A lot of theists claim that atheists live sad, meaningless lives without the greater purpose of living for the glory of an Imaginary Friend. Obviously that's bullshit, so I wanna throw the conversation out there to see where it takes us.
Where do you find meaning in life, if you have any? What's the story of your journey towards leading a fulfilling, satisfying life?
I'll start:
Before I saw the light of reason, I got really depressed when I realized there really is no inherent meaning to life (other than god, which also seemed like an empty meaning, even to a young "good Christian" Gnomey. I think I have Ecclesiastes to thank for that...). I used to think that since we had heaven to look forward to, what was the point of all this suffering and heartbreak? (Those were dark times for me, folks.)
Now, I find life's lack of meaning to be a freeing prospect - we as individuals have all the power to decide on life's meaning for ourselves. It can be different for everyone, and that's a beautiful thing.
My meaning stems from this: whether or not there's an afterlife, we know for damn sure this life exists (or at least feels enough like it exists to essentially exist. But that's a different conversation probably...) We won't be getting another shot, so I want to live my life to the absolute fullest.
My meaning is now found in experiencing life. Everything I can experience that is unlikely to kill me, I want in on. The good and the bad (the happy and the sad). Mostly the good, hopefully. But the less-than-good stuff builds grit, makes us relatable, and brings us together in cool ways, so I want that too. I want relationships, heart breaks, travel, loss, love, kids (which is something Christian me never wanted - now I wanna propagate my genes to see a part of me live on in some way), and more.
A lot of my life's meaning is also found in making other people smile or laugh or feel better - I'm a super empathetic human, so I love to see other people happy.
And, I find meaning in working on myself. Improving the way I think, rooting out bigotry, learning to listen, to be patient, to keep a cleaner house (lol newbie adult alert), to be more productive. I wanna be better to the environment, be better to my friends and family, and be open to ideas that don't align with mine.
All of that makes me feel far more fulfilled and excited about life than God ever did.
So, what's your meaning, and how did you get to it?
- Gnomey
Where do you find meaning in life, if you have any? What's the story of your journey towards leading a fulfilling, satisfying life?
I'll start:
Before I saw the light of reason, I got really depressed when I realized there really is no inherent meaning to life (other than god, which also seemed like an empty meaning, even to a young "good Christian" Gnomey. I think I have Ecclesiastes to thank for that...). I used to think that since we had heaven to look forward to, what was the point of all this suffering and heartbreak? (Those were dark times for me, folks.)
Now, I find life's lack of meaning to be a freeing prospect - we as individuals have all the power to decide on life's meaning for ourselves. It can be different for everyone, and that's a beautiful thing.
My meaning stems from this: whether or not there's an afterlife, we know for damn sure this life exists (or at least feels enough like it exists to essentially exist. But that's a different conversation probably...) We won't be getting another shot, so I want to live my life to the absolute fullest.
My meaning is now found in experiencing life. Everything I can experience that is unlikely to kill me, I want in on. The good and the bad (the happy and the sad). Mostly the good, hopefully. But the less-than-good stuff builds grit, makes us relatable, and brings us together in cool ways, so I want that too. I want relationships, heart breaks, travel, loss, love, kids (which is something Christian me never wanted - now I wanna propagate my genes to see a part of me live on in some way), and more.
A lot of my life's meaning is also found in making other people smile or laugh or feel better - I'm a super empathetic human, so I love to see other people happy.
And, I find meaning in working on myself. Improving the way I think, rooting out bigotry, learning to listen, to be patient, to keep a cleaner house (lol newbie adult alert), to be more productive. I wanna be better to the environment, be better to my friends and family, and be open to ideas that don't align with mine.
All of that makes me feel far more fulfilled and excited about life than God ever did.
So, what's your meaning, and how did you get to it?
- Gnomey
