Why are we on earth?

[Jengo]

I cant take this **** no more.... Why are we here on earth? why? why should we make kids and live our lives. it is all pointless. If i died, only my family/friends would notice, it wouldnt affect anything else, except the economy, cause it costs money to die!!

If my whole family died, this world wouldnt be different. If i go to college and get a Super degree as a video game designer, or a computer engineer or a auto mechanic, this world would still suck and our lives would still be pointless. There is no point to my existance. If i fell off a cliff this world would still suck. if i made 3000 kids this world would still suck. If i designed a new car, this world would still suck and my life would still be pointless cause if i die the world would go on.

All your lives are pointless. If you die right now, then what? If i die then what? We are just like ants. One dies and another one takes it place. But if they all die, there still is no point of their existance.

Why does god want us to live? Its all so pointless...

//end rant

[bothered]

Well I've always believed that there is nothing in nature that doesn't have a purpose. Even microscopic hairs on a leaf, even the weather, even pebbles on a beach. Everything 'does' something so I think the whole thing must have a purpose. Life must exist for some reason, I have no idea what DNA has in mind but it's determined to get to the end. I asked this question on here a couple of years ago, take, for instance, a garden slug. After millions of years of making other slugs there must come the time when you arrive at the last slug ever, what has all that effort been for? what did the designer have in mind? no idea. The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind, but I'd bet money there is one.

[shwaip]

So you go to college. You get your degree in {insert field here}. You become proficient enough to teach to others. You become a professor at a college. Every year, you are helping other people learn. Maybe you (or one of them) will come up with some invention that changes everyone's life.

Who knows? That's why I want to keep going to school.

I felt the same way as you in high school (I don't know what stage of education you're in now). I was depressed - school was boring, and it seemed to drone on forever. Now, in college, I love learning and am planning on going on to grad school to learn some more. That's pretty much the only motivation I have for going to grad school. It wouldn't be tough to find a good paying job coming out of Rose-Hulman, but I'd rather learn enough to potentially teach other.

[muddocktor]

Jengo, I quit worrying about the "Why are we here?" stuff a long time ago because all it will do is make your head hurt or think about becoming a philosopher. ;D I just try to make sure that I take care of my family and manage my little tiny corner of my life in this great big world as best I can.

Also, this time of year (the holidays) seems to make a lot of people's feelings like this a lot more acute, so you aren't the only one in that boat, Jengo.

[Gargoyle]

The best thing about "why are we here" being an unanswered question, is that you get to make up your own answer. Find a purpose that drives you, something that makes you fulfilled.

[drasnor]

I realize that I am a speck on a flea on a feather on a wing of a bird on an egg in a nest on a branch of a limb on a tree on a stump on a root in a hole in the ground with the green grass growing all around. I may not be important in the grand scheme of things but I have an iota of consciousness so my existence is important to me. That may be the leftovers of some sort of biological instruction programmed into my DNA or something but who am I to argue? Instead of asking what the point of living is, a better question is what's the point of dying? As long as I'm alive I'll have things I care about that allow me to define my existence in my terms. Once you're dead, well, that's all she wrote.

-drasnor :fold:

[profdlp]

The Short-Media Dept. of Philosophy puts the so-called "professionals" to shame.

There are some really good thoughts here, guys. :)

[Kwitko]

I may not be important in the grand scheme of things...


You most certainly are. First, to yourself as you said. But there is someone, somewhere- be it a parent, child, significant other, friend, your barber, or the guy on the street who you gave a dollar to so he could eat and spend the night indoors- who you are important to in *their* grand scheme of things.

Every day when I come into work, there's a guy in the warehouse who asks me, "How are you?"

And every day I shake his hand, smile, and say, "I'm alive."

[drasnor]

That's true Kwitko, but my point was that even if I am important to people for any reason or not important to even more people, I'd always be important to me. The atom of existence, as it were.

-drasnor :fold:

[Kwitko]

Dras, I agree, and I was also adding that we're not even aware sometimes of just how we touch others' lives.

[Jello Biafra]

Why does there have to be a reason to existance?

I have enough problems getting my assignments in on time to worry about anything else, and past ensuring that myself and those around me that I care about are OK I dont think there is much value in worrying about things that are so far beyond my control.

If you want to validate your existance, keep yourself and your loved ones happy, it realy is its own reward :thumbsup:

[Leonardo]

Jengo, I quit worrying about the "Why are we here?" stuff a long time ago Jengo, don't worry about the why. Just accept, or even pretend that you ARE here for a purpose. If you cannot figure out the reason, that's OK, just accept that you are here for a reason. I cannot fathom the vastness of the universe, but that does not diminish it's vastness.

[Nomad]

Who cares why? There isn't a universal answer. Enjoy what you have while you have it.

[Black Hawk]

Sick insider joke between gods. :shakehead

[leishi85]

i want to die when i'm around 60.

[Thrax]

I don't intend to die.
Nor do I care what my "Purpose" is. I'll figure it out.

[primesuspect]

Take the word and concept of "god" out of your paragraph, and re-read it. Now what?

[csimon]

I simply enjoy life and appreciate it for what it is ...a gift.
Without heaven to look forward to living life is vain.

[Kwitko]

I think the Red Hot Chili Peppers said it best:
"Life's too short to be in a hole, so bust into your funkiest stroll."

[profdlp]

..."Life's too short to be in a hole, so bust into your funkiest stroll."
That would kinda depend on what hole you were in, eh Hoss? :cool:

[sfleuriet]

I've wondered before what the purpose of life is also. I've come to the conclusion that everything revolves around money. Since the beginning of time, I'm sure theres been some sort of value system where people, their belongings, their land, their cows, or whatever it is, has made them worth something. These days its just money. You go to school every day to one day get a job and make money. You need money to live - bottom line.

[Black Hawk]

i want to die when i'm around 60.
Bah! I'd be perfectly content going now. It's all overrated anyways. :ninja:

[profdlp]

I've wondered before what the purpose of life is also. I've come to the conclusion that everything revolves around money...
I respectfully disagree.

If one is happy, then money doesn't matter. If one is miserable, all the money in the world won't make a difference.

My advice to all: Find out what makes you happy - then go for it! :)

[csimon]

I respectfully disagree.

If one is happy, then money doesn't matter. If one is miserable, all the money in the world won't make a difference.

My advice to all: Find out what makes you happy - then go for it! :)
I agree ...happiness and fullfilment are more valuable than money and contentment is a virtue.

[bothered]

Bah! I'd be perfectly content going now. It's all overrated anyways. :ninja:
Yeah but whatever comes after is coming anyway so why not just enjoy what you have and make the most of it?

[MrBill]

We all impact someone else's life one way or another. My life has been affected by people who are NOT rich and famous and I'm sure I have affected at least one other person's life (not counting my family).

Find something you like to do and explore your dreams!

[profdlp]

We all impact someone else's life one way or another. My life has been affected by people who are NOT rich and famous and I'm sure I have affected at least one other person's life (not counting my family)...
There are a lot more George Bailey's (http://www.filmsite.org/itsa.html) in the world than people realize. :)

[entropy]

My ultimate goal is to be remembered when I'm dead. If it's for something great and revolutionary, even better. But for me... if I can have just one person who will remember me, that's enough.

As for the future? My advice (remember, I'm a professional procrastinator, take this as you will): don't worry. Be happy. Literally - don't think about the future too much. Live life moment by moment and you will be a much happier person. As soon as you start thinking about the possibilities of tomorrow, you get overwhelmed - let alone years or decades. Live life today - tomorrow will take care of itself.

[MiracleManS]

I'm in the same position too Jengo. Truth be told, I'm not sure I'll ever figure out the answer. I know I want to at least try (yes, all you philosophy bashers, that's what I like and even consider doing, despite my computer science degree). I've decided that there must be some unifying purpose, whether god or man made. It seems almost silly for there not to be. Like you, I end up in the same bit of anger at the things I see that make me quesiton that belief. In the same stroke, I don't really care if there is some unifying purpose. Knowing the answer to this question will make life a bit more understandable, but I don't believe it will add any depth to the experience, and it may even take some away.

I think the biggest problem people have, is they don't take enough time for themselves...as Socrates said "Beware the bareness of a busy life."

[Nosferatu]

I believe there is no reason. I don't believe in a god, an afterlife, or in reincarnation. I believe the process of life itself is just something that arises as just another part of nature in the universe we are in. I believe there is life throughout the universe, and it might not all be carbon-based, and if multiple universes exist, there is probably life throughout other universes too that have the necessary mechanisms and laws to support it in some form or another. I think religion is a tool human beings have invented to help themselves cope with their own mortality. The knowledge that some day, life as they know it, their minds consciousness, will cease to exist. Personally, I've accepted this and come to realize that my purpose on this earth is to enjoy myself and have at least one child so that through my actions they may be able to experience life and enjoy themselves as well for the time that their consciousness exists.

[kittie]

So why do people that you count on always end up hurting you instead?
I don't know why life is so great if you can't have anyone to count on.
:shakehead

[Gargoyle]

So why do people that you count on always end up hurting you instead?
I don't know why life is so great if you can't have anyone to count on.
:shakehead

So, I'm the kind of person who drives himself nuts trying to console people, and "make it all better." I'm not really all that good at it, though. What I say usually sounds trite, but it's true to the very best of my knowledge:

Jerks suck, but not everyone's a jerk. You'll feel crappy for being screwed over for awhile, but eventually, you will feel better. You'll be stronger for it, and you might be able to spot jerks easier in the future. But whatever happens, don't become bitter. Bitter people tend to become closed off, and won't have a chance at meeting other people who aren't jerks.

Everyone thinks their pain is their own, and their experiences unique. I'm not accussing you of that, but I know I've felt that way before. Truth is, we've all been let down before, in scenarios that may or may not be different from yours, but the feeling is the same.

So when I say that you'll eventually feel better, and you'll be stronger from this, I'm not just "saying it." I've been there, or someplace similar. Just let us know if you need to talk. That goes for everybody. This is more than a forum, it's a community, and we're here to help and support. And not just for spyware removal :thumbsup:

[Crazy Joe]

I've come to the conclusion that everything revolves around money. Since the beginning of time, I'm sure theres been some sort of value system where people, their belongings, their land, their cows, or whatever it is, has made them worth something.

Not all civilizations feel this way, the Native Americans were one such group. It just so happens that these few people (who sometimes I believe that they are much more enlightened than us) are usually pushed over by the ones who do value land and property and don't exist in any great numbers any more.

[primesuspect]

If you research some of the more enlightened cultures on earth, and throughout history, you will discover that once they overcame the attachment to material wealth, many cultures went on to a higher level of spirtual and mental success.

We are a young culture, and are going through the same thing every young culture goes through. Right now it may seem that money is all important, but if you seperate yourself from the crowd for just a moment, you can step back and see how silly it all is. This is the beginning of an important journey.

[GHoosdum]

Sadly, though, it seems that the culture as a whole will have to mature beyond the necessity for money as a major driver of success before the folks that are already past that point can truly succeed themselves. And I don't think that political means are the way for the culture to mature.

[profdlp]

I have personally matured beyond the necessity for money as a major driver of success, which is a damn good thing as I ain't got none. :bawling: