yes Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 There're a bunch of threads on the meaning of life around, but what I'm wondering today is why the question occurrs to so many people at all. What made us think there's a purpose or a meaning to life? We don't ask about the purpose of everything, after all - we accept that some things just are, no questions asked. What's up with life? Why do so many struggle to find its meaning or purpose? Where did this approach come from? My suspicion is that happy people think about the meaning of life very differently from the unhappy ones (crude division but whatever). Unhappy ones want a reason to bear the pain (this is why i first began thinking about it a few years ago). Happy ones want a direction in life. Of course there're many more reasons to wonder abt the meaning of life... but why do we, in general? Any thoughts?! -yes Link to post Share on other sites
UCFKevin Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Actually, I've never really pondered that. If there is a meaning to all this, it's lost to me and I don't really bother trying to figure out what the hell it is. Link to post Share on other sites
Tony T Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I think if you know the meaning of life, you get to pay income tax at a lower rate. Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I think yours is a really interesting question. Why should we question our purpose? We don't spend time questioning the purpose of rocks or bushes or grass but we want to know why we are here - and it's a common question/worry. Of course, to me, it means the spirit thirsts for finding its way. That's what you get from someone who's spent an evening with Wayne Dyer (well, not in person LOL). Link to post Share on other sites
Thinkalot Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I think it's because we are smart enough to wonder...we just aren't smart enough to know all the answers! I wonder about it myself...sometimes I gaze at the stars and wonder what started it all...what the bigger meaning is, where my sol will go when I die...that sort of thing. But hey, I'm always thinking! Link to post Share on other sites
faux Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I suppose that people struggle to find a meaning to life because people often tend to be quite foolish. There is no meaning to life. Life is chaos, and we cannot even fully comprehend what chaos is. For crying out loud, the human mind is incapable of even understanding something as simple as nothing. That is to say, "nothing" as a state. Perhaps "nothingness" is a better fit. Try to, in your mind, picture absolutely nothing. You cannot do it. I would be inclined to think that life would be fairly more complex than even that task. Things are as they are, and I do not believe that things are supposed to make any sense. Rules exist because we make them to justify things. Most humans really do not like chaos, or the fact that they do not really understand what is happening around them. Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I've thought about what it would be like for there to be no existence. No life, no nothing. THERE IS NOTHING. Do you understand!? There's no time, no space, no matter. There is absolutely nothing. Try to wrap your mind around that one. It'll hurt. Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 But there isn't nothing! Matter is neither created nor destroyed. And, at the bottom of it all, we are only energy. But that's as close to 'nothing' as we ever get. Link to post Share on other sites
Author yes Posted May 16, 2004 Author Share Posted May 16, 2004 matter, nothingness, yada yada... makes me wanna say "screw this, i'm gonna go grab a book and cook a nice dinner now!" i rlly feel like if a person is content and has things to do (and content people easily find stuff to do), s/he won't seriously question the meaning of life (unless s/he's a professional philosopher or smth). -yes Link to post Share on other sites
Tony T Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Do you contemplate the meaning of food as you're eating a delicious meal? Viennese psychiatrist Victor Frankl was one of the first to give great attention to the meaning of life. Psychologist Carl Rogers was another. Frankl basically decided life's meaning was experiential, found in a person's experiences, whatever they may be. Since we have a total free will, we are able to determine our experiences and enjoy them to varying degrees. The bigger question to ponder is just how much of our brief life have we flushed down the toilet so far, either having experiences we could have easily avoided or terminated...or by simply contemplating its meaning. Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Oh I don't know about that. Questioning the meaning of life, according to Maslow, happens when your other needs are met. It doesn't have to be about questioning the meaning of one's own life as in 'why on earth am I on this dang planet'. It can be very enjoyable to contemplate the nature of all existence and its place in the universe and to make your own discoveries and develop your own ideas. But then this comes from a dweeb who enjoys that sort of thing Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 The bigger question to ponder is just how much of our brief life have we flushed down the toilet so far, either having experiences we could have easily avoided or terminated...or by simply contemplating its meaning. I suppose if contemplating life's meaning leads one to nihilism or despair, then perhaps it could be considered a waste. For me, it only keeps revealing life's beauty and it makes me happier all the time. So I don't consider it 'wasted' time in the least. Link to post Share on other sites
Author yes Posted May 16, 2004 Author Share Posted May 16, 2004 The bigger question to ponder is just how much of our brief life have we flushed down the toilet so far, either having experiences we could have easily avoided or terminated...or by simply contemplating its meaning. Don't go there!! Gives me a sense of panic to see how much time's been wasted. On the other hand, all these experiences were necessary to bring me to where i am... and i am in a nice lil spot! In my case, contemplating the meaning of life was part of an on-going existential crisis which lasted for way too long, until i finally got my ass to a psychietrist. Yes, I wish I was diagnosed earlier, but such is life. At least I appreciate feeling good a LOT, cuz i can compare it to years of feeling really nasty. -yes Link to post Share on other sites
FreeMe Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 Why do we wonder about why we wonder about the meaning of life? Link to post Share on other sites
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