is life worth living if it all means nothing in the end?

Question

why try so hard to suceed in life if it's all forgotten when you die?
only importent people are rememberd in history books and what not, but people like you and me will die and our name will be barried with us. so i don't understand why so much is expected from us and why we try so hard.

Answer 1

dont worry honey...those who run after glory are the biggest fools...

it matters not if we are remembered or not...

what matters is if we lived our life to the true meaning of its essence...

history might not remember us...people might not know you after a thousand years...

but just the fact that I'm replying to your question...the fact that your feelings; the feelings beyond your question, you as a person touched me...isn't that beautiful :)

people might not remember us...but I shall remember that someone asked this beautiful question...once...

and I shall remember this question, as long as I live :)

this is one of the most innocent questions I have ever come across:)

your friends, your family...the people around you...you make a difference in their lives...

we might not be remembered in history books...but we'll always be remembered by those, whose hearts we touch...and we shall live in their memories and hearts forever :)

Answer 2

Only a temporary meaning....to decrease pain and increase pleasure.

80% of humanity, the religious folks, don't need to ask the meaning of life, the church tells them....the supernatural explanation. But the rest of us can't swallow religious dogma, because there's no evidence. Nobody can prove that there life after death, that people are tortured or rewarded after life or that there's invisible spirits running around.

I've come to two conclusions recently:

1. Life has no meaning
2. Life has a million meanings.

First, there's a certainty that death and annihilation awaits not only you, but the Earth in general. It's an astonomical certainty that our sun will supernova and leave the earth a burnt crisp, not to mention all the other extinction level events around the corner.

Second, the million things that give us meaning are the pleasurable experiences we can conjure up during the short period we are here on the earth, in the form of the relationships we have with our kids and other people, and the 'housekeeping' types of purposes. What i mean by that are the curing disease, ending hunger, improving literacy, reducing crime, preventing war, helping other kinds of things.

Answer 3

Life is definitly worth living, even though you die in the end. Some of us try so hard because we want to make the best of our lives, while others don't care. Even though you are not in history books or not famous, that doesn't mean that you are not important. Everybody is important. We will die, but that doesn't mean that our names won't be forgotten. People you know will remember you. You should live life to the fullest and enjoy every minute of it. I know sometimes life can be hard. But you can overcome obstacles that come your way if you really want to be happy.

Answer 4

I can understand you dilemma. Life has kicked me up and down a few streets myself. Horrible marriage and horrible divorce. She ran off with my daughter and I could only see her a few days of the year. I remember how I felt when I picked her up for the first time. I remember how I felt when she got married. I can only imagine how I will feel when she has a baby of her own. Being a good person for your mate and kids takes a real hero and usually you don't get payback until they leave. I have met people that I feel made the world a much better place. No monuments will be left for them except for the memory that I carry with me in my heart. "If you don't read the news paper, you are uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you are misinformed." Mark Twain. It does not matter how famous you are if your just as dead. Worry about things that matter and don't fret the small stuff.

Answer 5

It has nothing to do with being remembered... Life is worth living for the moment, for the taste of cold ice cream, a soft kiss, a sunset.... This is why we live life... Although you may think there is no reason to try to be successful, and maybe to some there is no need, but survival is an animal instinct and if we must survive in this place, might as welll enjoy the moments while we can

Answer 6

It depends what you believe the alternative to life is. It is, of course, death - but what is death?

Religion will tell you death is not the end - something follows.
Philosophy should tell you that nobody really knows - there are arguments for and against an afterlife.

Science does not address the question (since science's ultimate authority is repeatable empirical evidence and there cannot be such evidence regarding an afterlife).

If you believe this life is all there is, then it is worth living because there is no other alternative.

Answer 7

Do you believe we are just born and then die?
I feel there was life before birth(past life regressions) and thus will be life after death. That's infinity. Each life is another level of school, and you learn,contemplate and return. Of course that's reincarnation. Only our souls reincarnate, all this coming back as a dog or cat or fly or whatever is transmigration(sanskrit) It just a big learning process to get us back to being pure.Maybe you have already had your glorious life or it's yet to come. If you think there is nothingness about us now or after death then there was nothingness before birth, so where did you get the ablity to think? From nothingness or a plan from a higher power or intelligence?Maybe it just not your turn to learn about glory and fame in this life.You work hard and try hard because that is who you are.you need to learn those lessons.Only expect what you know and what you need,others can't be your judge.

Answer 8

Yes, because your life does mean something in the end. What you leave behind is called a legacy. You don't have to end up in the history books...it's enough if you lived your life well enough that you made a deep impact on one or two people...your children, for example, or if you were a teacher or a coach, to those you taught. You should try hard because in the end, you will feel good about yourself if you do so...never mind what others think.

Answer 9

dear, please distinguish between success/meaning and fame/vanity. there is very big difference, i believe, in having a life that means something, and a meaningful life.

a meaingful life is a bit of a cliche`. it's all the stereotypical lifestyles that we all hear so much about. it's the type of lifestyle that doesn't really bring happiness. it brings short-term gratification. it's not real.

a life that means something, however, is very different. it's a life that brings true contentment. something you wouldn't trade for anything else in the world. it's so good and right that you would let yourself die without the rest of the world knowing who you are.

find something you enjoy in life, and commit to it. do with it whatever you can to find happiness. and even if you don't get written in history, you still get your blood and strength passed down for generations to come.

cheer up, have a piece of dark chocolate...

Answer 10

is life worth living? yes

if it all means nothing in the end? and what about during your life? Or maybe you want the end to come sooner so you get forgotten faster?

we try so hard in life, because it's all we have: life.


Honestly: what does it matter to you whether or not you're remembered after you die? After you die, you won't care anymore, after all... So you shouldn't care about that. People care about living because it's all they got and because part of it is really nice.

Answer 11

I've always figured to try hard enough so I can afford the price of a meal, a car that gets me where I need to go and a nice vacation now and then...but that's just me. I don't really care if I'm remembered in the future...it doesn't affect me anyway - I'm gone.