Tired and sad. Always the meaning of life

[Boughs]

Everyday I think about the pointlessness of humanity in terms of the cosmos. I am also atheist so the point of life is lost other than to just sort of survive. It's lead me to depression as those topics tend to do. Whenever I attempt to fill that time with something I feel like I am deluding myself to give a false sense of happiness. I know many struggle with this, but I just can't seem to figure out what to do.

 

I happily have many people that care about me, but sadly I feel I burden them. If no one cared I'd do the unthinkable, but I would never wish to hurt them. I will never be happy about my own existence... I'm just tired of this waiting game. I guess I'm just kind of talking out loud looking for those that share this same view.

 

I've been stuck on the meaning of life for so long. Any way to just shut that wondering off?

[Lamour detruit]

What does it matter if humanity is pointless ?..there is no "meaning of life". You are the one that needs to *give* meaning to your life. We are nothing but a tiny little dot in the universe, and that is quite alright. It doesn't mean you can't live a happy life..it doesn't mean what you do doesn't have meaning..and it doesn't mean you should be depressed about it. Do what you want to do in this life, do what makes you happy..and from that itself..life has meaning. That is all you can really ask for, in my opinion.

[teabee]

I have never quite been able to identify with those larger, existentialist concerns about the cosmos and humanity in general and other things that don't actually matter to MY individual life. I am with Lamour, word for word. It would be a shame to waste this blink-of-an-eye little life worrying about why we're here and what the point is. Just live, do what makes you happy, and appreciate whatever you can as often as you can. Give your life it's own meaning.

[woodc5]

Everyday I think about the pointlessness of humanity in terms of the cosmos.

 

I once sat through a Physics lecture where it was explained to us in terms that I won't even attempt to reiterate here that humans need the universe to survive, and the universe needs us humans. Figure that one out.

 

Anyway, I think we all have points in our lives where we wonder what the heck we're actually here for. I too am going through that phase where I'm not sure what my "purpose" is or how I'm benefitting the world. Just go with it. It will come to you eventually, and you'll find meaning. Do thinks you enjoy doing and contribute to things. Give yourself some sort of self-satisfaction and you'll feel better.

[quirky]

I wish I didn't know where you come from but sadly I do. It's a side of me not many see and it doesn't consume me all the time because I'm too stressed to fight it. But things do look pretty fatalistic if I allow it. I have found 2 things that seem to trigger these thoughts. 1)Overthinking 2)Not fully following your passions in life.

 

Thinking of the bigger picture a lot can make you feel SO insignificant and I know what you think "but I am, look at the infinite universe". Your only path to joy is to actually think of a radius close to you. Being an atheist can also rob you of any faith of some sort. I don't believe in a god or a religion either but I believe in my higher self and also another thing that I believe in is life; the plants, the animals, the planets..that constant motion makes me not wanna stop, like I am part of this cosmic energy and I need to keep moving too.

 

So my advise as simple as it may look is

 

Figure out your passions and focus on them. Properly focus without allowing thoughts to distract you. Keep doing them and the meaning will come.

Stop yourself from thinking of the bigger picture and the vastness of things.

Do something to "ground" yourself like exercise

 

My best friend could have writen your post, I really know how you feel.

[IvantheAvg]

-try detaching emotions from your existensial dilemma

-Neichtze was like "life is meaningless, and now i can create my own meaning and be who i want to be"

-these things get better with time...i have accepted the fact that i don't have any answers...and in that acceptance i find some inner peace.

[Boughs]

I thank you all for your replies.

 

Do something I'm passionate about... I try. I enjoy what I am doing however, I just think how pointless my work will be in 200 years. I feel little significance in terms of the grander scheme.

 

I get bothered by those that express greatness in their lives, I just don't understand how one can feel that they matter.

 

I will continue to follow what I am doing, I just don't see enough certainty in anything I do, perhaps that is the absolutest in me.

[Boughs]

-try detaching emotions from you existensial dilemma

-Neichtze was like "life is meaningless, and now i can create my own meaning and be who i want to be"

-these things get better with time...i have accepted the fact that i don't have any answers...and in that acceptance i find some inner peace.

 

Yeah, I tend to lean toward a nihilistic viewpoint, but it would be hypocritical for me to truly believe it absolutely.

 

Finding my own meaning feels like a chicken or the egg situation.

[teabee]

I get bothered by those that express greatness in their lives, I just don't understand how one can feel that they matter..

 

But you do matter. You mentioned you have people that care about you. You matter to them. Each person can't help but impact those around them--usually family and friends, but even strangers occasionally. Each person creates their own little web of significance.

[IvantheAvg]

Just as absurd as it is to believe there is heaven and hell or whatever religious crap its just as absurd to believe this is all a cosmic accident...there is something going on...but thats all you can say...you should check out the TV show "Closer to the Truth." Its a bunch of philosphers discussing these things.

[Lamour detruit]

Don't get me wrong, I contemplate the hell out of everything. It is sad to think we are but a spiny spec in this entire universe, and we will all die..the same as all the millions before us. I often think of the people who have lived before us, and all that will come to live after all of us are dead..and even after no one is left, and the planet is without us once more..but the thing that brings me back is..at least we have the *chance* to live. So very many people do not appreciate enough that the very fact we get to walk around, do what we do..even do something tiny as walk around during the evening and look up at the moon. We have this tiny window of opportunity to do..something. It doesn't matter what, it just matters that you can..and you can give your own life meaning. That alone, I can appreciate.

[SnowFox]

I went and saw the 3D Imax movie on the Hubble Telescope recently and I found my mind drifting toward those sorts of ideas afterward - that we are on this tiny, tiny, microscopic speck in the universe and that within 4-5 billion years, the sun will explode and burn the earth up so it won't exist at all.

 

So yeah...its easy to let your mind drift from those facts (as much as we can be certain of them at this point) to "everything is meaningless" and then, this can lead to a depressed attitude toward life in general.

 

But, here's a different angle....although us humans are just hanging out for about 80 years on average during our life time on this tiny speck we call earth....we are a part of the universe. We exist just as much as any other part of the universe does- as much as a feather, a river, a cloud, or a black hole.

 

We don't have to place a value judgment on our existence. It is what it is. We are born, so we exist.

 

So....what do we want to do with ourselves while we do exist? To me that is a more interesting question than "what is the meaning of life?"

 

When you take the value judgment off existence, it opens up the possibility of looking creatively at your own life and just saying to yourself, ok, since I am here, what do I want to do with the short amount of time I get to be here?

 

There is a Buddhist quote, which I can't quote exactly, but its something like "since none of us know how much time we have, what is most important?"

[woodc5]

Don't look so far down the line. Look for your own happiness. It doesn't matter if what you do now is going to impact 5 million years down the road. What matters is the 70, 80, 90+ years you're here and what you do for yourself.