:30 (when traffic's light that is), eat dinner and have a few hours to read the news until I go to bed at 8:30pm to do the whole thing again. After doing this for the past few months, I've started to question why it is I do this. Why does anybody do anything? Why do we bother living? Is it a fear of death that keeps us going? Alot of people cite pleasure and happiness in their lives... does happiness and pleasure distract one from the reality that everything - happiness, life, existance - is short-lived? My question is, if life is temporary, if the existance of everything is temporary - then why waste energy on it? Must happiness be founded upon self-deception in order to exist? How can anything make you happy if everything ultimately is meaningless? Or are there other motivating factors to live besides happiness and fear of death, and if so, what are they? Nighty night. We do what we do because the foundations and social standard of doing it was created by people without the foresight enough to see that we are living a meaningless pattern and that, when we die, we will make only the smallest imaginable blip in the universe's importance and then we will become nothing just as we never had been anything. Life is unimportant and, as you well put described it, built up for decades and lost in seconds. There's no point to working really, the only reason we have to continue our insignificant existances is to have happiness, pleasure, and joy which work stops. Of course if you beleive in the big g-man upstairs you can just use the logic, "okay, I screw with my life now and I party with god later!" Also, I wish I had the inhuman ability you have to wake up and exercise.
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Jan 26, 2007 10:18:11 GMT -5
Post by duckofdoom on Jan 26, 2007 10:18:11 GMT -5
Because I have duties. And people who actually care for me [see, that's the hardest part].
Once everyone who needs me/cares for me vanishes from the face of this world I'll probably think of a good, least painful way to end myself.
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melchior1
Aspirant
Official PROTESF Necromancer
"This is my blessing, my curse."
Posts: 628
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Why?
Jan 26, 2007 16:48:30 GMT -5
Post by melchior1 on Jan 26, 2007 16:48:30 GMT -5
My goal is to spread my genetic seed, train them to be little mini-mes, and give them a nice place to live. exactly except I will expect them to give me a nice place to live it'll be in my will if they put me in a nursing home/other assisted living condition when I'm and old geezer, they will get nothing when I die
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mastab
Gallant
Orgasmic Flooding
Free hugs!
Posts: 2,781
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Why?
Jan 26, 2007 21:50:16 GMT -5
Post by mastab on Jan 26, 2007 21:50:16 GMT -5
My goal is to spread my genetic seed, train them to be little mini-mes, and give them a nice place to live. exactly except I will expect them to give me a nice place to live it'll be in my will if they put me in a nursing home/other assisted living condition when I'm and old geezer, they will get nothing when I die No inheritance? Please, that's nothing! IF I had kids (which I don't plan to) I would place c4 in their hearts at their birth triggered to explode when I die or if they are more than 300 miles from me. I like my minions loyal, what can I say?
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pilaf
Foreman
Out of step with the world
Posts: 455
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Why?
Feb 8, 2007 4:15:57 GMT -5
Post by pilaf on Feb 8, 2007 4:15:57 GMT -5
I constantly reincarnate myself to work at chiselling away the Christian influence on the world. I think the pure hatred I feel for Christianity keeps me going, and my ultimate goal is to topple their system of hate.
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iusia
Apprentice
From: My place of reverence... I call it home.
Posts: 136
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Why?
Feb 25, 2007 10:58:53 GMT -5
Post by iusia on Feb 25, 2007 10:58:53 GMT -5
I'm barely getting over a bit of depression, not life-threatening, just all encompassing apathy (think emo, without the clothing and music... actually, think old romantic, like during the french cultural revolution in the 1900's, parties, alcohol, music - the good stuff - and poetry and other writing... altogether a much nicer comparison) Anyway, once I discovered that life was indeed meaningless, I then got on to the more meaninful act of FILLING IN THE GAPS. It's true. It's simply about the journey, 'cause while ultimately our lives are completely worthless if we're not doing something we love then, well then, f*ck it, maybe we should off ourselves. I've finally found some rather interesting and completely self-absorbed goals to acheive, which are musical theatre and acting, killing off all religious sentiment i encounter and procreation... mm, gotta love that procreation. Point being, life sucks. But you just gotta deal. Although given that at the moment I can't. I dunno, what's the ing point?
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Mar 15, 2007 0:41:21 GMT -5
Post by crippknottick on Mar 15, 2007 0:41:21 GMT -5
We all get up in the morning to feed the chickens and pave the roads and fix the roof shingles all for one purpose, to make life easier. Oxymoron, isin't?
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Ratwar
Squire
Horkers Rule!
Posts: 1,981
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Why?
Mar 15, 2007 10:02:43 GMT -5
Post by Ratwar on Mar 15, 2007 10:02:43 GMT -5
We all get up in the morning to feed the chickens and pave the roads and fix the roof shingles all for one purpose, to make life easier. Oxymoron, isin't? Well, have you ever tried not feeding the chickens or fixing the roof? If you do, you'll soon discover that it isn't too much of an oxymoron.
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Mar 15, 2007 23:12:52 GMT -5
Post by crippknottick on Mar 15, 2007 23:12:52 GMT -5
I don't understand where you're getting at. I'm saying we work hard to make our lives easier. We sweat and labor to build a house so we may rest in it.
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Ratwar
Squire
Horkers Rule!
Posts: 1,981
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Why?
Mar 15, 2007 23:29:29 GMT -5
Post by Ratwar on Mar 15, 2007 23:29:29 GMT -5
I don't understand where you're getting at. I'm saying we work hard to make our lives easier. We sweat and labor to build a house so we may rest in it. I'm saying that our work is relatively easy compared top what it would be if we didn't do it.
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Jun 11, 2007 3:54:12 GMT -5
Post by radont on Jun 11, 2007 3:54:12 GMT -5
My question is, if life is temporary, if the existance of everything is temporary - then why waste energy on it? The Bible says that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Basically, that means that while I am here on Earth I (as a Christian) have the honor of doing God's work here and when I die I am taken to a better place so it is really a win-win situation. I constantly reincarnate myself to work at chiselling away the Christian influence on the world. I think the pure hatred I feel for Christianity keeps me going, and my ultimate goal is to topple their system of hate. What is this "system of hate" you refer to? The Bible makes it pretty clear that Christians are not supposed to hate people so I am not sure where we have a "system of hate" in place.
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Jun 26, 2007 22:46:10 GMT -5
Post by Leviticus on Jun 26, 2007 22:46:10 GMT -5
Rad, you are right in questioning his reference to this "system of hate"
Sounds to me like he is guilty of the very thing that he despises. Either it's a self-hatred, hypocrisy, or blatant trolling. In any case, one must take pity upon this mindset, for it is the path to self-destruction...
...just my two copper pennies.
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pilaf
Foreman
Out of step with the world
Posts: 455
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Why?
Oct 16, 2007 0:20:12 GMT -5
Post by pilaf on Oct 16, 2007 0:20:12 GMT -5
Wow..I can't believe what I posted here before.
I don't hate anybody now. I have a more positive perspective.
I'm still strongly against prejudice and bigotry, but I'll cooperate with the more liberal religious people now.
My battles in life are all over social issues. I'm a Marxist, you see.
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