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Family and children eliminated thoughts of my “unlived” lives. Life is hard. Focusing on gratitude helps me be thankful for what I have instead of thinking abo
by jmathai 1y ago
Family and children eliminated thoughts of my “unlived” lives.
Life is hard. Focusing on gratitude helps me be thankful for what I have instead of thinking about what may have been.
- anonzzzies 1y agoNever needed that: I like life because I know I will die soon and nothing I do matters. That is the thing I would've liked to know earlier.
- y-curious 1y agoSo, why continue living? The nihilist pit is something I recommend you claw your way out of, ASAP.
- patching-trowel 1y agoFor me it’s not a nihilist pit. The fact that I’m gonna die and nothing I do matters that much alleviates some dread. It’s not a deep and endless ocean I’m swimming in, just a comfy little pool.
- jmathai 1y agoLots of studies show that people who give to others (time, money, etc.) live better lives when measured by happiness, low stress, physical health. This requires you to believe what you do can matter. Parenting is the ultimate exercise in giving. There may be more than a comfy little pool to swim in :) https://www.andrews.edu/services/development/annual/the-joy-of-giving/index.html https://www.andrews.edu/services/development/annual/the-joy-...
- hshshshshsh 1y agoYou can act without belief in meaning. Trees and Earth for example works just fine.
- jampekka 1y agoJust ask why not instead?
- anonzzzies 1y agoI like life, I said. I just know its useless which frees me of many things others are bothered with.
- MangoToupe 1y ago[flagged]
- dagw 1y agoSo, why continue living? Because there are lots of fun things you can only do when you are alive.
- interroboink 1y agoThis is one of those interesting galvanizing points where different people's POVs are fascinating to me. To abuse your metaphor a bit... I get the sense that some people see the "nihilist pit" (or somesuch) as a dark scary thing (it is). Maybe they have gotten lost in it a little bit, did not like the experience, got out, and so advise everyone else to avoid it, too. Other people have spent more time in the pit, whether by choice or the lack of it, gone deep down, and found the bottom. And that can be a wonderful, freeing feeling, to get to the end of that hard journey. I guess for my own part, at the bottom of my pit, I found that there is something to stand on down there. It was an absolute relief to find, life-affirming, and has helped me ever since. YMMV of course (: Different people are different.
- khazhoux 1y agoHow so? Not everyone needs a cosmic scale Greater Meaning in order to go about their lives.
- xyzzy9563 1y agoIf you have children you can help continue a chain of humans millions or maybe even billions of years long.
- anonzzzies 1y agoWhy would I want to? But let's say I want to, we have been here for a few 1000 years and our trackrecord is absolutely horrifying. We kill people not even to eat but for some religious madness... You really believe your offspring will live in a billion years?
- xyzzy9563 1y agoSure, it's a pretty high chance they will go into space. If they use energy storage it could even be trillions of years. It really depends if humanity self-destructs or not. Also different animals kill each other all the time. It's part of the cycle of life. I don't get why you have such a negative perspective.
- anonzzzies 1y agoSo, Musk then... The guy who, well, seems literally insane. Yeah, good one.
- dustbunny 1y agoThis is called Black and White thinking in therapy
- anonzzzies 1y agoAnimals are animals, you seem to think we are above that. If we agree we are not then we agree. But we won't make it very long.
- xyzzy9563 1y agoPeople are a more intelligent type of animal but still animals.
- vharuck 1y ago>I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different. - Kurt Vonnegut
- hirvi74 1y agoReminds me of the quote: "The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves." ~ Alan Watts
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- more_corn 1y agoThe counterpoint to this is quite important. Sure, maybe nothing matters without someone there to make it matter. We are the only creatures in the known universe who believe in abstract universals (love, hope, truth, beauty, meaning as well as the negative abstract universals). Which means things only matter insofar as they matter to us. But obviously things matter to us. If/when we disappear, meaning itself might get erased from the universe. In that sense nothing means anything. In another sense, if we are the only source of meaning that’s potentially the most rare and precious thing imaginable. Giving a shit is literally our superpower. So give a shit about something because meaning only exists when we bring it into being. And it only exists as long as we make it exist. Far from being depressing this might be the most uplifting thought possible. Because it makes you fucking matter. As much as you want to matter. (And as little)
- HenryBemis 1y agoI remember the "Beatle that got away" saying that "the best thing that happened in my life was to leave the Beatles, and I would never change that" (I don't remember the precise quote, but it was something along those lines). He then went on explaining how "if I was still with the Beatles he wouldn't have the kids he now has, and there is no price for that.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- badc0ffee 1y agoThis is basically the lesson in About Time (2013). (I liked that movie)