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[Serious] Meaning in Life
#1
Meaning in Life
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
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#2
RE: Meaning in Life
(July 17, 2020 at 2:10 pm)Gnomey Wrote: 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

There is a duality minus superstitious beings.

Life ultimately is BOTH meaningless and meaningful. CONTEXT  matters. It is ultimately meaningless in the scope of billions of years. But it most certainly means something to the living while we are alive.

My personal meaning is to make people laugh and wish they didn't personally know me.
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#3
RE: Meaning in Life
I've coined a phrase recently to describe daily relatively profound occurrences for me. I do have loftier meanings/goals/activities/situations etc, but I think this saying makes the point about how fabulously rich and excellent life can be, for anybody really, Cod swimming in the sky or nay. When I cook, I cook well, and get excited about the fab meals, and say out-loud, with genuine excitement and revelry - "incoming wildly exciting food event!"
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#4
RE: Meaning in Life
The world has no obligation to make us feel comfortable. We're just here for the ride. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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#5
RE: Meaning in Life
I wake up............. my life has meaning. It does not always have to be seeking/working towards some lofty goal or aspiration, some self fulfilling action. Even the mundane chores and tasks of everyday life have meaning for me.

But then you need to take into account that I'm old as hell. Keeping dementia at bay is winning!
I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem.
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#6
RE: Meaning in Life
I have never questioned the meaning of my life.  I'm 61 years , a father, grandfather, R.N. , brother, son, friend to many. Meaning is synonymous with breathing.
God thinks it's fun to confuse primates. Larsen's God!






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#7
RE: Meaning in Life
It will all be the same 10 thousand years from now, so don't worry and get on with enjoying life!
The meek shall inherit the Earth, the rest of us will fly to the stars.

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups

Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud ..... after a while you realise that the pig likes it!

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#8
RE: Meaning in Life
Forty two.
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#9
RE: Meaning in Life
*cough*. This is a [Serious] thread ...
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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#10
RE: Meaning in Life
I find meaning in the companionship of loved ones, the enjoyment of hobbies, the pursuit of knowledge, etc.
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