Why do we want to live? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Manorotsky · 11-08-2003, 06:23 PM

I thought about it and couldn't find an answer. All over the world, there are people living in much misery and suffering. If I compare myself to those people, I am practically living in heaven, still I don't have any will to live. (I wouldn't care if I died right now). As a matter of fact, I'd rather die right now. So I wonder, why do we people keep on living, even when we are suffering so much that not living would be a better option.

tecoyah · 11-08-2003, 06:38 PM

It is all dependent on what you consider the purpose of living to be. If you consider life to be an opportunity to experience and grow....it is actually pretty entertaining.If however, you look at life as the everyday humdrum crap we all have to deal with, I can see the depression looming.
When I lived in california many years ago, I heard an expression that kinda stuck with me for no reason I could understand at the time, but is clear to me now.....actually kind of a secret of life kinda thing.

Life is hard, then you die.

Think about this for a sec
If you already know hardship is on the way...you are ready for it and expect to deal with it
But, how much more will you enjoy the good times if you arent expecting them

empu · 11-08-2003, 06:46 PM

Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

prosequence · 11-08-2003, 07:27 PM

life... it beats the other option

irateplatypus · 11-08-2003, 07:30 PM

Manorotsky, I am not saying this applies to you... I am just giving input on what my life has been like.

I have had times that I either didn't care much about life or wasn't having getting any joy from it. When I examine myself when i feel this way, I realize that I am living for myself... becoming too self centered. In my experience, when you think about the universe outside yourself (nature, God, family, friends) and try to serve them... the joy for living returns.

Once again, not implying that this is your problem... just that this is something i've had to deal with and that it has brought me happiness.

On the same subject, but from another viewpoint...

From a purely philosophical standpoint, perhaps the will to live has an inverse relationship to the ease of survival. Maybe living like kings (like many of us do in the West, relatively speaking) has depressed the "wild" parts of our nature. Maybe we are too far removed from the survival drive that allowed our species to endure tougher eras. We may be animals who are too confined in our self-made cages to care about life anymore.

SSJwrestler · 11-08-2003, 07:38 PM

because living is the only way to comlete our destinies in life.

Manorotsky · 11-09-2003, 06:13 AM

tecoyah and irateplatypus, thanks for the feedback. I guess you do live through hard parts to enjoy the joyous ones, but sometimes you just don't even care about that either.
Thanks anyways.

Mr. Moe · 11-10-2003, 08:13 PM

to procreate? to simply exist? Everyone wants to leave a mark, no matter how insignificant. Those are all possibilities.

On a personal level however I have experienced something like this. There was a time in my life where I really didn't want to go on, I didn't have anyone I was close to, and found myself dreading just getting up in the morning. The thing that kept me going was the fact I couldn't let the few people that stood by me (family mostly) go through any sort of hardship on my account, just because I was selfish enough to end my problems. Also the pure and simple will to live was a huge factor, as it is implanted in most of us (the odd genetic exception does occur, but most of us are quite content living, no matter how depressed we get).

trudes1131 · 11-11-2003, 10:05 PM

In my humble opinion, the reason you are here is to experience, plain and simple.

Some of what you shall experience will trouble you a great deal, whereas other instances will merely fade in and out of focus with little or no attention on your part. In a situation like this, I would say: evaluate.

Who the hell are you?

What is it that you may experience or endure that will bring you emotional fulfillment? A person, place, action, effect?

These are certainly not two questions you sit down and answer, click a button, then patiently wait for the next screen to load in order to inform you of what type of berry you are, or what cast member of what show you might be.

These are two questions that you need to answer in order to pursue the path to fulfillment.

How can you measure success in life without realizing what's important to you? FIND the answers to these questions through your emotions. A search that will no doubt be lengthy, but one that will provide you with what you're missing along the way, that being meaning.

So how do you find these answers? Find activities and people who interest, educate and satisfy you. Really, despite popular belief, it's not difficult to locate individuals for which to compliment your needs and interests. There ARE people like you out there, regardless of whatever cynicism you've taken in or adapted has led you to believe. Find these individuals and grow to understand who you are through the enjoyment and hardships you experience both with, and through, them. With these items in place, work through them and evaluate which ones project the most meaning towards your life.

When you have meaning, you have purpose. And when you have the idea in your head that your life serves a purpose, the experiences you will both enjoy and endure will carry more emotional value than you can ever imagine.

Or, you could dismiss this as pompous rhetoric that's simply far too idealistic for this kind of world. A simple quick-fix to a problem far too complicated and complex for others to comprehend. I suppose it depends on your definitions of both faith and hope, as well as the role each plays in our culture.

The choice is yours.

bermuDa · 11-12-2003, 02:30 AM

because death is the easy way out.

Kyo · 11-12-2003, 09:31 AM

Life is strength - you live, you affect your world.

The way I see it, you get one shot at existence. Whether your life is terrible or heavenly, it is the only one you have, the only chance you will ever be given to experience what life is. Is oblivion really preferable to suffering? It is hard to convey the meaning of death through words - I could say that you would cease the exist or other such obvious things and the feeling would not really be conveyed - it's more of a eureka moment, I suspect. But death - death is forever. Never feeling, never thinking, for the rest of eternity. It is a truly terrible fate.

Why does a tree live? Why is this planet full to the brim with life? Life that will eventually be ended, one way or another, without making a lasting impression on the universe at large. In the greater scheme of things, lives are unimportant, insignificant, and ultimately meaningless. Any finite quantity, when compared against the infinity of time, is equivalent to zero - our mark, the existence of mankind itself, will eventually be erased, and then it would be as if we had never existed.

So why live? I say because I can. A tree does nothing but grow and reproduce. I do not need to even do that - if I can just grow I will be content. To continue to learn and improve myself is all I ask. Sure, when I die, I will have accomplished nothing in the long run, but I'd have lived the way I thought appropriate, and that is all I can ask for.

Eldaire · 11-12-2003, 06:11 PM

Answer this question honestly. Really meditate on it and focus on your feelings. If a burgler burst into your house right now and began strangling you, would you struggle? Would you fight for your life? For air? Think seriously now, and I think you'll find your answer with enough meditation.

John Henry · 11-14-2003, 01:33 PM

Two answers

1) Evolution does not favour the suicidal.

2) Continuing to live is a reversible choice. Ceasing to live is not, so we just keep putting it off.

ARTelevision · 11-14-2003, 10:37 PM

the biological urge is what we are.

j03th3j3w · 11-15-2003, 01:33 AM

to spread our seed!

wilbjammin · 11-15-2003, 01:10 PM

We live in rebellion to the absurd.

We know fundamentally that our lives have no ultimate meaning, we don't know why we exist, but we do anyway.

Look at Sisyphus, rolling that eternal rock up the mountain in Hades, and finding that he can actually be happy in spite of the meaninglessness of this activity simply because he endures in the face of this absurdity! He endures to spite the gods for punishing him, to spite the meaninglessness of existence. If Sisyphus can be happy living in the face of existence... we can too.

11-08-2003, 06:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Manorotsky Upright Location: Katy, TX	Why do we want to live? I thought about it and couldn't find an answer. All over the world, there are people living in much misery and suffering. If I compare myself to those people, I am practically living in heaven, still I don't have any will to live. (I wouldn't care if I died right now). As a matter of fact, I'd rather die right now. So I wonder, why do we people keep on living, even when we are suffering so much that not living would be a better option. __________________ Things you own, end up owning you.

11-08-2003, 06:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
tecoyah Illusionary	It is all dependent on what you consider the purpose of living to be. If you consider life to be an opportunity to experience and grow....it is actually pretty entertaining.If however, you look at life as the everyday humdrum crap we all have to deal with, I can see the depression looming. When I lived in california many years ago, I heard an expression that kinda stuck with me for no reason I could understand at the time, but is clear to me now.....actually kind of a secret of life kinda thing. Life is hard, then you die. Think about this for a sec If you already know hardship is on the way...you are ready for it and expect to deal with it But, how much more will you enjoy the good times if you arent expecting them __________________ Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

11-08-2003, 07:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
prosequence Psycho Location: YOUR MOM!!	life... it beats the other option __________________ And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed...

11-08-2003, 07:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
irateplatypus can't help but laugh Location: dar al-harb	Manorotsky, I am not saying this applies to you... I am just giving input on what my life has been like. I have had times that I either didn't care much about life or wasn't having getting any joy from it. When I examine myself when i feel this way, I realize that I am living for myself... becoming too self centered. In my experience, when you think about the universe outside yourself (nature, God, family, friends) and try to serve them... the joy for living returns. Once again, not implying that this is your problem... just that this is something i've had to deal with and that it has brought me happiness. On the same subject, but from another viewpoint... From a purely philosophical standpoint, perhaps the will to live has an inverse relationship to the ease of survival. Maybe living like kings (like many of us do in the West, relatively speaking) has depressed the "wild" parts of our nature. Maybe we are too far removed from the survival drive that allowed our species to endure tougher eras. We may be animals who are too confined in our self-made cages to care about life anymore. __________________ If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves. ~ Winston Churchill

11-09-2003, 06:13 AM	#7 (permalink)
Manorotsky Upright Location: Katy, TX	tecoyah and irateplatypus, thanks for the feedback. I guess you do live through hard parts to enjoy the joyous ones, but sometimes you just don't even care about that either. Thanks anyways. __________________ Things you own, end up owning you.

11-08-2003, 06:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
empu Crazy	Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

11-08-2003, 07:38 PM	#6 (permalink)
SSJwrestler Banned Location: Davidson, NC/ Manassas, VA	because living is the only way to comlete our destinies in life.

11-10-2003, 08:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mr. Moe Loser Location: Oakville, Ontario	to procreate? to simply exist? Everyone wants to leave a mark, no matter how insignificant. Those are all possibilities. On a personal level however I have experienced something like this. There was a time in my life where I really didn't want to go on, I didn't have anyone I was close to, and found myself dreading just getting up in the morning. The thing that kept me going was the fact I couldn't let the few people that stood by me (family mostly) go through any sort of hardship on my account, just because I was selfish enough to end my problems. Also the pure and simple will to live was a huge factor, as it is implanted in most of us (the odd genetic exception does occur, but most of us are quite content living, no matter how depressed we get). Last edited by Mr. Moe; 11-11-2003 at 07:12 PM..

11-11-2003, 10:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
trudes1131 Upright	In my humble opinion, the reason you are here is to experience, plain and simple. Some of what you shall experience will trouble you a great deal, whereas other instances will merely fade in and out of focus with little or no attention on your part. In a situation like this, I would say: evaluate. Who the hell are you? What is it that you may experience or endure that will bring you emotional fulfillment? A person, place, action, effect? These are certainly not two questions you sit down and answer, click a button, then patiently wait for the next screen to load in order to inform you of what type of berry you are, or what cast member of what show you might be. These are two questions that you need to answer in order to pursue the path to fulfillment. How can you measure success in life without realizing what's important to you? FIND the answers to these questions through your emotions. A search that will no doubt be lengthy, but one that will provide you with what you're missing along the way, that being meaning. So how do you find these answers? Find activities and people who interest, educate and satisfy you. Really, despite popular belief, it's not difficult to locate individuals for which to compliment your needs and interests. There ARE people like you out there, regardless of whatever cynicism you've taken in or adapted has led you to believe. Find these individuals and grow to understand who you are through the enjoyment and hardships you experience both with, and through, them. With these items in place, work through them and evaluate which ones project the most meaning towards your life. When you have meaning, you have purpose. And when you have the idea in your head that your life serves a purpose, the experiences you will both enjoy and endure will carry more emotional value than you can ever imagine. Or, you could dismiss this as pompous rhetoric that's simply far too idealistic for this kind of world. A simple quick-fix to a problem far too complicated and complex for others to comprehend. I suppose it depends on your definitions of both faith and hope, as well as the role each plays in our culture. The choice is yours. Last edited by trudes1131; 11-11-2003 at 10:11 PM..

11-12-2003, 02:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
bermuDa don't ignore this--> Location: CA	because death is the easy way out. __________________ I am the very model of a moderator gentleman.

11-12-2003, 09:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
Kyo Crazy	Life is strength - you live, you affect your world. The way I see it, you get one shot at existence. Whether your life is terrible or heavenly, it is the only one you have, the only chance you will ever be given to experience what life is. Is oblivion really preferable to suffering? It is hard to convey the meaning of death through words - I could say that you would cease the exist or other such obvious things and the feeling would not really be conveyed - it's more of a eureka moment, I suspect. But death - death is forever. Never feeling, never thinking, for the rest of eternity. It is a truly terrible fate. Why does a tree live? Why is this planet full to the brim with life? Life that will eventually be ended, one way or another, without making a lasting impression on the universe at large. In the greater scheme of things, lives are unimportant, insignificant, and ultimately meaningless. Any finite quantity, when compared against the infinity of time, is equivalent to zero - our mark, the existence of mankind itself, will eventually be erased, and then it would be as if we had never existed. So why live? I say because I can. A tree does nothing but grow and reproduce. I do not need to even do that - if I can just grow I will be content. To continue to learn and improve myself is all I ask. Sure, when I die, I will have accomplished nothing in the long run, but I'd have lived the way I thought appropriate, and that is all I can ask for. __________________ Sure I have a heart; it's floating in a jar in my closet, along with my tonsils, my appendix, and all of the other useless organs I ripped out.

11-12-2003, 06:11 PM	#12 (permalink)
Eldaire Loser Location: Davidson College, NC	Answer this question honestly. Really meditate on it and focus on your feelings. If a burgler burst into your house right now and began strangling you, would you struggle? Would you fight for your life? For air? Think seriously now, and I think you'll find your answer with enough meditation.

11-14-2003, 01:33 PM	#13 (permalink)
John Henry Addict Location: Grey Britain	Two answers 1) Evolution does not favour the suicidal. 2) Continuing to live is a reversible choice. Ceasing to live is not, so we just keep putting it off. __________________ "No one was behaving from very Buddhist motives. Then, thought Pigsy, he was hardly a Buddha, nor was he a monkey. Presently, he was a pig spirit changed into a little girl pretending to be a little boy to be offered to a water monster. It was all very simple to a pig spirit."

11-14-2003, 10:37 PM	#14 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	the biological urge is what we are. __________________ create evolution

11-15-2003, 01:33 AM	#15 (permalink)
j03th3j3w Tilted Location: crazy... would you like to join?	to spread our seed!

11-15-2003, 01:10 PM	#16 (permalink)
wilbjammin * * *	We live in rebellion to the absurd. We know fundamentally that our lives have no ultimate meaning, we don't know why we exist, but we do anyway. Look at Sisyphus, rolling that eternal rock up the mountain in Hades, and finding that he can actually be happy in spite of the meaninglessness of this activity simply because he endures in the face of this absurdity! He endures to spite the gods for punishing him, to spite the meaninglessness of existence. If Sisyphus can be happy living in the face of existence... we can too. __________________ Innominate.