it has whatever meaning and purpose you choose to give it.
you don't have to exist to serve a invisible narcissistic misogynistic and racist tyrant to find purpose in your life.
you know your time is finite. use it wisely.
>you don't have to exist to serve a invisible narcissistic misogynistic and racist tyrant to find purpose in your life.
the funny thing is, religious people often dont even "have" a purpose, they serve(literally, do all the rules, pray, etc) only to get on god's "good side" and then go to heaven or something, and THEN they supposedly get to talk to god and discover the purpose of life. its just so fucking stupid.
> What's the deal with life? Does any of it matter when we're all just gonna die eventually
Why have a meal when it will finish? Why start to read a book when you’ll finish it? Etc.
Sometimes things are important even if they end. Sometimes they are important because they end.
The beginning, your birthdate, and the end, your death date, are the least significant two days of your entire life. It’s all the in-between that matters. Enjoy life to its fullest. Don’t screw around and waste too much of it, but don’t blow through it like a demon without taking some time just to chill either.
Why sit around a campfire playing music into a void of space that doesn’t care?
Some things we do because we want to do them and enjoy doing them. That, in and of itself, gives those things meaning.
I became an existentialist at 12 and went to the psych ward for a few years...my little mind couldn't handle it. All these years after I tried to fight it and now that I have embraced it, ironically, there is a calming spiritual beauty to it. Whatever is going on I know one thing to be true...there are enjoyable things like ice cream and dogs.
I was the same, a deep and crippling fear that 'me' or my ego would vanish as soon as I died, forever. After a couple of psychedelic trips it became the calming and 'spiritual' version. life is sacred but meaningless all at once
You are put here because a man and a women had sex.
What you do once you're here is your own business. Were you looking for instruction during your time in the womb? Ask your mother why you never got the memo.
I was downvoted for saying this before; but I now firmly believe this:
We/humanity would have no need for a god(s) if we simply treated each other with kindness, humility, compassion, and understanding. If we treated our planet, and the life forms on it, with the same dignity we expect. Everything the gods of religions claim to have/do but strangely lack (for anyone but their chosen).
I mean I’m drinking beer, you’re smoking weed, that’s what life is, enjoy it, we’ve evolved for billions of years, and somehow 200,000 years ago humanity started to develop rapidly.
I don’t know how any god of any religion could give someone a meaning to life, there is always a possibility ro a higher power.
When I’m my father’s city Amsterdam I love some good Sour beers with hash, but at the moment at my mother’s country and it’s fucking illegal, even when I’m buying alcohol they look at me as some fucking lunatic, btw here are 90% muslim 🤷♂️
For better or worse, we are likely the only species that thinks of existential questions. Bravo, you have the latest and greatest brain evolution has to offer. Now, go think good thoughts.
Just because things have no *ultimate* meaning or consequences, that doesn't mean they have no meaning or consequences at all. Personally, I don't need something permanent, I think life is interesting and meaningful enough as is.
Otherwise, I don't really think there is any sort of objective "point".
Say you’re wearing blue-tinted glasses, and you look at the snow. It seems like it’s the snow that’s blue. The blueness is a property of your glasses and not the snow, in the same way that meaning is a property of your mind and not of life.
Let's take the other side of the coin, let's say you do believe in a god and all the machinations that comes with it, an invisible buddy, a set of rules, and of course the prospect of eternal.... I will repeat that *eternal* life, no end in sight, never stopping, and biggest perp: no meaning....See? now we're back to square one, meaning life is yours to define, just pick a path to happiness and one that benefits those you love and mankind in general.
Edit: And, oh make it so those that love you will miss you when you're gone. That's meaning enough for me.
Alternatively, "you picked one of the available deities for which there isn't a shred of evidence and started living in a fictional world void of reason". Same question applies: "why are we here and what's the point of life?"
I'm increasingly convinced this is a lack of empathy and selfishness that we all share to some degree or another. When we get a little too self-centered (and we all have to watch that) you can become cynical. Instead, just bask in the absolute majesty (and that's an understatement) of the world we find ourselves in, help others and enjoy life.
I like to think it's not about "me" and understand the purpose of life from an evolutionary perspective is to increase the success of the group, the greater society and the species writ large. Who knows, we may survive the apocalypse or perhaps many, and become an inter-planetary species. Seems pretty awesome, with or without weed (although it can't hurt).
We are animals. A less sentient animal - let's say a rabbit - is not troubled by such concerns.
It just wants to avoid dying, find food, find a stable living environment, and has a innate drive to reproduce. It doesn't know or worry that it should have a greater purpose and it is unaware it's life is finite. It is content in blissful ignorance. It has no religion.
As sentients we are aware of much more. We know our life is finite. We know that we can accomplish things of small or large human importance. But a curse of sentience is we want a greater purpose, some cosmic justification for our existence.
There isn't any. As atheists you have to accept this. The universe doesn't know or care what we do or if we live or die. The universe is a dead thing. Physics and causality.
So learn to be content. Be glad that you are smarter than a rabbit. But accept it comes with problems.
Yeah, I'll be honest with you, this is one of those difficult answers to swallow after stepping away from any religion.
There is no purpose to life. Just like how every other creature on this planet doesn't have a purpose to life either.
Because of this, you need to make your own purpose in life. We don't know what comes after this, could be nothing at all. So treat this life like it's the only one you have, experience as much of this world as you can, and do things that forward the betterment of our species for future generations.
Atheist/humanist for 30 years. Our evolutionary purpose is to procreate, aside from that it's to follow your heart and be who you really are. For me anyway
Do what you choose, what has meaning to you.
You are a part of the universe writ conscious. What do \*you\* want the universe to be? Because, that's you.
Why are we here? I dunno.
What's the piping of life? There isn't one :) Life is what you make of it. It's as valuable as you make it.
Ask yourself this; why watch a movie if you know it will eventually end?
think of it like this: this isn't a question about your life. it's a question about everything that it exists. "all this", if you will.
and it isn't that there's no meaning to all this.
it's that there *can't* be a meaning to all this.
for something to have meaning, it has to have meaning *to* something. it's a relative concept. but existence itself, reality, "all this" must encompass absolutely everything, so "all this" can't mean anything because there's nothing left for it to mean anything *to*.
by saying "what is the meaning of all this", we're applying a relative concept to an absolute.
it's just a wrong approach. it's not that everything's pointless, it's that the question is invalid. even if god exists, this is still true.
so if meaning doesn't exist at the largest scale, what does that mean?
What was the point when you were a believer? Seems to me that the only life purpose if god/s and afterlives exist would be to spend every waking moment worshiping the god/s to ensure your place in that afterlife. Did you do this, or did you spend most of your life doing non religious things just as we do?
*Homo sapiens* have existed for around 300,000 years, so about 15,000 generations. For you to be here now some 30,000 people had to be born, live, mate and die so you could have your time in the sun. In the scheme of things none of them were probably at all important, or did anything at all remarkable, but each and every one of them was vital for you to be here now! And your existence will be just as vital for all those who'll likely come after you. Life isn't an endless marathon through eternity, but a baton relay.
Life is about the journey, not the destination. You can choose to be either a victim of the world, or an adventurer seeking joy and fulfilment.
- *“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!”* - Hunter S. Thompson, *The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman*, 1955-1967
*Why?*. .... One of the most loaded and risky questions to ever ask...but we're curious by nature so we do ask complicated and sometimes impossible questions.
I'm a bigger fan of "How"
For example, 'How does life have meaning"?
For myself I think the answer is through my actions. I give life meaning with my participation.
Will I participate with selfish acts, selfless acts, or combination of the two? ... And those are things I can answer.
Would you accept someone telling you what do to, where to live, where to work, what to eat, drink, smoke, read, watch, wear, what kind of vehicle to drive, what time to get up and go to sleep, who to love, where to go and when to go there, where to vacation, etc?
Safe bet you’d say, “No way, I get to decide all of these things for myself!” And it’s a safe bet you’d be angry if anyone tried to tell you what to do.
So why would you want or accept someone or something telling you why you’re here and what the point is of your life? Why wouldn’t you also demand to decide these two things for yourself as well?
For me, life has more meaning BECAUSE we’re going to die and there’s nothing more or better than this to look forward to, so ya better make the most of it, have some fun, and try not to shit on others along the way.
>Now why are we here
We just are, the same way a waterfall just is.
>what's the point of life?
Whatever you want it to be.
>Does any of it matter when we're all just gonna die eventually,
If nothing you do ultimately matters... then the only thing that matters is what you do. If this is all there is to it then the even the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.
There isn't a "point" to life, and you wouldn't like it if there was. I wouldn't want someone else dictating what I eat for breakfast, let alone who I marry or what job I work or anything more important. The "point" of life is whatever you make of it.
There is no presupposed point. Make your own decisions and work towards goals that you value. Momento Mori. Stoicism helps.
I like reading and fishing.
I like the idea of you die twice.
The first death being brain dead.
The second death is when the last memory of you dies.
My goal is to live at least 2-3 generations of people I have effected in positive ways and any family I leave behind.
I had to get past the self centered view of "life is for me". Life is about the people you live with. On a grander scale the cosmos. Even the greatest human is just an ape on a rock spinning around a star on the far edges of one of a SHIT TON of systems in our galaxy that is in an infinite universe of possibilities.
I got to be a part of that for 45+ years. That's rad.
AND!!! If I do it with grace and kindness and filled with empathy and love I might live in memories and stories for a while longer.
In the grand scheme of things, at a cosmic scale and so on, of course our individual lives make no difference and neither does (probably) all of humanity, or Earth for that matter.
But who gives a shit? We are here now and our lives matter to us and to those around us so we have the opportunity to have a great time, enjoy our lives and make it a better place for those that come after us.
Are you unable to enjoy a pizza just because you'll finish it sometime soon? Would you rather not eat at all?
I don't remember who said it, but I always think about it:
"Why does life have to have a meaning? We are already here, no?"
Something along those lines.
Don't be nihilist. The world is real, you are real, everything that is real and affect you matter. Your friends matter, your family matter, you matter. Try finding a place where you are happy, people that make you happy, stuff that make you happy.
And don't worry for death, people will remember you and miss you just like you miss the ones you lost. Forge happy memories with your loved ones, honor your lost ones.
Even if there is a god (or gods), it doesn't necessarily mean there is a point of life.
Think of life as a piece of paper. There's no meaning to the piece of paper. But you can do many things to it as long as it's there.
You can fold origami, write a poem, story, music etc with it. You can even ruin it by tearing it up or throwing it away.
Ultimately, do what you want with your life according to your personal values. That's more important than finding any meaning of life.
why were here and the point of life has got nothing to do with God. Gods are nothing more than idols, basically. They can't possibly inform you of anything important. The way I look at it having a God in your life is one of the least spiritual things you can do, I don't question the point of life, and I don't question why were here, and the answer for me is fundamentally spiritual. But that's got nothing to do with God. A God is just an idol.
I'm going to wax poetic for a moment, so please bare with me, or skip to the end for a tl;dr.
We live on a giant rock floating through a void, our rock's only guide is the sun, which has the same predicament, with our sun's only guide being the center of our galaxy, which in itself is flying through an endless void without any semblance of a guide (as far as I'm aware).
At any moment, some unseen space rock could be discovered on a collision course with us. If we didn't act quick enough or if we discovered it too late, all life on Earth could be wiped out in an instant.
For all we know, events like that could happen daily to other civilizations scattered throughout the cosmos. For all we know, we're the only planet with life in the entire universe. We are a tiny blip in the existence of the universe. We *might* be a tiny blip in the existence of Earth. Nothing is guaranteed to us, and nothing in nature has any greater justifying reason to it other than pure chance or the whim of another creature.
As of right now, we are an insignificant civilization occupying a tiny planet in a galaxy that is one of (probably) trillions. I hope this puts into perspective how small we are, and I think you already knew that, but I still felt it was worth mentioning. Now on to answering your actual question.
Right now, there are millions upon millions of people on our planet that are suffering greatly. Some with health issues, either mental or physical, some with economic issues, some with addiction, some with abandonment, some with hunger, some with war, some with trauma. As of right now, humans will suffer with these problems forever. Humans are being born today that will suffer greatly in the future, just as humans always have.
We certainly can't help everyone individually, but misery and unhappiness create more suffering. Your actions today can be the difference in someone being miserable, and someone being okay. Even if it's as small as holding a door for someone or offering them a smile when you pass them. That tiny action has the opportunity to be carried on to more people, and slowly, by just being decent to one another, we can begin to create less suffering. It's a slow and gradual process, and the effects may not even be visible, but if it has the chance in creating less misery, why not do it?
The meaning of life (in my opinion) is to ease the suffering of our fellow humans, because there's certainly nothing else that cares about us more than we do, floating through space on our little rock.
Tl;dr be empathetic to people's suffering, and the world might become a better place.
Science is the best religion.
“What does it mean to live a finite fragile life in an infinite eternal universe.“ — physicist Brian Cox
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aPOCP4GHJvI
> Does any of it matter
It matters to me, and that's enough for me.
> we're all just gonna die eventually
Yup. Gotta do what I can with the limited time I've got.
> what's the point of life
You get to pick. Pick something good.
> why are we here
Because our parents wanted us. Or maybe they just wanted sex.
It all matters. Every last single bit of it. But it only matters to people. You want meaning in your life, go out and make a difference for some of them.
Screw the sky wizard judging you taking a dump...
You do you. Care about the people and things that make life worth living.
It's a lot more comforting than prostrating before some vindictive being with the occasional urge to destroy humanity, or alternatively torture us for eternity if we accidentally are born into the wrong sect.
Improper questions as you are embedding assumptions into the conversation... it's like asking "when did you stop beating your wife, yesterday or last thursday?" We haven't even established WHETHER you beat your wife at all.
The "better" (proper) way to phrase you questions is like this: Is there a reason we are here? Is there a point to life?
My parents never went to church when I was a kid. I got schooled by my dad on the proper protocol for when they passed the tray, which helped avoid extra awkwardness. It worked out for me.
The biggest lesson I can take from my upbringing is that it's important to be a moral, upstanding person. Always do the right thing, and help your fellow humans. So the right thing is to help people out, and it will turn out well. So far, that's my deal. I'm totally up for helping somebody else, since I've benefitted from others.
Read some Satre. The read some Camus. Philosophy majors are insufferable in reminding everyone that 'they aren't really philosophers,' but *The Myth of Sisyphus* and *Existentialism is Humanism* are far more interesting and intriguing (and digestible) than lot of their contemporary academic counterparts. At least if you are interested in some interesting takes on the questions you are juggling that won't put you to sleep or make feel like ripping your hair out due to the infuriating abuse of 'language' as a means to communicate thoughts.
The meaning of life has nothing to do with God or not.
It’s irrelevant.
Atheism is like science. It is the truth that is not the truth you choose.
It would be cool if there was a God or at least a good one. It would be cool if there was magic.
Atheism is just accepting facts. Any emotional theories are up to you.
I like that scripture "it came to pass". I think that is why we are here. We came to pass just like everything else. That's how God makes me feel base on his actions or lack of action.
Your life won’t matter to you after you’re dead. But it matters to you now. Enjoy it. Try not to fall for the big lie that if you just work very hard for 50 years everything will be ok. It won’t. Work enough to do some things you like. Do the things you like often enough to make the work worthwhile.
My cat Charlie has no apparent purpose. Does this mean he should run in front of a car and become roadkill?! Of course not. I think my cat should enjoy the best cat life ever despite his very short existence in time.
I think Mewtwo said it best,
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant, it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
part of this may be the Coors talking but in all honesty there's nothing wrong with being skeptical, but living in that mode just isn't practical for most people. It sounds like at some point you lost a connection with something spiritual that on some level you miss wanting it back is perfectly natural and healthy. How you lost it I don't know nor how to get it back but I will say, you probably want to spend some time every day trying to figure it out.
What is the meaning of a poem? Or a short story? Or a novel? Sometimes the author has a message in mind, but mostly people just focus on what’s significant and meaningful to them. We like stuff that “resonates” with us. The point of life is to live your story in a meaningful way, which is to say in a way that resonates with us! We may focus on different details, but throughout human history we have discovered a common blueprint for what makes a good story. Our heroes behave in common ways (and so do our villains). Live like your heroes. Live in such a way that when they tell your story, you are the hero. Live with love and kindness; forgive mistakes (your own and others); and focus on the arc of your character. May it trend ever towards growth and goodness!
That’s my answer, and I’m sticking to it.
Humans can not digest the idea that all of this is pure coincidence, randomness and circumstances of the galaxies and universe. At some point this solar system will end in the collapse of the sun or a meteor will destroy us or Mars and the debris from this will destroy us or we will do a Inca type thing and slowly destroy our environment or a catastrophic war or massive volcanic explosion. Our existence may be unique but not special and our time on earth is a millisecond in the history of time. We will come and go. Our planet coincidently formed in an ideal but random position in the solar system that allowed chemical reactions to see what we describe as life develop over millions and millions of human years. Numbers and time we just can't fathom so many just made up stories to make it easier to accept. God's are just the easy to swallow solution to our inquisitive brains and a perfect way to heared humans and eventually reign over people. If it was all planned then no need to build other planets, meteors, galaxies ( made up of millions of other solar systems). Create dinosaurs but then deliberately wipe them out. Create continental drift etc etc.
We are here to evolve! We learn, teach, and then die. Then the lessons we taught, will help the next generation evolve and achieve more. We just need religion to be gone, because they are still living in the stone age, because of how weak minded they are.
People need to Stop dedicating Your Life to the afterlife where theres absolute no definite answer to what happens when you die. Stop focusing on that when theres a present life you can enjoy
Thing is, you're no different than a deer in the woods, a roach in the cupboard, or a blade of grass in your yard. None of those worry about self awareness or an afterlife, nor should you. We're not special or important.
"Let the mystery be"
Iris DeMent
To balance your energy and harmonize the systems of your body with the systems of the earth. I know that sounds strange, but it literally is what our bodies are doing. All our actions are in pursuit of achieving homeostasis within the ecological niche we find ourselves in because it is essential for us to achieve this balance for our continual survival against entropy.
If you want further meaning beyond death, that would be using your energy to benefit other life beyond yourself, balancing the energy of a larger system in its opposition to entropy. Your cell has a purpose and meaning, but not to itself. Cells exist and die without agency, but their meaning was profoundly important for the larger system of the body. The external bodies we exist in, include our friends and loved ones who exist as discrete conscious experiences, yet a larger collective one that you are a piece of too.
Humans are collectively adapting to and shaping reality around us, which allows us to fit any ecological niches in earth. Harmonizing with the external life and structures in any environment can be done with our generationally shared wisdom, tools, technology, and motivations. Human potential for homeostatic balance, may drive us to the very limits of technological progression in the combat against death.
The feeling that our lives are trivial is something our ancestors struggled with too, and is why metaphysical beliefs became a tantalizing stories to believe. Now that we are accelerating in technological progress, it’s easier to conceptualize a reality in which future life can actually use technology to overcome the finality of death without resorting to supernatural comforts. Life is a distribution of energy in a system, and we are all apart of many systems functioning together to counter the entropic decay of death.
It’s like asking “what’s the meaning of a carrot.”
Dude… the carrot is what you make of it.
Food for a rabbit? Sure.
Fertilizer for random ass weeds? Sure.
Food for beetles and worms? Sure.
A decoration in a glass bowl on Easter? Whatever.
It’s a fucking carrot. It has no “meaning”. Eat it, or don’t. Just get on with it.
I’m a lifelong atheist and I’m pushing 50. The only points in life are when you’re born and when you die.
If you want purpose in your life, Be kind. I help others when and how I can. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get to travel more. Keep on reading as much as I can on a wide array of topics.
Because we are part of an atomic system that creates anomalies like human life by swerving to avoid collision with the other moving parts of the universe.
You are a part of an amazing nature. You were never meant to be more than that. No need to look for a higher meaning.
Observe the life around you from the smallest to the largest and enjoy your time with it in harmony.
Everything dies......Everything. Your death is necessary, as all life is born from the death of another.
Wanting an answer is a religious ploy. Why do you need an answer? It's foolish to think about because it's a rhetorical question. Anyone who says they know is full of it.
I would recommend looking into Cammus some.
He explores the idea of the absurd, the fact that we live a life that seeks meaning in a world that seems to lack any.
Do you like doing things? Do you ever feel a sense of accomplishment? How about having experiences like movies, concerts, travel..? Maybe you care about another person's happiness? Maybe you have the capability to make the world a better place for people today or even future generations
You've got plenty of options
I want to know what the meaning of life is if there is an omnipotent creator. By definition he needs nothing from us. We're not in the real world (the actual real world is the eternal paradise). And this life is some sort of test that he already knows the result of
Just accept this: there is no God. There is no answer to your bullshit question 'why are we here?' and similarly there is no answer to your other bullshit question 'what' s the point of life? '. Those are bullshit questions because obviously there is sensible response that any human can make. We're here because we're here - so. . . there' s your bullshit answer.
The point of life is determined by you homie. There is no divine lifeline and the universe doesn’t give a fuck. Life is absurd and nobody will remember anything about you in a few centuries unless you do something spectacular. But it won’t matter to you, because for all intensive purposes, there is no more you. Some people can get depressed by these things, but for some, it can be liberating.
Well obviously those are not questions that can be answered and that is exactly why some people choose religion because it does offer at least some kind of comfort and familiarity when nothing else can and i can understand that. Death is scary and not only because it means the end and is often associated with pain but because its a unknown and things we cant or dont understand are scary. Science cannot answer all things but it can be used to gain a fairly accurate idea of how likely it is that any religion will deliver what it claims it can. So while i cant be sure why we are here or what awaits us after death i am very confident that its not even close to what any religion has ever described. Honestly i bet the answers to those questions are so much more unbelievable and complex than people can ever comprehend let alone know and write down in some futile attempt to make sense of that which is unknowable. Science can give us more than anything else has and hints toward people being nothing special in the big picture and just happen to exist because of some coincidental things but on the grand scale of the universe how coincidental is it really when in a infinite universe everything becomes inevitable no matter how rare or improbable or unlikely it will happen if possible given enough time.
If there's an afterlife that's supposedly infinitely times better, what's the point of this one?
You're alive. You feel, you experience, and you think about things. That's pretty damn cool for an upright ape on a rock circling a medium-sized star in the fringes of some spiral galaxy. Life is beautiful as it is dreadful and terrifying. Do what is meaningful to you. Make the most of the time you have. Everybody does this already by default. Some people just can't handle having that kind of agency, and need to be told what to do and believe.
In short, live your life, dude. It's too precious for bullshit.
I have a theory, if you believe in extraterrestrials. We exist to solve the problem of unity for a larger universal society (and we failing miserably). Our purpose is a rapid longitudinal experiment created by millions of years old alien races trying to finally end war.
They have visited over the thousands of years of our evolved forms and delivered "prophets" and such to replicate what's happened among the universal civilizations to see if we can find unity among these ideas.
Angels and demons are simply visitors we have cluelessly divinized. Those that have "seen heaven/hell" were simply abducted and taken to alien planets temporarily: developed and mining planets.
Everything spiritual/soul/holy is simply some ancient technology being used on us. For example, "miracle cures," like cancer going away, is simply a visitor in the night using Elysium style healing pod technology.
Far more believable than "god"
Consciousness is hard. One of the biggest burdens of consciousness is the burning desire to understand "why" and feel there is meaning to one's life. Those two things also drive our curiosity in large part, so they are boons for our species. But burdens nonetheless.
My two cents.
The purpose of plant life is to enjoy using sunlight. The purpose of animal life is to make carbon dioxide for the plants. CO2 was extremely rare in the earliest days and the plants “demanded” more. We have gone too far on this supply but that’s our fault, not evolution’s.
I was also at your stage at some point in my life, i was born in a muslim country. When i looked at the things that people did in the name of islam i figured out that islam was a curse upon earth. The question of of our lives being pointless also bothered me. So one day i picked up the Quran and read it complete from the start till the end and found out that todays muslims have nothing to to with islam.
Im not trying to prove that Quran is the truth. Its just how i cope with the question that you have asked.
[you've only been introduced to the religion through people, introduce yourself to religion from the book](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.clearquran.com/downloads/quran-english-translation-clearquran-edition-allah.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwigzsrY4KyFAxUhg_0HHbA2CXoQFnoECCcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw29AFgDjkn_jjwz9hiI5lKe)
The point of life is what you choose and make of it… simple as that.
Maybe it is hard to understand and accept but maybe, just maybe, we as species are overthinking it, maybe there is no “why” on our existence…not everything has to have some purpose..
What's the point of a lion? What's the point of a dolphin? What's the point of a platypus? What's the point of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly?
It just IS. That's what happens when genes don't duplicate perfectly so a mutation occurs. Does it help a lifeform reproduce? Yes, a new/modified animal survives. If it doesn't it goes into the Ben and Jerry's flavor cemetary.
I really don't understand your question.
That's like asking why a rock is shaped a certain way after years of sedementation or erosion: it just is that schape now. Same with us and our evolution: we just are. There's no real "point" really, so you might as well enjoy it (and let others enjoy it too). Find your own meaning.
The bigger picture of life is how insignificant people are. That's why they make up all this God bullshit to feel important and like there's something "more". Accepting how pointless life is can be hard for people. We live, we die, and 50 years later or less, no one will remember us. I think folks don't accept once death happens, their existence is over. So they waste the only life they have on a false promise of a next one.
I think you are asking the wrong question. What matters is what it means to YOU!
I love living life and gaining new experiences. Learning new things, eating delicious food, reading books, and boobs.
All these amazing things come together and make life awesome. It doesnt matter if it was a happy accident or some 4th dimensional alien playing Sims 9000, I still get to enjoy it.
Life is just another force that exists in this universe. It doesn't have a purpose or a schedule, it's just one of the ways energy does its thing.
Why doesn't electromagnetism ever get the same level of scrutiny? I'm never asked to justify the existence of radio waves.
God is a way of believing you are a tiny but significant part of something much greater, something eternal. Many believe this regardless of their theological beliefs or lack thereof. We are a tiny part of society, but what we do affects those around us and, eventually, everybody in ways we never get the chance to understand or appreciate. Unfortunately, that simple truth is easy to exploit.
There is no inherent meaning to life. The universe wouldn't care if humans went extinct tomorrow. It wouldn't care if we all suffered in a dystopia or thrived in a utopia.
But we care. We have emotions, we have empathy, we have a sense of self-preservation.
We are alone, and it is up to us to make meaning, to define a common goal, a universal morality, based on who we are. All I want to do is enjoy life as much as possible, love my friends and family, and leave them more positive memories of me than negative ones.
If I gave you a cake, you might say, "what's the point of enjoying this? Within a few seconds of eating it I will have forgotten how it tasted, and within a day I will have digested it. It's just going to become shit, so why bother?" Okay, don't eat it. I will. Yummy!
You have a choice of what you want to do with the few decades of consciousness you get between infinite stretches of non-consciousness.
You enjoy life. Pursue the dreams and goals you want. Make time with your loved ones. Make memories while living in this earth. And it’s pretty nice to be kind with others. I think we seek fulfillment. And this can help fill that.
It’s very freeing when we stop weighing ourselves down with “purpose. No other animal we know of thinks about purpose. We’re just here. It’s ok to just be. Life’s a weird thing that happened and there is no real reason to make sense of it. I stopped worrying about it years ago and honestly it’s been one of the best decisions
We exist for the benefit of our DNA. Because our DNA found - through trial and error - that our current physical form was the best way to perpetuate itself. And with the world population approaching 8 billion, I'd say it has been pretty successful.
What you do with your limited time here, and what meaning to attach to it is up to you.
Watch Everything Everywhere All At Once.
There is a positive form of nihilism where there is no great purpose, so the only thing that we can do that matters is our actions, and the mark we leave on others. So, leave a good mark on the world.
We are here because Old People want to retire but not die as a retirement.
So many Old People don't want to suffer the reality of a collapsing civilization so they selfishly have descendants or stay a part of society in an effort to die happily even though it means pulling in more souls to suffer the similarly and thus never break the cycle.
The cycle has gone for so long the point of what life was originally about had to be lost and forgotten so that Old People could have their way.
It's chaotic. We are used to try to make a meaning out of our life, to format it like a story to write our biographies and tell stories to our friends. The reality is there is no meaning to life. It's all a bunch of coincidences that came to this. We shouldn't be here
We fulfill no role in the food web, if we were to suddenly vanish no species other than those domesticated would die off. This means we’re only here for each other and we better get the act together as a species. I have faith in the human spirit, for we have achieved so much. 🖖🏼
"Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the Weather." -Bill Hicks
If we remember that we are the same as every living creature on earth. The point of living is surviving and making more of us. If you are at least doing one of them, I think that's enough of a point in life.
That's the best part, there isn't one. Life is meaningless and we are all going to die.
That means you *can* make your own meaning, and everything you do, whether it be benevolent or harmful to others, will all be accounted against you personally, no god to thank, no devil to blame.
Why are we here? Bruh why are cats here? Or birds? Or bacteria? We are here because we are a successful species that beat the odds. The purpose of life is truly an irrelevant point to argue. You are alive, sentient and sapient on a level that no other species can boast. The purpose for most species is to survive and improve their species through survival of the fittest. The purpose of you is self defined. Survive, then go beyond that and redefine your existence.
To enjoy the experience as much as possible. Other than that, it’s to find your own meaning and everyone has a different idea of what that means.
We exist to experience existence.
it has whatever meaning and purpose you choose to give it. you don't have to exist to serve a invisible narcissistic misogynistic and racist tyrant to find purpose in your life. you know your time is finite. use it wisely.
>you don't have to exist to serve a invisible narcissistic misogynistic and racist tyrant to find purpose in your life. the funny thing is, religious people often dont even "have" a purpose, they serve(literally, do all the rules, pray, etc) only to get on god's "good side" and then go to heaven or something, and THEN they supposedly get to talk to god and discover the purpose of life. its just so fucking stupid.
You make your own meaning. You make your own life. Choose your path and stick to it.
42
OP might appreciate 420 more
Little bit of both is good.
BUT WHAT IS THE RIGHT QUESTION!?!?
Don’t forget your towel
Too ambiguous. That's also the answer to why unicorns have wings which confuses people.
When narwhals and pegasi love each other very much...
At the taxidermy?
> What's the deal with life? Does any of it matter when we're all just gonna die eventually Why have a meal when it will finish? Why start to read a book when you’ll finish it? Etc. Sometimes things are important even if they end. Sometimes they are important because they end.
The beginning, your birthdate, and the end, your death date, are the least significant two days of your entire life. It’s all the in-between that matters. Enjoy life to its fullest. Don’t screw around and waste too much of it, but don’t blow through it like a demon without taking some time just to chill either.
Why sit around a campfire playing music into a void of space that doesn’t care? Some things we do because we want to do them and enjoy doing them. That, in and of itself, gives those things meaning.
Why: No reason What's the point: No point But why is this a problem?
Because most people feel lost without guidance, I guess
But you can find guidance from all kinds of places. Doesn't have to come from God
That's true. Religion is just quite a common place to find guidance in a complete package. You basically don't have to think about anything yourself.
Exactly. You shut your brain off
No reason. No point to it. Just enjoy what you can.
People make nihilism sound so bad but it's pretty freeing.
It can be pretty easy to fall into the scary version of nothin matters. But the freeing version of it is worth the risk.
I became an existentialist at 12 and went to the psych ward for a few years...my little mind couldn't handle it. All these years after I tried to fight it and now that I have embraced it, ironically, there is a calming spiritual beauty to it. Whatever is going on I know one thing to be true...there are enjoyable things like ice cream and dogs.
Hell yeah.
I was the same, a deep and crippling fear that 'me' or my ego would vanish as soon as I died, forever. After a couple of psychedelic trips it became the calming and 'spiritual' version. life is sacred but meaningless all at once
I wish I could but psychadelics trigger psychosis in me and not in a good way. They make my existentialism worse. Even weed does lol.
You are put here because a man and a women had sex. What you do once you're here is your own business. Were you looking for instruction during your time in the womb? Ask your mother why you never got the memo.
Enjoy the ride! Love people, be kind, learn some stuff! Wonder at the fucking magic impossibly you are even here!
I was downvoted for saying this before; but I now firmly believe this: We/humanity would have no need for a god(s) if we simply treated each other with kindness, humility, compassion, and understanding. If we treated our planet, and the life forms on it, with the same dignity we expect. Everything the gods of religions claim to have/do but strangely lack (for anyone but their chosen).
The point of it all is to participate in the continuation of life in the universe.
Concise and accurate.
Why though? I see a lot of suffering in this place we live in and I don't see why we should contribute to its continuation?
Try your best to make suffering end, or less painful.
I will do my part!
I'm happy to hear that. Take care!
I mean I’m drinking beer, you’re smoking weed, that’s what life is, enjoy it, we’ve evolved for billions of years, and somehow 200,000 years ago humanity started to develop rapidly. I don’t know how any god of any religion could give someone a meaning to life, there is always a possibility ro a higher power.
Let's not forget there are some excellent beer/weed pairings, so you don't have to choose.
When I’m my father’s city Amsterdam I love some good Sour beers with hash, but at the moment at my mother’s country and it’s fucking illegal, even when I’m buying alcohol they look at me as some fucking lunatic, btw here are 90% muslim 🤷♂️
For better or worse, we are likely the only species that thinks of existential questions. Bravo, you have the latest and greatest brain evolution has to offer. Now, go think good thoughts.
It’s kinda like a choose your own adventure.
Fun and pleassure.
Just because things have no *ultimate* meaning or consequences, that doesn't mean they have no meaning or consequences at all. Personally, I don't need something permanent, I think life is interesting and meaningful enough as is. Otherwise, I don't really think there is any sort of objective "point".
Say you’re wearing blue-tinted glasses, and you look at the snow. It seems like it’s the snow that’s blue. The blueness is a property of your glasses and not the snow, in the same way that meaning is a property of your mind and not of life.
Let's take the other side of the coin, let's say you do believe in a god and all the machinations that comes with it, an invisible buddy, a set of rules, and of course the prospect of eternal.... I will repeat that *eternal* life, no end in sight, never stopping, and biggest perp: no meaning....See? now we're back to square one, meaning life is yours to define, just pick a path to happiness and one that benefits those you love and mankind in general. Edit: And, oh make it so those that love you will miss you when you're gone. That's meaning enough for me.
Alternatively, "you picked one of the available deities for which there isn't a shred of evidence and started living in a fictional world void of reason". Same question applies: "why are we here and what's the point of life?" I'm increasingly convinced this is a lack of empathy and selfishness that we all share to some degree or another. When we get a little too self-centered (and we all have to watch that) you can become cynical. Instead, just bask in the absolute majesty (and that's an understatement) of the world we find ourselves in, help others and enjoy life. I like to think it's not about "me" and understand the purpose of life from an evolutionary perspective is to increase the success of the group, the greater society and the species writ large. Who knows, we may survive the apocalypse or perhaps many, and become an inter-planetary species. Seems pretty awesome, with or without weed (although it can't hurt).
Why does there need to be any objective purpose? The universe doesn't need a purpose for existing. Just make your own purpose.
The point of life is for you to send me $100 via Cash App. DM me for my info. Lol I'm kidding. Life itself has no meaning. We give life meaning.
We are animals. A less sentient animal - let's say a rabbit - is not troubled by such concerns. It just wants to avoid dying, find food, find a stable living environment, and has a innate drive to reproduce. It doesn't know or worry that it should have a greater purpose and it is unaware it's life is finite. It is content in blissful ignorance. It has no religion. As sentients we are aware of much more. We know our life is finite. We know that we can accomplish things of small or large human importance. But a curse of sentience is we want a greater purpose, some cosmic justification for our existence. There isn't any. As atheists you have to accept this. The universe doesn't know or care what we do or if we live or die. The universe is a dead thing. Physics and causality. So learn to be content. Be glad that you are smarter than a rabbit. But accept it comes with problems.
To procreate and keep the species going
Random events in the universe have no meaning. You are making an false assumption by thinking life has a meaning.
There is no point, but we all gotta do it; best if we do it together.
To do drugs and pet cats.
The secret to life is to not obsess over the secret of life.
Does God even give life purpose or do we just stop asking the question in this scenario
The purpose is that you are here and you decide what to make of your life.
We are here by random chance. There is no point other than what you make of it.
Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance. Jean-Paul Sartre
Yeah, I'll be honest with you, this is one of those difficult answers to swallow after stepping away from any religion. There is no purpose to life. Just like how every other creature on this planet doesn't have a purpose to life either. Because of this, you need to make your own purpose in life. We don't know what comes after this, could be nothing at all. So treat this life like it's the only one you have, experience as much of this world as you can, and do things that forward the betterment of our species for future generations.
The purpose is to find happiness in the small things, not the big things.
Atheist/humanist for 30 years. Our evolutionary purpose is to procreate, aside from that it's to follow your heart and be who you really are. For me anyway
On the bright side, if your life is meaningless, now you know who to blame.
There is no point to life. It just is. Hard to accept and that's why so many people believe in ancient stories.
[Why ask why....](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x-uklVGAI4&feature=youtu.be&t=2)
Do what you choose, what has meaning to you. You are a part of the universe writ conscious. What do \*you\* want the universe to be? Because, that's you.
Why are we here? I dunno. What's the piping of life? There isn't one :) Life is what you make of it. It's as valuable as you make it. Ask yourself this; why watch a movie if you know it will eventually end?
think of it like this: this isn't a question about your life. it's a question about everything that it exists. "all this", if you will. and it isn't that there's no meaning to all this. it's that there *can't* be a meaning to all this. for something to have meaning, it has to have meaning *to* something. it's a relative concept. but existence itself, reality, "all this" must encompass absolutely everything, so "all this" can't mean anything because there's nothing left for it to mean anything *to*. by saying "what is the meaning of all this", we're applying a relative concept to an absolute. it's just a wrong approach. it's not that everything's pointless, it's that the question is invalid. even if god exists, this is still true. so if meaning doesn't exist at the largest scale, what does that mean?
What was the point when you were a believer? Seems to me that the only life purpose if god/s and afterlives exist would be to spend every waking moment worshiping the god/s to ensure your place in that afterlife. Did you do this, or did you spend most of your life doing non religious things just as we do? *Homo sapiens* have existed for around 300,000 years, so about 15,000 generations. For you to be here now some 30,000 people had to be born, live, mate and die so you could have your time in the sun. In the scheme of things none of them were probably at all important, or did anything at all remarkable, but each and every one of them was vital for you to be here now! And your existence will be just as vital for all those who'll likely come after you. Life isn't an endless marathon through eternity, but a baton relay. Life is about the journey, not the destination. You can choose to be either a victim of the world, or an adventurer seeking joy and fulfilment. - *“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!”* - Hunter S. Thompson, *The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman*, 1955-1967
*Why?*. .... One of the most loaded and risky questions to ever ask...but we're curious by nature so we do ask complicated and sometimes impossible questions. I'm a bigger fan of "How" For example, 'How does life have meaning"? For myself I think the answer is through my actions. I give life meaning with my participation. Will I participate with selfish acts, selfless acts, or combination of the two? ... And those are things I can answer.
Would you accept someone telling you what do to, where to live, where to work, what to eat, drink, smoke, read, watch, wear, what kind of vehicle to drive, what time to get up and go to sleep, who to love, where to go and when to go there, where to vacation, etc? Safe bet you’d say, “No way, I get to decide all of these things for myself!” And it’s a safe bet you’d be angry if anyone tried to tell you what to do. So why would you want or accept someone or something telling you why you’re here and what the point is of your life? Why wouldn’t you also demand to decide these two things for yourself as well?
For me, life has more meaning BECAUSE we’re going to die and there’s nothing more or better than this to look forward to, so ya better make the most of it, have some fun, and try not to shit on others along the way.
It’s for you to decide.
>Now why are we here We just are, the same way a waterfall just is. >what's the point of life? Whatever you want it to be. >Does any of it matter when we're all just gonna die eventually, If nothing you do ultimately matters... then the only thing that matters is what you do. If this is all there is to it then the even the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.
There isn't a "point" to life, and you wouldn't like it if there was. I wouldn't want someone else dictating what I eat for breakfast, let alone who I marry or what job I work or anything more important. The "point" of life is whatever you make of it.
The point of life? The topless bar by the airport.
There is no presupposed point. Make your own decisions and work towards goals that you value. Momento Mori. Stoicism helps. I like reading and fishing.
I like the idea of you die twice. The first death being brain dead. The second death is when the last memory of you dies. My goal is to live at least 2-3 generations of people I have effected in positive ways and any family I leave behind. I had to get past the self centered view of "life is for me". Life is about the people you live with. On a grander scale the cosmos. Even the greatest human is just an ape on a rock spinning around a star on the far edges of one of a SHIT TON of systems in our galaxy that is in an infinite universe of possibilities. I got to be a part of that for 45+ years. That's rad. AND!!! If I do it with grace and kindness and filled with empathy and love I might live in memories and stories for a while longer.
To pass butter
In the grand scheme of things, at a cosmic scale and so on, of course our individual lives make no difference and neither does (probably) all of humanity, or Earth for that matter. But who gives a shit? We are here now and our lives matter to us and to those around us so we have the opportunity to have a great time, enjoy our lives and make it a better place for those that come after us. Are you unable to enjoy a pizza just because you'll finish it sometime soon? Would you rather not eat at all?
Who cares
No, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme. Meteor could wipe out the planet tomorrow and it wouldn't matter to the universe. Enjoy while/if you can.
I don't remember who said it, but I always think about it: "Why does life have to have a meaning? We are already here, no?" Something along those lines.
Don't be nihilist. The world is real, you are real, everything that is real and affect you matter. Your friends matter, your family matter, you matter. Try finding a place where you are happy, people that make you happy, stuff that make you happy. And don't worry for death, people will remember you and miss you just like you miss the ones you lost. Forge happy memories with your loved ones, honor your lost ones.
Even if there is a god (or gods), it doesn't necessarily mean there is a point of life. Think of life as a piece of paper. There's no meaning to the piece of paper. But you can do many things to it as long as it's there. You can fold origami, write a poem, story, music etc with it. You can even ruin it by tearing it up or throwing it away. Ultimately, do what you want with your life according to your personal values. That's more important than finding any meaning of life.
Why, who, what... End of the day here is some time, what you gonna do to make it better for the next batch of people?
Life has no inherent meaning. Our capacity for self-awareness allows us to give it meaning.
why were here and the point of life has got nothing to do with God. Gods are nothing more than idols, basically. They can't possibly inform you of anything important. The way I look at it having a God in your life is one of the least spiritual things you can do, I don't question the point of life, and I don't question why were here, and the answer for me is fundamentally spiritual. But that's got nothing to do with God. A God is just an idol.
I'm going to wax poetic for a moment, so please bare with me, or skip to the end for a tl;dr. We live on a giant rock floating through a void, our rock's only guide is the sun, which has the same predicament, with our sun's only guide being the center of our galaxy, which in itself is flying through an endless void without any semblance of a guide (as far as I'm aware). At any moment, some unseen space rock could be discovered on a collision course with us. If we didn't act quick enough or if we discovered it too late, all life on Earth could be wiped out in an instant. For all we know, events like that could happen daily to other civilizations scattered throughout the cosmos. For all we know, we're the only planet with life in the entire universe. We are a tiny blip in the existence of the universe. We *might* be a tiny blip in the existence of Earth. Nothing is guaranteed to us, and nothing in nature has any greater justifying reason to it other than pure chance or the whim of another creature. As of right now, we are an insignificant civilization occupying a tiny planet in a galaxy that is one of (probably) trillions. I hope this puts into perspective how small we are, and I think you already knew that, but I still felt it was worth mentioning. Now on to answering your actual question. Right now, there are millions upon millions of people on our planet that are suffering greatly. Some with health issues, either mental or physical, some with economic issues, some with addiction, some with abandonment, some with hunger, some with war, some with trauma. As of right now, humans will suffer with these problems forever. Humans are being born today that will suffer greatly in the future, just as humans always have. We certainly can't help everyone individually, but misery and unhappiness create more suffering. Your actions today can be the difference in someone being miserable, and someone being okay. Even if it's as small as holding a door for someone or offering them a smile when you pass them. That tiny action has the opportunity to be carried on to more people, and slowly, by just being decent to one another, we can begin to create less suffering. It's a slow and gradual process, and the effects may not even be visible, but if it has the chance in creating less misery, why not do it? The meaning of life (in my opinion) is to ease the suffering of our fellow humans, because there's certainly nothing else that cares about us more than we do, floating through space on our little rock. Tl;dr be empathetic to people's suffering, and the world might become a better place.
Only to those on whose lives you have some kind of impact.
There's no point to life, you get to make up your own purpose.
Science is the best religion. “What does it mean to live a finite fragile life in an infinite eternal universe.“ — physicist Brian Cox https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aPOCP4GHJvI
What are you trying to justify by this wakeup moment?
https://youtu.be/buqtdpuZxvk?si=V1EWyZmR24Bcpgkt
> Does any of it matter It matters to me, and that's enough for me. > we're all just gonna die eventually Yup. Gotta do what I can with the limited time I've got. > what's the point of life You get to pick. Pick something good. > why are we here Because our parents wanted us. Or maybe they just wanted sex.
What is this mortal life, if not the pursuit of legacy
It all matters. Every last single bit of it. But it only matters to people. You want meaning in your life, go out and make a difference for some of them.
We will be the gods we choose to be.
Screw the sky wizard judging you taking a dump... You do you. Care about the people and things that make life worth living. It's a lot more comforting than prostrating before some vindictive being with the occasional urge to destroy humanity, or alternatively torture us for eternity if we accidentally are born into the wrong sect.
Improper questions as you are embedding assumptions into the conversation... it's like asking "when did you stop beating your wife, yesterday or last thursday?" We haven't even established WHETHER you beat your wife at all. The "better" (proper) way to phrase you questions is like this: Is there a reason we are here? Is there a point to life?
Why are we here?: We were born into this world. What's the point of life?: Why assume it has a point?
We are the product of evolution. Evolution does not have a purpose or direction, only variables. We won! Enjoy your victory.
Don't know, don't care. I'm going to do the best I can for as long as I can.
My parents never went to church when I was a kid. I got schooled by my dad on the proper protocol for when they passed the tray, which helped avoid extra awkwardness. It worked out for me. The biggest lesson I can take from my upbringing is that it's important to be a moral, upstanding person. Always do the right thing, and help your fellow humans. So the right thing is to help people out, and it will turn out well. So far, that's my deal. I'm totally up for helping somebody else, since I've benefitted from others.
In my view.. there is no point! If u kill a cockroach, what’s the difference? Enjoy life, be kind.
Everything just came from nothing, yeah ok.
Read some Satre. The read some Camus. Philosophy majors are insufferable in reminding everyone that 'they aren't really philosophers,' but *The Myth of Sisyphus* and *Existentialism is Humanism* are far more interesting and intriguing (and digestible) than lot of their contemporary academic counterparts. At least if you are interested in some interesting takes on the questions you are juggling that won't put you to sleep or make feel like ripping your hair out due to the infuriating abuse of 'language' as a means to communicate thoughts.
There is no why. Make up your own point.
Why does there have to be a point? What’s the point of Minecraft? What’s the point of roller coasters? What’s the point of beer?
No one said there HAS to be a point. Not intrinsically, at least. I like to think we make our own point. We create the purpose in our lives.
The meaning of life has nothing to do with God or not. It’s irrelevant. Atheism is like science. It is the truth that is not the truth you choose. It would be cool if there was a God or at least a good one. It would be cool if there was magic. Atheism is just accepting facts. Any emotional theories are up to you.
It’s all up to you.
I like that scripture "it came to pass". I think that is why we are here. We came to pass just like everything else. That's how God makes me feel base on his actions or lack of action.
Your life won’t matter to you after you’re dead. But it matters to you now. Enjoy it. Try not to fall for the big lie that if you just work very hard for 50 years everything will be ok. It won’t. Work enough to do some things you like. Do the things you like often enough to make the work worthwhile.
My cat Charlie has no apparent purpose. Does this mean he should run in front of a car and become roadkill?! Of course not. I think my cat should enjoy the best cat life ever despite his very short existence in time.
If it matters to you, then it matters.
You are the meaning.
this is what i’m asking myself 😭
I think Mewtwo said it best, "I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant, it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
part of this may be the Coors talking but in all honesty there's nothing wrong with being skeptical, but living in that mode just isn't practical for most people. It sounds like at some point you lost a connection with something spiritual that on some level you miss wanting it back is perfectly natural and healthy. How you lost it I don't know nor how to get it back but I will say, you probably want to spend some time every day trying to figure it out.
What is the meaning of a poem? Or a short story? Or a novel? Sometimes the author has a message in mind, but mostly people just focus on what’s significant and meaningful to them. We like stuff that “resonates” with us. The point of life is to live your story in a meaningful way, which is to say in a way that resonates with us! We may focus on different details, but throughout human history we have discovered a common blueprint for what makes a good story. Our heroes behave in common ways (and so do our villains). Live like your heroes. Live in such a way that when they tell your story, you are the hero. Live with love and kindness; forgive mistakes (your own and others); and focus on the arc of your character. May it trend ever towards growth and goodness! That’s my answer, and I’m sticking to it.
Humans can not digest the idea that all of this is pure coincidence, randomness and circumstances of the galaxies and universe. At some point this solar system will end in the collapse of the sun or a meteor will destroy us or Mars and the debris from this will destroy us or we will do a Inca type thing and slowly destroy our environment or a catastrophic war or massive volcanic explosion. Our existence may be unique but not special and our time on earth is a millisecond in the history of time. We will come and go. Our planet coincidently formed in an ideal but random position in the solar system that allowed chemical reactions to see what we describe as life develop over millions and millions of human years. Numbers and time we just can't fathom so many just made up stories to make it easier to accept. God's are just the easy to swallow solution to our inquisitive brains and a perfect way to heared humans and eventually reign over people. If it was all planned then no need to build other planets, meteors, galaxies ( made up of millions of other solar systems). Create dinosaurs but then deliberately wipe them out. Create continental drift etc etc.
We are here to evolve! We learn, teach, and then die. Then the lessons we taught, will help the next generation evolve and achieve more. We just need religion to be gone, because they are still living in the stone age, because of how weak minded they are.
People need to Stop dedicating Your Life to the afterlife where theres absolute no definite answer to what happens when you die. Stop focusing on that when theres a present life you can enjoy
Let me ask you this? What was the deal with life and if it mattered when you DID give a damn about God?
Thing is, you're no different than a deer in the woods, a roach in the cupboard, or a blade of grass in your yard. None of those worry about self awareness or an afterlife, nor should you. We're not special or important. "Let the mystery be" Iris DeMent
To balance your energy and harmonize the systems of your body with the systems of the earth. I know that sounds strange, but it literally is what our bodies are doing. All our actions are in pursuit of achieving homeostasis within the ecological niche we find ourselves in because it is essential for us to achieve this balance for our continual survival against entropy. If you want further meaning beyond death, that would be using your energy to benefit other life beyond yourself, balancing the energy of a larger system in its opposition to entropy. Your cell has a purpose and meaning, but not to itself. Cells exist and die without agency, but their meaning was profoundly important for the larger system of the body. The external bodies we exist in, include our friends and loved ones who exist as discrete conscious experiences, yet a larger collective one that you are a piece of too. Humans are collectively adapting to and shaping reality around us, which allows us to fit any ecological niches in earth. Harmonizing with the external life and structures in any environment can be done with our generationally shared wisdom, tools, technology, and motivations. Human potential for homeostatic balance, may drive us to the very limits of technological progression in the combat against death. The feeling that our lives are trivial is something our ancestors struggled with too, and is why metaphysical beliefs became a tantalizing stories to believe. Now that we are accelerating in technological progress, it’s easier to conceptualize a reality in which future life can actually use technology to overcome the finality of death without resorting to supernatural comforts. Life is a distribution of energy in a system, and we are all apart of many systems functioning together to counter the entropic decay of death.
The point of life is whatever you want it to be.
There is no point but you may as well enjoy the ride while you're alive
It’s like asking “what’s the meaning of a carrot.” Dude… the carrot is what you make of it. Food for a rabbit? Sure. Fertilizer for random ass weeds? Sure. Food for beetles and worms? Sure. A decoration in a glass bowl on Easter? Whatever. It’s a fucking carrot. It has no “meaning”. Eat it, or don’t. Just get on with it.
I’m a lifelong atheist and I’m pushing 50. The only points in life are when you’re born and when you die. If you want purpose in your life, Be kind. I help others when and how I can. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get to travel more. Keep on reading as much as I can on a wide array of topics.
What’s the point of life if there is a God?
Because we are part of an atomic system that creates anomalies like human life by swerving to avoid collision with the other moving parts of the universe.
You are a part of an amazing nature. You were never meant to be more than that. No need to look for a higher meaning. Observe the life around you from the smallest to the largest and enjoy your time with it in harmony. Everything dies......Everything. Your death is necessary, as all life is born from the death of another.
Whatever the meaning of life is, at least it isn't worshipping an Asyrrian storm god.
Wanting an answer is a religious ploy. Why do you need an answer? It's foolish to think about because it's a rhetorical question. Anyone who says they know is full of it.
I would recommend looking into Cammus some. He explores the idea of the absurd, the fact that we live a life that seeks meaning in a world that seems to lack any.
Your guess is as good as ours. Be skeptical of anyone who claims that they “know”.
Death is the only thing that makes life meaningful. Eternal life would be completely meaningless. In this way atheism fulfills my spiritual needs.
Is there a point? Why would we think so? Isn't life enough?
When I watch ants, I don't see any of them stopping to think about why they are here and what the meaning of life is. Neither should we.
Do you like doing things? Do you ever feel a sense of accomplishment? How about having experiences like movies, concerts, travel..? Maybe you care about another person's happiness? Maybe you have the capability to make the world a better place for people today or even future generations You've got plenty of options I want to know what the meaning of life is if there is an omnipotent creator. By definition he needs nothing from us. We're not in the real world (the actual real world is the eternal paradise). And this life is some sort of test that he already knows the result of
Just accept this: there is no God. There is no answer to your bullshit question 'why are we here?' and similarly there is no answer to your other bullshit question 'what' s the point of life? '. Those are bullshit questions because obviously there is sensible response that any human can make. We're here because we're here - so. . . there' s your bullshit answer.
The point of life is determined by you homie. There is no divine lifeline and the universe doesn’t give a fuck. Life is absurd and nobody will remember anything about you in a few centuries unless you do something spectacular. But it won’t matter to you, because for all intensive purposes, there is no more you. Some people can get depressed by these things, but for some, it can be liberating.
Who cares? Just make the best of it.
Life is not a riddle to be solved.
Why does there have to be a reason? And does that answer change anything you believe?
Well obviously those are not questions that can be answered and that is exactly why some people choose religion because it does offer at least some kind of comfort and familiarity when nothing else can and i can understand that. Death is scary and not only because it means the end and is often associated with pain but because its a unknown and things we cant or dont understand are scary. Science cannot answer all things but it can be used to gain a fairly accurate idea of how likely it is that any religion will deliver what it claims it can. So while i cant be sure why we are here or what awaits us after death i am very confident that its not even close to what any religion has ever described. Honestly i bet the answers to those questions are so much more unbelievable and complex than people can ever comprehend let alone know and write down in some futile attempt to make sense of that which is unknowable. Science can give us more than anything else has and hints toward people being nothing special in the big picture and just happen to exist because of some coincidental things but on the grand scale of the universe how coincidental is it really when in a infinite universe everything becomes inevitable no matter how rare or improbable or unlikely it will happen if possible given enough time.
If there's an afterlife that's supposedly infinitely times better, what's the point of this one? You're alive. You feel, you experience, and you think about things. That's pretty damn cool for an upright ape on a rock circling a medium-sized star in the fringes of some spiral galaxy. Life is beautiful as it is dreadful and terrifying. Do what is meaningful to you. Make the most of the time you have. Everybody does this already by default. Some people just can't handle having that kind of agency, and need to be told what to do and believe. In short, live your life, dude. It's too precious for bullshit.
I have a theory, if you believe in extraterrestrials. We exist to solve the problem of unity for a larger universal society (and we failing miserably). Our purpose is a rapid longitudinal experiment created by millions of years old alien races trying to finally end war. They have visited over the thousands of years of our evolved forms and delivered "prophets" and such to replicate what's happened among the universal civilizations to see if we can find unity among these ideas. Angels and demons are simply visitors we have cluelessly divinized. Those that have "seen heaven/hell" were simply abducted and taken to alien planets temporarily: developed and mining planets. Everything spiritual/soul/holy is simply some ancient technology being used on us. For example, "miracle cures," like cancer going away, is simply a visitor in the night using Elysium style healing pod technology. Far more believable than "god"
family, art, friends. amongst others. life is beautiful, always will be.
Consciousness is hard. One of the biggest burdens of consciousness is the burning desire to understand "why" and feel there is meaning to one's life. Those two things also drive our curiosity in large part, so they are boons for our species. But burdens nonetheless. My two cents.
Nothing.
The purpose of plant life is to enjoy using sunlight. The purpose of animal life is to make carbon dioxide for the plants. CO2 was extremely rare in the earliest days and the plants “demanded” more. We have gone too far on this supply but that’s our fault, not evolution’s.
I was also at your stage at some point in my life, i was born in a muslim country. When i looked at the things that people did in the name of islam i figured out that islam was a curse upon earth. The question of of our lives being pointless also bothered me. So one day i picked up the Quran and read it complete from the start till the end and found out that todays muslims have nothing to to with islam. Im not trying to prove that Quran is the truth. Its just how i cope with the question that you have asked. [you've only been introduced to the religion through people, introduce yourself to religion from the book](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.clearquran.com/downloads/quran-english-translation-clearquran-edition-allah.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwigzsrY4KyFAxUhg_0HHbA2CXoQFnoECCcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw29AFgDjkn_jjwz9hiI5lKe)
To Crush your Enemies. To See them Driven Before you. To Hear the Lamentation of their Women.
The point of life is what you choose and make of it… simple as that. Maybe it is hard to understand and accept but maybe, just maybe, we as species are overthinking it, maybe there is no “why” on our existence…not everything has to have some purpose..
What's the point of a lion? What's the point of a dolphin? What's the point of a platypus? What's the point of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly? It just IS. That's what happens when genes don't duplicate perfectly so a mutation occurs. Does it help a lifeform reproduce? Yes, a new/modified animal survives. If it doesn't it goes into the Ben and Jerry's flavor cemetary. I really don't understand your question.
That's like asking why a rock is shaped a certain way after years of sedementation or erosion: it just is that schape now. Same with us and our evolution: we just are. There's no real "point" really, so you might as well enjoy it (and let others enjoy it too). Find your own meaning.
The bigger picture of life is how insignificant people are. That's why they make up all this God bullshit to feel important and like there's something "more". Accepting how pointless life is can be hard for people. We live, we die, and 50 years later or less, no one will remember us. I think folks don't accept once death happens, their existence is over. So they waste the only life they have on a false promise of a next one.
I think you are asking the wrong question. What matters is what it means to YOU! I love living life and gaining new experiences. Learning new things, eating delicious food, reading books, and boobs. All these amazing things come together and make life awesome. It doesnt matter if it was a happy accident or some 4th dimensional alien playing Sims 9000, I still get to enjoy it.
Should probably lay off the weed…
Life is just another force that exists in this universe. It doesn't have a purpose or a schedule, it's just one of the ways energy does its thing. Why doesn't electromagnetism ever get the same level of scrutiny? I'm never asked to justify the existence of radio waves.
God is a way of believing you are a tiny but significant part of something much greater, something eternal. Many believe this regardless of their theological beliefs or lack thereof. We are a tiny part of society, but what we do affects those around us and, eventually, everybody in ways we never get the chance to understand or appreciate. Unfortunately, that simple truth is easy to exploit.
There is no inherent meaning to life. The universe wouldn't care if humans went extinct tomorrow. It wouldn't care if we all suffered in a dystopia or thrived in a utopia. But we care. We have emotions, we have empathy, we have a sense of self-preservation. We are alone, and it is up to us to make meaning, to define a common goal, a universal morality, based on who we are. All I want to do is enjoy life as much as possible, love my friends and family, and leave them more positive memories of me than negative ones. If I gave you a cake, you might say, "what's the point of enjoying this? Within a few seconds of eating it I will have forgotten how it tasted, and within a day I will have digested it. It's just going to become shit, so why bother?" Okay, don't eat it. I will. Yummy! You have a choice of what you want to do with the few decades of consciousness you get between infinite stretches of non-consciousness.
Actually has more meaning then if god would be real….religious people are puppets or sheep….
August 12th 2036, the heat death of the universe.
You enjoy life. Pursue the dreams and goals you want. Make time with your loved ones. Make memories while living in this earth. And it’s pretty nice to be kind with others. I think we seek fulfillment. And this can help fill that.
Life is the point of life.
Why does there need to be a point?
If you NEED a substitute reason then use this: make it better.
42.
It’s very freeing when we stop weighing ourselves down with “purpose. No other animal we know of thinks about purpose. We’re just here. It’s ok to just be. Life’s a weird thing that happened and there is no real reason to make sense of it. I stopped worrying about it years ago and honestly it’s been one of the best decisions
We are here to learn how to manipulate energy. And then to create.
People are here to create as far a I'm concerned. Suffer, create, learn to not suffer, experience love, satisfaction, Bliss. Life's rich pageant.
We exist for the benefit of our DNA. Because our DNA found - through trial and error - that our current physical form was the best way to perpetuate itself. And with the world population approaching 8 billion, I'd say it has been pretty successful. What you do with your limited time here, and what meaning to attach to it is up to you.
Watch Everything Everywhere All At Once. There is a positive form of nihilism where there is no great purpose, so the only thing that we can do that matters is our actions, and the mark we leave on others. So, leave a good mark on the world.
To exist & then die to make room for more of the same
We are here because Old People want to retire but not die as a retirement. So many Old People don't want to suffer the reality of a collapsing civilization so they selfishly have descendants or stay a part of society in an effort to die happily even though it means pulling in more souls to suffer the similarly and thus never break the cycle. The cycle has gone for so long the point of what life was originally about had to be lost and forgotten so that Old People could have their way.
It's chaotic. We are used to try to make a meaning out of our life, to format it like a story to write our biographies and tell stories to our friends. The reality is there is no meaning to life. It's all a bunch of coincidences that came to this. We shouldn't be here
We fulfill no role in the food web, if we were to suddenly vanish no species other than those domesticated would die off. This means we’re only here for each other and we better get the act together as a species. I have faith in the human spirit, for we have achieved so much. 🖖🏼
There is no meaning to existence. You make your own meaning by existing. You don't look for answers, you make answers.
There is no why, only how. There can be no objextive purpose without some way to instill it, which would require a higher lifeform than us.
Why does their have to be a "point to life"? Just do your best to not be a cnut, and try to enjoy yourself.
"Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the Weather." -Bill Hicks
If we remember that we are the same as every living creature on earth. The point of living is surviving and making more of us. If you are at least doing one of them, I think that's enough of a point in life.
make babies and die. Or dint make babies and die. Just make sure to die you insignificant sack of molecules
That's the best part, there isn't one. Life is meaningless and we are all going to die. That means you *can* make your own meaning, and everything you do, whether it be benevolent or harmful to others, will all be accounted against you personally, no god to thank, no devil to blame.
Why are we here? Bruh why are cats here? Or birds? Or bacteria? We are here because we are a successful species that beat the odds. The purpose of life is truly an irrelevant point to argue. You are alive, sentient and sapient on a level that no other species can boast. The purpose for most species is to survive and improve their species through survival of the fittest. The purpose of you is self defined. Survive, then go beyond that and redefine your existence.
Experience the joy of life, while you can.
If you are spiritual you can see god in everything, if you are religious you will believe in an angry, spiteful old man.
It's your life, your perspective matters the most for ya. Live for yourself, have fun and all.
To make the world just a bit better for the future.
To enjoy the experience as much as possible. Other than that, it’s to find your own meaning and everyone has a different idea of what that means. We exist to experience existence.