What's the point? and why play the game?

[freya1]

[QUOTE=Knowbody;1059766700]I'm obviously not religious, I don't believe that we're all here for a purpose and that there's meaning to our individual existence. I don't have the comfort of knowing that everyone I've known and loved in life will be with me after I die. The only real thing stopping me from ending it randomly are the small things like films I want to see, books, music, video games etc. If I had kids then I suppose that would be another reason for me to continue on but at the moment I don;t understand why we do it. Existence is meaningless.....There's really no point to it at all. With all our wisdom, technology and intellect we're still just hairless apes living on a rock that the rest of the universe probably has no idea exist. I'm not advocating that we all commit mass suicide but I also really can't argue against it. I haven't really done much in the last 2 years. Any other time I would be ashamed but when I realize that nothing even matters in the long run I cease to care. Everyone alive in 1873 is dead now and soon the same will be said for 2012. In short what I'm asking you people is "WHY?" Why was I born a human and not some other animal? Why was I born Asian or Black or Hispanic or white, Why this part of the world and not that? Why this century and not hundreds of years ago? Everything just seems like random chance and chaos that we have zero control over to me..........sorry for my insane rambling.........[/QUOTE

i think about exactly wat u said most of the time and it.comforts me that someone else thinks the same

[victoriangirl]

I don't know whether I am an atheist because I seem to worship animals but I quite often don't see this value given to life/being alive either. The only thing that keeps me going are the moments I seem enjoy being on this planet i.e. when I am surrounded by animals & loved ones, nice weekends watching movies, reading good books, listening to music, my travels, eating good food etc.

What I do question about life is why I have this strong sense and need to live a ethical & moral life even though I don't believe in the after life or heaven/hell or anything like that. I do all of these things because it is the right thing to do. It is not even something I am proud of because it is so built in me, it is like I was born wired to be so sensitive towards human rights, animal rights, saving the planet etc. I actually wish that I wouldn't care so much because it does take a toll on me.

For most people around me, however, it is the religion they believe in that drives them to do the 'right' thing. I always wonder what these people would do the moment they'd realize there is not such thing as 'god' or an after life. Would they all of a sudden stop doing the right thing, and just start living for themselves?

[ugh1979]

Originally Posted by Knowbody

I would probably put more effort into meeting people and doing something with my life is I knew that my soul would continue on for eternity and I'll be mingling with these people for a long time now and after death. Since I don't subscribe to religious ideas like that it then renders everything a waste of time. I don't mind wasting my days, not meeting someone and getting married anymore because its all going to end eventually anyway, everything, even this planet and our sun.

I would have thought the fact that you only have a limited time to get to know people makes it pertinent to do now, rather than at some point in an eternal life where you have as much time as you want to waste not doing it.

Why do you need something to be eternal to make it have a point? Do you watch a film and when it ends decide it was pointless since it had an ending?

Finite experiences are far more likely to be interesting than infinite ones. Everything gets boring eventually.

Enjoy the moment.

[lkkxm]

I find this comforting when I start to get depressed about there being no "bigger picture." It's a quote from the show Angel, back in the day.

"If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters... then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now."

[Glacial]

[QUOTE=lkkxm;1059852055"If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters... then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now."[/QUOTE]

This is about how I view life nowadays.

[lkkxm]

Originally Posted by Glacial

This is about how I view life nowadays.

I try to lol. Sometimes I forget. Hopefully it helps someone though.