Let me explain.

We're born into a life without our choosing, on a planet that's slowly dying, with no explanation as to what we're doing here. We grow up learning not what we want, but what we have to in order to produce for society. Do we as humans have an underlying purpose in this shit hole? I'd like to think so. I'd like to truly believe that everything was created by a perfect, omnipotent being, with each of us having our own planned-out life. I want to know for certain that a god is real, that there is something watching over me and causes all of this suffering in the world for a reason. I want to be certain that when I die I can spend the rest of eternity in a paradise with all of the people I've spent my life with, and people that I've had to watch die before me.

However, all of this is starting to become less and less of a possibility for me. Want to know what I believe our real purpose is? To die. That is the only thing that anybody can be certain for, that we will die, but what we do with our allotted time before then is what really matters. That is, if anything we do really matters in the grand scheme of life. Humanity's history is filled with more negative events than positive. We spend our lives on this floating rock and drain it of its resources, what will we do when there's nothing left? Instead of spreading love and peace throughout the world, our leaders would rather murder and corrupt each other, be it in the name of a god or through greed. Maybe we could be a highly advanced species if the world's greatest minds developed methods of helping humans instead of ways to kill them.

Why am I writing this now? I am in no way posing to be some ultra-edgy intellectual in an attempt to gain attention. I tend to have these thoughts every now and then, only I'm starting to have them more frequently. Before I left home for university I was so excited for a fresh start, to forget all of the fucked up things I've done or tried to do, and I was filled with the thought of my attitude on life being different. Well, it has, and it hasn't been for the better. I'm starting to see the true colors of people who I thought were friends, beginning to question what I am even doing with my life, even wonder why I'm alive in the first place. It is pretty much impossible for me to form any sort of strong relationship with someone, whether it's intimate or a friendship. I feel inadequate for this type of society that demands us to work in order to live, only to spend our lives prolonging death. I wish I could refrain from ending up as just another cog in the societal machine, but in this day and age it's almost an impossibility.

Maybe I just need to get some sleep? It'll be a new day and a new opportunity to do new things! If only it could be so easy. One of these nights I just hope that I can fall asleep and never wake up again, and accept the only certain purpose in my life.

Eh, that's all life is; finding ways to procrastinate until death.


Honestly, I find it boring.

Always look on the bright side of life, dude.

It's 3 AM, I want to respond to this, but since I'll probably come off as an asshole, I'll just pick and choose as opposed to writing paragraphs to try and not sound dumb/jerkish.

I feel inadequate for this type of society that demands us to work in order to live, only to spend our lives prolonging death

Well what else are you going to do? After your mother pops you out, just lay there doing nothing waiting to die?

We spend our lives on this floating rock and drain it of its resources,

Nothing is truly drained or lost here, things only change form. Just like the dinosaurs are gone and now we're here, and how for every society that has fallen another has risen in its place. Yet, likely we will see a day when there becomes more.

Instead of spreading love and peace throughout the world, our leaders would rather murder and corrupt each other, be it in the name of a god or through greed. Maybe we could be a highly advanced species if the world's greatest minds developed methods of helping humans instead of ways to kill them.

There is love and peace in this world, but Humans love to focus on what's wrong and all the nasty things in it. Try and find happy news stories about how people help each other, it's a fucking insurmountable challenge, yet it happens countless times every day.

Highly advanced species? I'd say we're already there, I sure don't see any other contenders, despite Dolphins being pretty smart, but let's be honest they're not that close. There are very few people that don't want to help the world and make it a better place, it's just that not everyone has the same beliefs on how to make that happen. I mean you've got Jesus, Gandhi, Hitler, etc. all wanted to make a better way for Humanity.(Yes, I'm surprised I compared Jesus to Hitler too.)

Besides, the corruption and greed isn't stopping on it's own, so would you rather do something about it or complain and do nothing? That's a goal for life, right there.

One of these nights I just hope that I can fall asleep and never wake up again, and accept the only certain purpose in my life.

If anyone were to say that life isn't full of bullshit, sadness, and struggle, then they'd be lying out their ass harder than Lonepaul gets around kids. However, death is not the goal, it is the end of this chapter of your story, the purpose is what happens before then. You complain about problems in this world, so why not think of your purpose to be to do your best to solve them?

I wish I could help you more, and I hope you feel better when you wake up, but I'm writing this because from my experience sleep doesn't do much when you're seriously concerned about something like this. I don't know where life is going to go, or what the answers are to the questions I have, but history shows that each year from now I'll have new questions but I'll have more answers, and that life will move on to somewhere, just sometimes it takes more of a push than we're used to giving.

Again, if this doesn't make sense, it's 3AM and I've had to rewrite each word here at least once, so eh. Night

Quote from: Lady Noelle on October 09, 2014, 01:37:49 AM

I am not religious in any way, but I believe that after death, life continues. I like to think of humans as more spiritual entities living out a human life, to experience it, and once our physical human vessel dies then we move on, either to another world, another dimension, or another point in time. I could go further in depth and possibly make what I am trying to say make more sense, but I am too tired to type up a better explanation.

This is something I've considered as well, if we're thinking of the same thing.

Since I have no recollection of life before being born, from my point of view, I have always existed. Since my consciousness will be destroyed when I die, from my point of view, I will always be alive. I will have no concept of living or time when I'm dead, so (again, from my point of view) it's pointless to consider time outside of my lifespan relevant.

And then consider that after my death, maybe a trillion years from now and maybe a trillion years before (maybe in a different universe entirely) the atoms and cells and electrical signals that make me me will reconstruct in some form, maybe only in part, and I will continue on, uninterrupted.

The odds of that happening—of me coming back in some form—may be incalculable, but it makes no difference to me, from my point of view. Either it happens eventually and I will be conscious, or it doesn't and I wouldn't know otherwise anyway.

Most of the atoms that make you up are the atoms you took from food, and reconstructed them a bit. Where does food get atoms? From other things, and those things get them from other things, so I do believe that you are right in that you will be born as a new being, but that it might happen on 20 bugs that are incapable of thinking, and thus there is nothing about this to even consider worthwhile. If this is the afterlife that you long for, then alright, but don't expect that your body will be saved atom by atom to create something new, or that they will be an important part like an arm, or something.

There will only be fragments of you once you're dead, so you shouldn't consider an afterlife.

Though there is this to consider. Data can't be destroyed, and your brain is just data. Bugs eat them up, and they rot yadda yadda, but if some alien had a copy of it, and reconstructed it, you'd be alive again.

Don't expect anything more though.

I say the point in life is to live the most enjoyable life possible. I'm not saying spend all your money or have no morals, because that will leave you broke and in jail. I think early in life you should try to enjoy yourself but also set yourself up to be happy later in life.

And not just the best life for you. You should help those around you and people in need to have good lives.

Everybody dies, and that can't be stopped or changed. All you can do is lead the best life you can until you die.

The repetitive nature of life is the worst.

Don't go all Verbatim on us Nasty.

I hear you. You're lucky you're still in college. You get to learn and don't have to worry about what you're going to do afterwards. I'm in a huge dilemma after graduating-can't decide what career I want. Just don't know. Do I get my teaching certificate, accounting, MBA....but what if I don't end up using either of them? Definitely feel how you described. And now I realize it when people say it; life does go by fast and I'm faced with indecision.

Don't go all Verbatim on us Nasty.

believe me, I still enjoy life and believe there's a slight chance that humanity can pull itself out of its own mess.

Oh, and I think babies are fucking adorable

I have two primary life goals:

• Find love and live happily with her.
• Have and raise a daughter well.

I've had my share of problems throughout my life so far, but I was usually a passively happy person. But that changed when I met the first girl I've ever truly loved, and she loved me back. I was no longer passively happy, but passionately.

However, she became confused because she wasn't ready for a committed relationship. Her best friend provided her the support she needed, because she never told me about her confusion or personal issues. With the closeness they formed, and the detachment she felt for me, her love for me faded.

I decided to end our relationship because of this detachment, but she and I still have feelings for one another. I am now caught in a horrible love triangle with her, her friend, and myself. Not only am I now constantly confused and wavering between radical states of emotion, but I'm forced to watch as she suffers emotionally with the guilt and confusion racing through her mind.

Just yesterday morning, she and I were sharing loving and intimate emotions, only to end that night with all three parties in emotional turmoil. Needless to say, my life is not so bright and happy as it was before. It never will be, unless I can win her over.

that sounds tough, dude. what happened to cause that love triangle you mentioned?

I dont necessarily know what I want to do, that's both great and scary. I just want to see the world and experience all I can. And meet as many people as I can on that journey. I value human interaction and understanding people more then anything. I want to learn, I really do. I want to understand the world in more ways then one and see it for what it is and can be.

ITT general "value vs purpose featuring 'ought'" confusion