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> [2] ironically, a person who doesn't understand that doesn't have much to live for. What's the point of concluding with such a cynical and subjective-at-best

> [2] ironically, a person who doesn't understand that doesn't have much to live for. What's the point of concluding with such a cynical and subjective-at-best remark?

tagoregrtst 5y ago
Im sorry if it came out as cynical. What is worth living for that isnt also worth dying for?
- kcplate 5y ago
  Easter of 2020 I watched my granddaughters hunt eggs in my front yard while “safely” behind a window. I cried like a baby when my 2 year old granddaughter upset and inconsolable didn’t understand why she couldn’t come in to see me. My wife and I in May of 2020 decided that a hug from our grandchildren and children was worth way more the minimal risk we had of dying from Covid should we have caught it. We ended our exile in May day and decided to let fate be fate and not let fear consume us and prevent us from enjoying our family. I don’t begrudge others for their own decisions, but for me, the pandemic ended for me mentally on Mothers Day 2020. Time with my family is worth dying for…so if I catch it and it kills me, so be it.
- MildlySerious 5y ago
  Pizza comes to mind. On a more serious note, I may be misunderstanding the nuance of what you are saying/asking, but for me there is relatively little overlap between "things worth living for" and "things worth dying for". A few people in my life, that's it. There are plenty of things to live for. Seeing technology advance, traveling, experiencing things, meeting people, creating something of value and/or meaning, having a positive impact. Ultimately, none of those are things worth dying for. I'd rather not have them, than not have them and be dead.
  - tagoregrtst 5y ago
    “ Pizza comes to mind.” Thank you, you lived up to your nick :) I believe that, if not for the things that you would die for the things you enjoy in life would, eventually, become insipid. Then, we (maybe not all of is) are liable to enter into a spiral of existential despair at the realization that our lives are meaningless to the universe. My daughters’ play, my parent’s affection, my wife of ten year’s love have never gotten old. I don't care what the universe doesn’t think about me as long as I have them (and time away from them to spend all morning on HM pontifying to strangers as if I had a clue ;) Can you say the same for the sparkle you felt unwrapping iOS7? the sparkle of (secular) Christmas vanished when I was 13 and I realized that nothing I received for Christmas made me happy, and nothing I could ask for would. But knowing that in 10 days Id be back in school and get to see my crush… wow!
    - MildlySerious 5y ago
      > Thank you, you lived up to your nick :) Cheers! Hearing that is a first on HN, quite the occasion. :) > I believe that, if not for the things that you would die for the things you enjoy in life would, eventually, become insipid. Then, we (maybe not all of is) are liable to enter into a spiral of existential despair at the realization that our lives are meaningless to the universe. I think you are spot on, and it may well be why the remark in the GP stuck out the me. Things like depression can accelerate that process and can force us to have this conversation with ourselves much sooner. To me now having a (self-assigned) purpose is only one thing: Less boring than not having one. It is quite freeing, and was the shift in perspective I needed to find some semblance of joy again in the world around me. Still, for better or worse, it has left me without things to completely give myself up for. Also, clue or not, your comment is a wholesome read and I appreciate that you took the time to write it.

> [2] ironically, a person who doesn't understand that doesn't have much to live for. What's the point of concluding with such a cynical and subjective-at-best remark?

tagoregrtst 5y ago

Im sorry if it came out as cynical. What is worth living for that isnt also worth dying for?

kcplate 5y ago
Easter of 2020 I watched my granddaughters hunt eggs in my front yard while “safely” behind a window. I cried like a baby when my 2 year old granddaughter upset and inconsolable didn’t understand why she couldn’t come in to see me. My wife and I in May of 2020 decided that a hug from our grandchildren and children was worth way more the minimal risk we had of dying from Covid should we have caught it. We ended our exile in May day and decided to let fate be fate and not let fear consume us and prevent us from enjoying our family. I don’t begrudge others for their own decisions, but for me, the pandemic ended for me mentally on Mothers Day 2020. Time with my family is worth dying for…so if I catch it and it kills me, so be it.
MildlySerious 5y ago
Pizza comes to mind. On a more serious note, I may be misunderstanding the nuance of what you are saying/asking, but for me there is relatively little overlap between "things worth living for" and "things worth dying for". A few people in my life, that's it. There are plenty of things to live for. Seeing technology advance, traveling, experiencing things, meeting people, creating something of value and/or meaning, having a positive impact. Ultimately, none of those are things worth dying for. I'd rather not have them, than not have them and be dead.
- tagoregrtst 5y ago
  “ Pizza comes to mind.” Thank you, you lived up to your nick :) I believe that, if not for the things that you would die for the things you enjoy in life would, eventually, become insipid. Then, we (maybe not all of is) are liable to enter into a spiral of existential despair at the realization that our lives are meaningless to the universe. My daughters’ play, my parent’s affection, my wife of ten year’s love have never gotten old. I don't care what the universe doesn’t think about me as long as I have them (and time away from them to spend all morning on HM pontifying to strangers as if I had a clue ;) Can you say the same for the sparkle you felt unwrapping iOS7? the sparkle of (secular) Christmas vanished when I was 13 and I realized that nothing I received for Christmas made me happy, and nothing I could ask for would. But knowing that in 10 days Id be back in school and get to see my crush… wow!
  - MildlySerious 5y ago
    > Thank you, you lived up to your nick :) Cheers! Hearing that is a first on HN, quite the occasion. :) > I believe that, if not for the things that you would die for the things you enjoy in life would, eventually, become insipid. Then, we (maybe not all of is) are liable to enter into a spiral of existential despair at the realization that our lives are meaningless to the universe. I think you are spot on, and it may well be why the remark in the GP stuck out the me. Things like depression can accelerate that process and can force us to have this conversation with ourselves much sooner. To me now having a (self-assigned) purpose is only one thing: Less boring than not having one. It is quite freeing, and was the shift in perspective I needed to find some semblance of joy again in the world around me. Still, for better or worse, it has left me without things to completely give myself up for. Also, clue or not, your comment is a wholesome read and I appreciate that you took the time to write it.