So What Is Life?

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I don't think we're meant to know that

[Levian]

I don't know about you, but I plan to enjoy my stay here.

[Drizzt]

Life is what there is now, for the porpose of what there will be tomorrow.
Just another cycle private to this corner of the universe, and who knows where else.
It's about being as ignorant as u can, about how small u really are;
It's about finding the world u exist in, and make part of, big enough to hold some meaning.
And be happy that u were that small, for someday someone will take your place, and probably do a better job than u ever did, which will only be for the better.
If we were not to die tomrrow, would we be more meaningfull?
I think not!

[-N-]

This might help.

[FadedDreams]

OMG ok this is actually kinda stupid cuz i wrote this three years ago at like three in the morning and it was kinda a brain spill but here read this:


Many people in the world are told when, they are little, false hopes. Parents tell them that they could be the president of the United States or the next Neil Armstrong. I do believe that if you are extremely determined to do or achieve something, then eventually, you will get it. But even so, there are times when people put restrictions or regulations on others or to the entire public. Those limitations make it difficult or even impossible to reach your goal. I couldn't even begin to explain to you how I feel about people in general. Just normal human beings. We try to believe that we are superior to others when actually we are all alike. Yes, it's true that we are unique in many ways, but when it comes down to it, we are all the same. Our goals in life are identical even though we may not think it or realize it. The reason people live out their lives everyday is to simply survive. It goes back to the cavemen and even further into the legends and religious beliefs. But that subject is an entirely different story.
So, we survive. But what's the point of that? Why are we even here in the first place? Well, I could no sooner choose an opinion on that than choose a star from the heavens. We simply survive, and are given the false hopes of being known to the entire world one day. We strive to be noticed and have fame somehow. Because we hunger for fame, power, and knowledge. But we are provoked from birth to death. Others put us under the influence of the need to be recognized by everyone else. Whether it comes from the media or even from seeing someone else talk about being famous, its still increases the urge. It's like a disease that runs a foolish race for control, but really, you should be recognizing yourself. No one else should change what you truly believe in the deepest parts of your heart, because that's what makes us all different. It's not because of our physical features or how we dress or act, but by what we believe in. So in short, we do have the same reasons for actually being here, and we are all equal in all ways, but the only thing that creates the barrier between you and everyone else is your thoughts.
Now, when I said that we were being provoked even from birth, it's true. So, if we are influenced under the impression of the yearning for power, we are already lost in the whirlpool of a media based society and a world full of already lost people as well, so why even bother trying to live? Well, I do have an answer for that, or at least an opinion. We live through every long day, every tiring moment of work or school, but those moments are just that, moments. They're only a tiny piece of the life that you have to live. It may seem like a waste of time, but it is actually a masterpiece in the making. All of those tiny moments may include one of those times where you see something on television about celebrities and you get that envy building up inside of you. So even the slightest amounts of time may cause a change in your opinions, but even so, the smallest difference adds up overall. All of those moments build up until death, when you finally realize with a feeling of disappointment that you never were known to the world, not truly. And then the masterpiece comes into play. The masterpiece is the final realization that you weren't alive to prove yourself to the world, but to yourself. You come to a point where everything comes together and you know the reason for life, to survive. But also to prove not to the public, but to your own self that you have your own thoughts about issues or fantasies in the world that make you unique. That you are just a small miniscule part of the universe of endless stars, but that you could have made the slightest move or daydreamed the strangest thought that could make the difference in the world. Just like the tiny moments that build up to get to this conclusion, you set off a chain reaction; you begin something that could create a complete breakthrough for discovery. Which in turn adds to the urge for human knowledge. So in fact, humans in general are blindly wandering in a gigantic circle going all the way around and finally back to the point where they are not the one being influenced this time, but the one influencing others.


uhh like i said, VERY early in the morning, three years ago, and i havent read this in a while actually

[hardboiled]

Goals and ambitions are things created by people to try and feel like they have some sort of purpose, when all life is meaningless. Therefore, people strive to be happy, and ignore this fact. If a rock is thrown on top of an ant, it will smother it, but the ant will be able to crawl out from beneath it.

I'm not sure I understand your analogy/axiom, and your argument is flawed. If you think life is meaningless stop eating... However, you would get hungry in a few days if not hours and you would NEED to eat. So it seems survival is our purpose at a very basic level.

Also, when you are defining purpose in general, what/who defines purpose. You write as though you are a god or celestial being who can judge all meaning and purpose. Or perhaps that is your belief, that all is without meaning. However, going back to my original question to you, who defines purpose? You? Perhaps you can define purpose for yourself, but I don't believe you can judge other peoples' purposes as meaningless for them.

People have different beliefs about their purpose. One may believe life is just about survival and passing on their genes, another about progression of the previous generations work, another person may base their purpose on understanding the world and life, and another might believe life is purposeless... I think its up to people to decide.... That's what seperates us from animals.. The ability to reason, decide, and act on our thoughts. One of my beliefs/constructs is that if you believe life is strictly about survival you can live w/ the pigs on a farm in a pig pen or in a zoo. They survive don't they?

It seems we should use our brains to understand the world and people and create a better life for ourselves and others. The only reason everyone on this forum can sit here and think is because the people before us created inventions that gave us the luxury of free time. Otherwise, we'd be living in a still very industrious man-powered economy where we'd have to work 12 hours a day, like in the progressive era 1890-1920. Now, some people are going to abuse that luxury and just survive, but I plan to do things with my life. Not for petty glory of because I want to be a superstar, (people who do not make art cannot understand why some people make art (music,videos, etc.) unless they think back to why they used to like to create as little kids, its never been about money or fame for the majority of REAL artists.), but because I CHOOSE TO. Life seems to be about using your reason to come to choices that fullfill ourdesires, which leads to a full and happy life. Its true that sometimes chioces are not within our reach, yet all we have to do is use our brain to plan things, which leads to better chances of acquiring the option of more choices.

[Zeromus_X]

I mean that people have made the meaning of life 'pursuing happiness', since basically, life is meaningless. However, we have made a reason, pursuing happiness. And I wasn't arguing your point because I posted after you.

[farplaner]

A bit long, I know. I couldn't help myself...

I see life as just, but not only, a natural process. The concepts of identity and self-reflection, however, make things a lot more complicated. They are what allow us to contemplate such questions in the first place. It seems odd that we are the only creatures on the planet to have gained these characteristics.

I think the search for meaning and understanding of existence is the search for understanding of the self. I have a lot of theories pertaining to the "whys" and "hows," but unless I decide to accept one of these as truth there will always be uncertainty, and as I am pretty sure that I will never, while on Earth, if ever, acquire any such certainty, I say don't waste time trying to know the unknowable.

Also, I refuse to merely accept some concept simply as a means of placating my fears, which (and I don't mean the majority) I believe is the reason that some cling to established religions: for simplicity, comfort, and community.

Speaking solely of the natural world, I think life is just a sort of "genetic program." We are subject to our drives and instincts: to survive, to consume, to procreate. Of course, as "reasoning beings" these things take on more complex roles, but they still dictate much of our behavior. I do believe that each of us is a product of both "nature and nurture" not one or the other. To say that environment plays no part in the development of our personalities seems ridiculous to me.

As to the "mysterious" side of life, I see it as just a curiosity, one that I find infintitely fascinating and that I spend a great deal of time contemplating, but that will never, for me, come to a concrete resolution.

I am on the fence concerning the question of afterlife. If life is simply a natural process, then it would make since to believe that once I am dead my functioning, and, therefore, my self will be no more. On the other hand, something inside me (very scientific language, I know) tells me that there is more to exsitence than just the physical, and I give that part of me some credit. If there is indeed some sort of afterlife though, I wouldn't be surprised to find that it is beyond anything that anyone has ever dreamed...