What is the actual meaning of life?

Question

The first half of our life we study crap at schools,
the second half of our life, we work to death,
So whytf are we wasting ourselves here?

We brainwash ourselves at schools, we can't stand our bosses at work...

Why? Can anyone tell me WHY?
We have built a culture what sux, we can't do anything, what real animals acctually are subosed to do, we can't even think about it..

Are we happy? Are you happy? Who has brainwashed you to be happy? Ou yes, I know money is the solution for all..

I really wish to live on another planet, where aint such crap life like on this planet is..

We are ordered by a group of stupid pinheads (politics, presidents, diktators), who think only about themselves? Do you like it?

Or dou you like when our planet is going to be destroyed factories, who don't give a **** about nature? Global warming says anything?
Too bad that you will actually start to think about that in year 2300, when world populations has decreased 200x...

Answer 1

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.

So the bottom line is, we only have a temporary meaning to life, to reduce pain and increase pleasure, other than that everything is lost to oblivion.


To be or not to be? "To be" is temporary and "not to be" is inevitable.....

Answer 2

Ive felt that way many times and I just don't have an answer, My standpoint is what if there is no afterlife or nothing after you die? This is a very scary thought and I don't like to think about it so I have decided to do as much stuff and be as good of a person as I can in my short time in this world, because life can be taken away very quickly. I try not to be mean to people that I won't see for a while before I leave them because you really never know if you will see them ever again I hate to use the way over cleshayed line but "live life to the fullest"

Answer 3

first of all the reason we all go by the school/work way in life is because if you have not noticed, this IS a materialistic country. most peoples success in life is judged by their material possessions. there are people that dont but typically theyre the "free spirited" folks who sit around coffee shops all day reading their poetry and then going back to their one room apartment to sleep on their milk carton couch.

and about the happiness thing, most people really are not happy with themselves. you can tell. my parents are both extremely successful (my moms old job was a VP of accounting and shes now basically the heir to the vp position at a multi billion dollar company, and my dad lives quite comfortably out in california) and neither of them is truly happy, they may say yes to the question are you happy at the spot you are in your life, but they really arent happy with themselves. the money can act as a deterrent from the typical routine that most people have but you really dont need it
in the past few months ive learned alot about that, seeing how my parents are and other wealthy people. and i came to a conclusion that there needs to be a happy median between the income you make and being happy with yourself. and there are also other factors that will make a person happy with themselves such as love.
about the goverment thing, were not being forced to be ruled by them. if you remember the constitution, it DOES say that if the goverment is oppressive WE as a people have the right to overthrow said goverment. anyways if you dont like the goverment and you dont want to start a revolution, then you keep your mouth shut about it and dont cause any more problems or you go and live in northernmost canada where you wont need to worry about living under the "stupid pinheads" you described.
global warming is a serious threat, and people ARE starting to think about it, especially with all the talk about oil being gone by 2050, thats a scary thought. and in the next few years i can see a change occurring and a massive push for alternative power being investigated.

Answer 4

From the moment a human enters the world society gets a hold and "imprisons" it within the walls of its social norms. It tells us that their is a purpose for the restrictions it implies, and meaning in the life that this human will lead within that society. So we therefore spend our whole lives searching for this meaning that we are so wonderfully encouraged to find all the while completely forgetting how to just exist in the process. There is no meaning. No afterlife. Our purpose is to live. All we have is here and now because the past is already gone and the future does not yet exist. So you might as well make it(lfe) enjoyable while you have it.

Answer 5

I agree with all the points you are making!
The only answer and justification for our life is to reverse all of that! Starting as soon you realize how bad is our situation,(just as you have describe it)

The fallowing is a small reminder as how we can start to improve our lives.

Time has turned into luxury. True luxury. Time is more or less one of the only things you can t buy with money. That’s why it is so desirable. Whatever we think about it, the biological clock is ticking for all and everyone.
When you ask people what they want most in their lives, the most common answer is to have more qualitative time. The good thing about the story is that qualitative time is actually something most of us can achieve.
According to us it is a luxurious thing to wake up in the morning and do exactly what you want. The kind of day when no one tells you what you have to do and you don’t have any requirements that have to be fulfilled. The kind of feeling as when you are on vacation, but on an everyday basis. Something the Italians refer to as dolce fare niente - the beauty of doing nothing at all - except for relaxing... We call it to seize the day - to have time for the one you love, your family. To invite your friends to a nice dinner. To make every day extraordinary - enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment.
Time allows place for dreams. Time allows you to find harmony...how many people live in total harmony? Time gives your imagination and your creativity space. Time enables you to reflect. The great luxury in the future will be about taking control over your own time, because it will never come back.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Have you ever imagined a view and then tried to draw it on a paper / canvas? There are times in the process when you inspect the half drawn picture for it's closeness to your imagined view......then you make a correction or two and proceed..........this goes on..........If you think what you have drawn is beyond correction then what you do?.......Tear off the page and start afresh? This is what life is all about. Imagine if you had no senses and wanted to know what you are like....you could only think and visualize what you could be, and if it turns out to be not acceptable you will simply stop and start on some new thought with corrections in the earlier one. We are the Soul's idea's about itself, turned in to physical reality and are constantly giving it the feedback to decide if we are moving true to his ideas. When we weaver away....well that's the end of the episode! Hope this helps !!!!

Answer 7

I disagree with those who say life has no meaning. Even if life is an accident, it has a structure that gives life some essential meaning. I disagree with any religious doctrine being the best answer to the meaning of life. I have yet to find one that doesn't have major flaws.

I like to summarize what people say about the meaning of life as this:

Life is a chain. Life is a choice.

Life is a chain because of the chain of life that links each one of us back to the beginning of cellular life, one set of parents at a time. From that we have all these biological constraints we've inherited, needing to breathe, drink, eat, have something to use as a toilet, sleep and live within a consciousness that is only as good as the brain that creates it. The poor design of our spine and other body parts, our social needs, the lifespan that is determined by our genes are all chains that we're somewhat stuck with, even if technology has begun to make that less so.

Yet all these things are not just constraints, but also security. Biology works. If we can avoid premature death, all these things keep us going 80 years or so even if we aren't that healthy in our habits. A lot of what we are takes care of itself.

But we are still left with life being a choice. Within biological and cultural limits, we can do whatever we want. We can deny that there is any meaning to life and resort to materialism, hedonism or something more socially conscious. We can find what meaning there is to find. I find meaning that I write this right now as opposed to many other things I could be doing. I've thought of, "Life is a chain. Life is a choice," before, but I've never written much about it. So this is fun for me. I get to explore the concept and see what turns up. There are many ways to explore, intellectually, technologically, out in the physical world, whether that's people watching in the city or nature watching in the country. Life lets me do that, if I'm in reasonably good health.

I understand the powerlessness of watching a culture that ignores suffering of the needy, even causes it sometimes, denies scientific facts, and votes for leaders based on slogans. It is the human nature that enslaves us all that is responsible for this as well as for my being almost powerless to do anything about it. Despite publicity for a few very close elections, my vote will never mean anything as far as who is elected. Yet it still has meaning in the sense that I can vote in a way I enjoy, voting for 3rd party candidates, voting out of spite on occasion. Existential meaning doesn't have to be negative. It can be a joy.

Yet how did I learn that everything I hate about people and culture is human nature? It's from the power of human institutions and human intellect. The same things that chain me, both as a constraint and as security, freed me to make choices in a broad way. That's life. Make of it what you will.

Answer 8

I agree. Sometimes I wonder that if I killed myself, would I be reincarnated in a world 100x better or 100x worse.

But if I ruled the world all currency wold be destroyed, people would take what they needed and nothing more, I would take us back to a more simpler time without videogames, ipods, and other unneccesary electronics. Fashion would be a thing of the past, only the simplest of clothes for all! And nobody could use things to attract attention to themselves, from the opposite sex or otherwise!

..... Sorry I just felt like ranting about my plans O.o

Answer 9

School does not teach you about the meaning of life. Your career will exist apart from life's meaning as well.

But life does have meaning. Everything you do counts. Every word you utter matters. Even every thought that enters your minds leaves an eternal mark. Your soul is the product of everything you do, say and think.

Therefore the meaning of life is found in the care and nurturing of your soul. Do not blemish your soul with negative energies. Seek truth, practice love and relish everything in this world that is beautiful. In doing so you shall find enlightenment.

Answer 10

You are about as grim as an Old Testament prophet... The meaning of your existence is found in the fullfillment of the purpose of your nature in accord with virtue. All the things you mention may be true to more and less degrees, but none of them are preventing you from fulfilling your particular purpose. So dust yourself off, and get back into the game. Shouting your dis-satisfaction at the rest of the players from the sidelines does nothing to influence or initiate change-- in others or in yourself.