Meaning of life

JEHR · Sep 25, 2010, 04:03 PM

I know its a cliche but anyone know the meaning of life? I can't see the point in anything. I can't even imagine being happy if I had a million pounds or anything I wanted.

I want to be a normal, good person but I'm not sure the world is set-up for people like me.

Rohag · Sep 25, 2010, 06:03 PM

Hello & Welcome, JEHR!

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Originally Posted by JEHR

...anyone know the meaning of life?

I'm going to pass on this one...

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Originally Posted by JEHR

I can't even imagine being happy if I had a million pounds or anything I wanted.

A friend once commented that my retirement wasn't cushy (I'm medically retired). I agreed but retorted that even if I had money, I wouldn't know what to do with it as my desires have evaporated.

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Originally Posted by JEHR

I want to be a normal, good person...

"Normal" is another one of those sticky questions, but good is Good! That's something to hold tight as long as you can.

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Originally Posted by JEHR

...but I'm not sure the world is set-up for people like me.

Oh, yes; I share your doubts.

Rhiannonsmoon · Sep 26, 2010, 04:28 AM

Ah ze meaning of ze life....I se to yoo zat ze meaning of ze life ees to find out why we are here

Gus1234U · Sep 26, 2010, 05:24 AM

jehr,, my teacher told me that a person who is living life in the moment has no questions about it's meaning. be here now, do what you do with your whole focus, be a unified being, and all that angst will have no place to live.

i realize that may not make a lot of sense to a person who has searched outside themself all their life for value, esteem, and meaning, but i hope you will think about it, try it out, ,see if it's true. Gus

blueoctober · Sep 26, 2010, 10:44 AM

JEHR Every time I'm depressed I feel the same way. I force myself to continue with the day to day of life, but it feels like a struggle. When I'm not depressed I no longer feel that way and I can just "be in the moment".

I agree with what Gus posted about being in the moment, but for me if I'm depressed (chemical and not situational) "being in the moment" gets me stuck in the depression and I find I stay in that phase longer. This has been my experience.

Lilleth · Sep 26, 2010, 10:50 AM

A friend of mine says You are here to suffer then die so make the best of it while you can.

Lillyleaf · Sep 26, 2010, 11:09 AM

To be happy, To be your self, to live a life worth living. TO make people happy. To change someones life. TO laugh and cry in the rain. The meaning of life changes for everyone form simple things like to eat a cup cake to finding the one you love. But all the meanings end up being happy for that person. What ever makes you happy.

ECHOES · Sep 26, 2010, 11:56 AM

There is no meaning unless you assign it.

NewDay45 · Sep 27, 2010, 05:46 PM

It seems to me that emotions and feelings come and go... eventually. Everything changes and nothing stays the same. Try not to struggle too much with the meaning of life question. Try letting the thought come and then gently let it go, don't hold onto it. Go for a walk, exercise, watch a fun TV show or movie, call a friend, take a warm shower or bath, get some markers or crayons and draw, ask other people what gives their life meaning. Sharing your struggles has helped me think of what is meaningful to me. Thank you. You are in my thoughts. Hope things get less weighed down by the depression.

cheshireKat · Sep 27, 2010, 11:48 PM

Biologically, to reproduce and pass the question of the meaning of life onto the next generation.

tangodream · Sep 28, 2010, 11:50 AM

The meaning of life? Well, as you can see from the responses, the meaning of life is totally unique to each individual human being on this planet. I guess, to me, the meaning of life is that you should try to live your life as best as you can, doing good whenever you can for others & yourself, & to not give into the darkness that seems to be everywhere.

lemonzest · Sep 29, 2010, 11:46 AM

There are a lot of great metaphors, ideas and philosophies you can open yourself up to that might help you deal with the need for an answer to this type of fundamental question but soem of my thoughts might be along the lines of "would you believe or recognise any answer put to you?", "what difference does it make knowing or not knowing this?" and so "is it really worth your time and effort looking for an answer?" - people are just going to give a you a few things to think about but what would satisfy you, if nothing will is there any point in asking? Here are a few things I've thought about:-

I was happily involved with a Buddhist meditation group for just under 5 years - really it was quite odd the way I found myself involved with that. I used to wait for my kids to finish getting changed after their swimming lessons at the local pool and on several occassions I had noticed a poster in the canteen area about the meditation group that met weekly at nearby Quaker meeting house. I only knew where this old odd quaint little building was because a married couple (our neighbours a few door down) were Quakers - they were old people living a refreshingly alternative, down-to-earth and frankly quite hip kind of life - they were people I really liked and they had once told me where the building was. I am curious about buildings and the places I live so I decided to do something random and go along - that was it - I couldn't even tell you what was written on the poster but it was along the lines of "What is the meaning of life?" I liked a lot of the people there and I picked up a lot of interesting ideas (BTW I'm not involved with Buddhism any more and haven't been for about 10 years but I have a soft spot for it and gained in a lot of ways) - in one of the teachings we discussed an idea that the Buddha said something like "treat me like a rowing boat, use me to cross over then discard me when you have no further use for me" and I think that is what I have done - took the ideas I liked and moved on. There is a story about a troubled monk who asked his teacher about the meaning of life and his teacher relates the story of another monk who was hit in the chest (I think) by an arrow. The teacher asks the troubled monk what the value of asking questions such as "Who fired the arrow?" and "Why have I been hit or selected?", he asks if it would be more useful to concentrate on questions about the "here and now" such as "What shall I do now?" or "What needs to be done?". I think the teacher also asks what the value would be in knowing "Why" or "How". Buddhism doesn't have a creation myth like the Christian or Hindu religions (Buddhists say theirs is a practice, something you "do", not a religion or something you have faith in) - I think their view is that we probably can not find out or know for sure how the universe was created or what the point of life is and that you could end up wasting your life searching for answers to what are ultimately, fruitless questions. The Dalai Lama's book "The Art of Happiness" says that at the heart of Buddhism is the idea that "the meaning of life is to be happy" - it's that simple.
I tend to think that you can't ask the question "what is the meaning of life" if you look at life like a tin of paint or not so much a tin of paint but as a tin of "colourless base" for a paint that you add pigments to to achieve the colour you want - it's up to you what pigments you throw in and what colour you want or end up with - accept that one way or another other pigments are going to get into your tin of base paint - some you will like and some you won't - you just have to keep adding the pigments you want to get the colour you want. The colour you want changes and even when you have what you want you have to keep working on it to keep it they way you want it - I'm sure you get the idea.
I heard it said that your mind is like a parachute - it only works when it is open. I've also heard that the danger of opening your mind is that you don't know what will fall in. They're both appealing ideas in their own way but like most of these colourful metaphors they are nothing more than mildly interesting ideas you can play around with in your head - I'd try not to spend too much time looking for great ideas, metaphors or philosophies - there's more to life than that.
The next point is actually one I personally struggled with for a long time - it may actualy have been one of the reasons I decided to become more removed from the Buddhist teachings - I used to read around a lot outside the weekly meetings (which were basically a discussion on some point of Buddhist ideology, some physical relaxation, mental relaxation and a mediation on the point we had considered earlier in the evening, often there were suggestions for things to try out in practice during the week, things to try that we could learn from or make up our own minds about - all this sandwiched between tea and biscuits and some day-to-day chat with a wide cross section of interesting people from all walks of life). The meditations on death were something that really set me thinking for a several years and they made me really think about my own mortality - really think and that was one of the points, that most people don't really face up to it. The idea is that it is supposed to be enlightening, liberating to realise that we ought to make the most of "our precious human life", to make the most of every day, every situation but I got stuck and could't see past the fact that everything seems completely pointless what you really think about it. In 200 years time anything I achieve in my life will mean nothing even if I wrote a great book or did some heroic deed, I will be forgotten, my kids will be dead, the curtains my wife mithers about choosing now will mean nothing to anyone because the building I live in probably won't exist, etc. On top of this I sometimes feel like my life is hanging by a thread, like I could be beamed up from the Starship landing party at any moment and have no say in it.. I often say, I'll be dead in 40 years, and it's true. It's a difficult one to get over - I'm just trying to enjoy my kids and my wife and nature and the time we have together but sometimes if feels like you could tear a hole in reality as it seems so transient, so fickle, so pointless. In short, I don't think I have any real answers. People say "live for the day", "live for now", etc but it doesn't reverberate with me at all - they just sound like meaningless statements to me.
I try not to grow fearful and do random things with my life, if I sense any fear or anxiety about something it often motivates me not to back down but to try something new - I see that fearfulness as a sign of getting older and I like to fight against it when I can - that's why I fell down a waterfall I was trying to climb last week and I can't run at the moment because my leg is still badly bruised and grazed - but I made it up and it was an amazing thing to do in an incredibly beautiful place.
listen to what others have to say and to what they think but you have to find some of your own answers - just don't spend too much time looking for answers is my advice.