whats the point in trying everyday to reach a goal when in the end everything is doomed to death?

Question

All traces of ones presence here on earth will vanish for most people in say 20 - 50 years. In 100 years you may as well not have existed at all.

Are we not just fooling ourselves into thinking that our lives are important? Surely our lives are no more important than a single grain of lifeless sand on a beach.

Dont you agree that this is true?

Answer 1

A baby in the womb of his mother could theoretically ask himself similar questions.
What is the purpose for me of growing feet and arms if they are of no use here? What is the purpose of having lungs in this aquatic medium if I can't breathe air? What is the purpose of having eyes if I can't see?
Besides I will soon die to this world- the womb world- and there will be nothing left behind.
Death is mistakenly considered as non-existence. It is in fact a word that means change from one type of existence to another. It is going from one dimension into a higher dimension of existence.
We were born to this world dying to the "womb world". We must die to the physical world to be born to the spiritual world to which we belong. Man's reality is spiritual not physical.

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience... We are spiritual beings having a human experience". Theilhard de Chardin.

Answer 2

The point of accomplishing your goals is for that one brief happy moment when you know you did something right. It doesn't have to be big or life altering, but it has to be enough to give you that feeling of satisfaction.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote a poem about leaving footprints in the sand. If at least one other person follows in your footprints than yuo have done something incredible, because although yours may fade and die away forever, that next person will in turn leave thier own footprints to be followed by another and another in an everlasting cycle. There is no meaning of life, except to help continue the flow and to help others find their way.

And if you think about it, all of those grains of sand put together make things like beaches, sandcastles, and even are the molds for footprints left in the sand.

Maybe.

Answer 3

well yes you can think like this and become depressed and miserable or you spend every minute of this all to brief life doing the best you can.
and yes its true its unlikely that anything you do will have any great effect on the world at large. But you can have a huge impact on the people around you.
You can help and assist them in their lives by many small things both practically and by simply smiling and saying hello. try it. try smiling and showing an interest in someone who you don't normally talk to. try caring about others. and you may forgot to worry about your impact being as small as a grain as sand. Because every time you give of your self you will receive back double. i don't know why and that's not a religious statement its just a fact.and finally just think your act may inspire another and their act might be the action that has more impact than the grain of sand.

Answer 4

why try to reach a goal each day if i wake up and the sun is shinning or rainning it doesnt matter at least i can see and feel these things not like some people with disabilitys as for bieng forgotten we now have photos and cameras we can look back at our ancestors and remember them what makes you think a grain of sand is unimportant everything on this planet is put here for a purpose and has a use wether we like it or not the only certain thing in our live thats is humans is we will all die one day so stop moaning and start enjoying the time you have as we only get one chance this time around

Answer 5

I disagree. Whatever we do has a knock on effect, for example in raising children and educating them we make advances as people in the past have given us technology so we can be on the Internet now. Our footprints remain...it's our legacy. Even one simple act of kindness has a knock on effect for the person it was done to.

Reaching little goals for ourselves each day is part of what keeps us mentally well, if there were no goals, even the tiny ones how shall we be motivated

I DO actually see where you are coming from and have, at times, thought this myself, but usually when I'm feeling a bit cheesed off.

Everything is a matter of perception and throughout our lives perception is something that is never static for long, therefore our views of the world are changing, sometimes minute to minute.

Interesting question.

Answer 6

Sorry, Frankie, I don't. The whole point of existence is, in my very humble opinion, to find meaning to your day, each and every day. And we DO leave a legacy....we leave behind a memory when we cease to exist. To me it matters not at all that nothing physical, tactile or audible will be left of my own personal life. What matters is that there will be someone that remembers me, and passes that memory on to someone else, etc.
And yes, Frankie, to a point I do agree. Our lives, humans lives, are no more and no less important than a single grain of beach sand. We, humans, are a small part of a vast eternity, all things, sentient or not, inter-related.

Answer 7

No this is not true... In case you forgot history, there are alot of important figures that will be remembered (and still are) 100 years later... It's important to make the most out of our lives and contribute to society so that the world will be a better place for our children.

Answer 8

I struggled with this notion for a while, but then I was watching a Disney film with my kid and something weird happened. There was a song and in it one of the lines was about a tiny pebble not realising it was part of a mountain. It was almost like an epithany for me. It made me realise that even our lives that may seem insignificant specs may be part of a larger tapestry. We have no knowledge as to what our future generations will achieve or what purpose they have to serve. Life itself has to continue as we have created so much and it needs to be preserved. We are a representation of now and our lives will be important to our offspring (obviously) and to future generations.

Answer 9

Your life is important to those you love & who love you. You will be remembered & even when you leave this world I believe there is an afterlife. You (your spirit/mind/the entity that is you) continue to exist in some form.

I know that it is depressing & hard to accept but death is not the end. It just feels like the end. & life can seem cruel & random. But we have to make the most of this life. Live it to the fullest. Celebrate the moments that we have. It is so fragile and we never know when it will end. But each of our lives is important. It's a miracle that we even exist. It must be for some reason.

Answer 10

I agree with everything you say. The problem is most people can't accept that negative viewpoint, that life has no meaning.
So they search out things that will instill meaning into their lives.
To get back to your question: don't try and reach for any goal if you don't want to. Just let things happen naturally.
You will be surprised how often things slide into place when you're not even trying.