How it makes sense to say that life is meaningless

[The Transcended Omniverse]

Some would say that it makes no sense to say that life is meaningless without an eternal blissful afterlife. That it would be no different than finite things which can be meaningful such as a game or a movie. Even though they don't last forever, they can be meaningful.

But if you got a game or a movie and it was something you hated, was something unsatisfactory to you, etc., then it would make sense for you to look at that said game or movie and call it an insignificant, worthless, meaningless piece of crap.

If it also offered no ultimate rewarding epilogue for you, then it would make sense to say that the game/movie was meaningless crap. But if there was the ultimate epilogue and it was the greatest and most enjoyable/satisfactory epilogue, then you can say that the game/movie itself was meaningless crap, but that the epilogue was awesome.

It would also be no different than if you were working at a certain job and this job was hardship and misery. If you get the ultimate pay at the end of the job, then all that toil and hardship was meaningful to you. But if there is no pay, then that job is something meaningless to you and you would just give up on it.

So that would also apply to life itself. If you are living a life of much misery and it is a life you hate, then it would make sense for you to call it meaningless all you like. It would be no different than that game or movie you hated. But if there is the ultimate epilogue (the eternal blissful afterlife in which you can have everything you want), then you can say that the afterlife is the ultimate meaningful life for you.

It would also be no different than that situation with the job. If there is the ultimate life for you at the end (the pay), then pushing on through this life (the job) of hardship and misery was well worth it. It was something meaningful. But if there is no such afterlife (pay), then the life (job) was something meaningless to you and you would just give up on it and take yourself out of it.

 

[Deathbydefault]

For most people alive, their life is almost entirely pointless and holds no weight or sway.
Life is just a coming and going, and years down the road you'll just be a forgotten grave or, at best, a name left behind in some saved data bank.

So, there's my answer then there's the appropriate answer.

My answer is, I don't care. It would be accurate to call it the essence of not caring.
The appropriate answer is to accept your situation and live life for what you value.

 

[George-ananda]

Some would say that it makes no sense to say that life is meaningless without an eternal blissful afterlife. That it would be no different than finite things which can be meaningful such as a game or a movie. Even though they don't last forever, they can be meaningful.

But if you got a game or a movie and it was something you hated, was something unsatisfactory to you, etc., then it would make sense for you to look at that said game or movie and call it an insignificant, worthless, meaningless piece of crap.

If it also offered no ultimate rewarding epilogue for you, then it would make sense to say that the game/movie was meaningless crap. But if there was the ultimate epilogue and it was the greatest and most enjoyable/satisfactory epilogue, then you can say that the game/movie itself was meaningless crap, but that the epilogue was awesome.

It would also be no different than if you were working at a certain job and this job was hardship and misery. If you get the ultimate pay at the end of the job, then all that toil and hardship was meaningful to you. But if there is no pay, then that job is something meaningless to you and you would just give up on it.

So that would also apply to life itself. If you are living a life of much misery and it is a life you hate, then it would make sense for you to call it meaningless all you like. It would be no different than that game or movie you hated. But if there is the ultimate epilogue (the eternal blissful afterlife in which you can have everything you want), then you can say that the afterlife is the ultimate meaningful life for you.

It would also be no different than that situation with the job. If there is the ultimate life for you at the end (the pay), then pushing on through this life (the job) of hardship and misery was well worth it. It was something meaningful. But if there is no such afterlife (pay), then the life (job) was something meaningless to you and you would just give up on it and take yourself out of it.

I think this a very logical assessment actually. I wonder how the non-believers in an afterlife here will respond to this assessment.

For a believer in the afterlife (as myself) this is part of a grander picture we can not see from our perspective so the argument would lead to 'Live' out the unfortunate life as best as you can.

 

[psychoslice]

I don't believe in an after life, and that's why i am happy in this life.

 

[idav]

Not sure sure it is logical to conclude that the meaning of life comes after life.

 

[The Transcended Omniverse]

I don't believe in an after life, and that's why i am happy in this life.

This, in my personal opinion, is shallow. To just be happy in this life, suffer, die, and that's it. That's just my opinion though.

 

[psychoslice]

This, in my personal opinion, is shallow. To just be happy in this life, suffer, die, and that's it. That's just my opinion though.

Yes, you want more, and that is just what the ego wants, mooooorrrreee.

 

[The Transcended Omniverse]

Yes, you want more, and that is just what the ego wants, mooooorrrreee.

It is just degrading of our human value, in my opinion, to just be biological life forms that are here for a short period, suffer, die, and then forever decay. But if we were eternal divine blissful souls, that would be honoring us as human beings. It would be full respect and honor towards us.

 

[psychoslice]

It is just degrading of our human value, in my opinion, to just be biological life forms that are here for a short period, suffer, die, and then forever decay. But if we were eternal divine blissful souls, that would be honoring us as human beings. It would be full respect and honor towards us.

What is so special about being a human, we are still an animal, maybe with a bigger brain, that really only gets us into trouble, and what is wrong with this one life, do you need another to enjoy this one life. Enjoy the one you have to its limit, and the so called after life will not even arise, you will leave this world contented, if you don't, you will leave this world miserably.

 

[The Transcended Omniverse]

What is so special about being a human, we are still an animal, maybe with a bigger brain, that really only gets us into trouble, and what is wrong with this one life, do you need another to enjoy this one life. Enjoy the one you have to its limit, and the so called after life will not even arise, you will leave this world contented, if you don't, you will leave this world miserably.

From the spiritual perspective of us being eternal souls, it would be quite degrading for us to be reduced to biological life forms that just live, die, and forever decay. This is because this spiritual perspective attributes higher value to us as human beings. For that value to be degraded would be a disgrace. However, from the materialistic perspective, if we are nothing more than biological life forms that forever decay after we die, then I would no longer see much value at all in myself or in humanity in general.

They would now be completely insignificant to me. They would now be nothing more than organisms that live and die. They are not even worth listening to or anything. They are not even worth my time and this life of misery I am living in is not even worth my time either.

 

[psychoslice]

From the spiritual perspective of us being eternal souls, it would be quite degrading for us to be reduced to biological life forms that just live, die, and forever decay. This is because this spiritual perspective attributes higher value to us as human beings. For that value to be degraded would be a disgrace. However, from the materialistic perspective, if we are nothing more than biological life forms that forever decay after we die, then I would no longer see much value at all in myself or in humanity in general.

They would now be completely insignificant to me. They would now be nothing more than organisms that live and die. They are not even worth listening to or anything. They are not even worth my time and this life of misery I am living in is not even worth my time either.

My god you do have great expectations don't you ?, but if you need a belief in the after life to make you happy, then believe in it, it makes no difference when you die.

 

[The Transcended Omniverse]

My god you do have great expectations don't you ?, but if you need a belief in the after life to make you happy, then believe in it, it makes no difference when you die.

I can't choose what to believe. Belief is not a choice. I am agnostic though and don't know yet if the afterlife exists. But it is my hedonistic pleasure (my happiness), well-being, and longevity that is important here. In other words, a life where I can live forever, be forever happy, and have no misery in my life. An eternal blissful afterlife would give me all of that I need to make my life fully worth living. But if life is the exact opposite; in other words, a life that has much misery, unhappiness, and is only a short finite life, then that completely goes against me and what I value. That would be a life not worth living at all whatsoever.

 

[psychoslice]

I can't choose what to believe. Belief is not a choice. I am agnostic though and don't know yet if the afterlife exists. But it is my hedonistic pleasure (my happiness), well-being, and longevity that is important here. In other words, a life where I can live forever, be forever happy, and have no misery in my life. An eternal blissful afterlife would give me all of that I need to make my life fully worth living. But if life is the exact opposite; in other words, a life that has much misery, unhappiness, and is only a short finite life, then that completely goes against me and what I value. That would be a life not worth living at all whatsoever.

Are you happy in this life, and life is not always full of roses, you have to take the thorns with the roses, you cannot have it one way, or your way, that is going against the flow of life, you cannot dam it up, for then it would go stagnate and it would stink.

 

[The Transcended Omniverse]

Are you happy in this life, and life is not always full of roses, you have to take the thorns with the roses, you cannot have it one way, or your way, that is going against the flow of life, you cannot dam it up, for then it would go stagnate and it would stink.

Actually, I did have it all one way for many years of my life. I lived a blissful life that was free of any major suffering or misery. It was the greatest life for me. I never grew tired of it and it never became stale to me. But later on in life, I started to have serious problems. I struggled with much depression. That is when my life took a drastic turn and became a life not worth living at all.

If I had the choice, I would choose a life that has nothing but the positive happy things and no negative things since I would never grow tired of such a life considering how I lived my former blissful life and it was the greatest life for me. I would choose to have a brain that can only experience positive thoughts and feelings. It would be a brain that is incapable of experiencing anything negative.

I would choose to have an immortal body as well. To be a being who is only capable of experiencing the positive things in life, that is like a divine angel to me. It is the greatest being one can be. It is a transcended being since it is a being that flows only with positive and heavenly life energy and does not flow with any negative life energy.

 

[psychoslice]

Actually, I did have it all one way for many years of my life. I lived a blissful life that was free of any major suffering or misery. It was the greatest life for me. I never grew tired of it and it never became stale to me. But later on in life, I started to have serious problems. I struggled with much depression. That is when my life took a drastic turn and became a life not worth living at all.

If I had the choice, I would choose a life that has nothing but the positive happy things and no negative things since I would never grow tired of such a life considering how I lived my former blissful life and it was the greatest life for me. I would choose to have a brain that can only experience positive thoughts and feelings. It would be a brain that is incapable of experiencing anything negative.

I would choose to have an immortal body as well. To be a being who is only capable of experiencing the positive things in life, that is like a divine angel to me. It is the greatest being one can be. It is a transcended being since it is a being that flows only with positive and heavenly life energy and does not flow with any negative life energy.

Ok then, I shall not say anything again to ruin your dream, live and be happy.

 

[The Transcended Omniverse]

Ok then, I shall not say anything again to ruin your dream, live and be happy.

So you can see why being an immortal divine entity is so important to me. I wish to be nothing but sheer eternal love, joy, and bliss that is free of all suffering, misery, and negative experiences. Hopefully this is not just some fancy wishful thinking. I hope it is true, but I remain unsure.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

So that would also apply to life itself. If you are living a life of much misery and it is a life you hate, then it would make sense for you to call it meaningless all you like. It would be no different than that game or movie you hated. But if there is the ultimate epilogue (the eternal blissful afterlife in which you can have everything you want), then you can say that the afterlife is the ultimate meaningful life for you.

It sounds like taking on a comforting belief as a way of coping.

 

[Peter26]

There is no question that the thoughts of endless bliss can be used as a coping mechanism. There are numerous religions that offer a future endless hope that are mutually exclusive with each other in many instances.

The dreary view that all is sound and fury runs so deep against the grain of our being, even if that view is held, it must be carefully held back from bringing self destruction. A world where you are meaningless and worthless is large step towards self incapacitation. Even for someone who tries to impart meaning into it from their own subjective abilities that becomes impossible because you can't give what you don't have. If you are purposeless you cannot give purpose, that is the very thing you do not have.

For most people laying on their beds at night they know in their inner self that they are valuable and they have purpose and they do have meaning. The difficulty comes when you try and make sense of how that can be true of you. As I walk through life with Jesus Christ and listen to the stories of others, you hear about the brokenness every day. We are all broken in so many ways and have so many weaknesses. The story of a broken savior to save the world is compelling and wins the heart. If the heart isn't won by a beautiful author then you would never follow him.

The central question and theme that should always be brought to these exchanges is where can we have the greatest and most lasting pleasure. As I have searched I have been won by God in Jesus Christ as the most uniquely defendable and most compelling story. We are seen as lost sheep given the righteousness of Christ and forgiven our sins by the cross and resurrection. On this view life matters and suits the core of our inner being. It is interesting that I find many people are not hedonistic enough, there are promises of full joy and pleasures forever promised to them (ps 16:11) but most would rather settle for the short lived. This is why as countless through the centuries have read the voice of scripture they have been won by its own true beauty.

 

[Quintessence]

So that would also apply to life itself. If you are living a life of much misery and it is a life you hate, then it would make sense for you to call it meaningless all you like. It would be no different than that game or movie you hated.

Er... yeah... except for the fact that this would more than likely mean you have a mental illness along the lines of clinical depression and might be suicidal.

 

[Tabu]

So you can see why being an immortal divine entity is so important to me. I wish to be nothing but sheer eternal love, joy, and bliss that is free of all suffering, misery, and negative experiences. Hopefully this is not just some fancy wishful thinking. I hope it is true, but I remain unsure.

This is the core of Brahmakumari teachings , that we are Spiritual beings , the soul which is immortal.
The original nature of the soul is purity, peace, power, happiness and bliss and this is why we long and search for these things because we want to return back to our original stable state.
The knowledge is that all these cannot be found in the material possessions but are within us but covered with layers of body consciousness which deceives us into believing that these treasure could be found somewhere outside and ties us to a futile life long anxious and desperate search.
One just needs to emerge and reveal the inner pure nature and by the magnetism of its purity it will attract everything which is pure , beautiful and blissful