> I've spent an insane number of hours wondering why being alive is a good thing. Still not sure I have an answer. You're not alone, the existentialist/nihilis

> I've spent an insane number of hours wondering why being alive is a good thing. Still not sure I have an answer. You're not alone, the existentialist/nihilist position is that there is no good answer to this question, and life is intrinsically meaningless. This strain of thought has been around for more than 100 years and no one's come up with a really solid counter-argument. A couple things to consider; - A meaningless life is normally assumed to be a negative and depressing thing. But why is that? Some people have argued for "positive nihilism," the view that a lack of meaning is freeing. From reading about both sides I eventually came to the conclusion that assigning a positive or negative value to the intrinsic meaninglessness of life is artificial. Both sides are just coming from their own head space with a bunch of stuff they've made up, and projecting. Life's fundamental properties simply exist. The human condition is neither positive nor negative, it just is. - Even if there's no "good" or intrinsic reason to live, some people manage to cope anyway and enjoy happy, interesting lives. The list of strategies humanity has developed for coping with the abyss is as long as history. Existentialism, absurdism and religion are all radically different philosophies for coping. More practically, everyday tactics for coping range from things as simple as getting more sunlight and exercise, to meditation and (some) social relationships, to many many types of drugs and therapies. There is a long list of coping mechanisms to explore for the sake of curiosity if for no other reason. - Finally if you choose death, there's no undo button. I think there are too many taboos around suicide (unless you're already dying, at which point some elements of society seem to grant you permission to make a decision which was none of their business anyway). However it can certainly be said that once you cross this line, you lose access to all the other things you might have wanted to do. If it turns out you were wrong, too bad, you'll never know. In this sense suicide is the greatest act of hubris possible, it is the belief that you've arrived at a final conclusion, and in our vast and unknowable universe, this type of belief is almost always incorrect. The only certainty is uncertainty, and with suicide you have eliminated it.