Driving to work I had a Nihilistic moment.

[Closing]

I'm pleased you actually see this topic discussed on here. I think everyone would feel a hell of a lot better if this could be discussed in the mainstream media too. But I guess this would be devastating for commercial televisions funding.

I think if you try and describe this situation to a lot of people then they think you need help or anti-depressants. The reality is that you come to this conclusion generally through clear and intelligent thinking. Self help and anti-depressants are just coping techniques like buying stuff or distracting yourself with box sets.

To those who say oh cheer up you could be living a lot worse life in the third world. I am absolutely thankful for the western society I live in but this is missing the overall point in that regardless of third or first world your life is pointless. No circumstances are big enough to mask this fact, the only comfort is that we all share this dilemma...sadly nobody talks about it though.

Nobody talks about it because what's the point? If we are all here to die and everything we do is pointless then why even discuss it?

 

[anything I don't mind]

This is why I get it in 5 mins before i am due to start and leave 1 min after my time ends. I will work extra for free if it requires it and sometimes my job does, like yesterday i worked a few hours for free and it is not appreciated. Boss knows but doesn't acknowledge it or thank me for it. So why bother?

I enjoy my time off work in the evening and weekends and I have a bunch of long term goals that includes moving to a warmer climate when i am older at least for part of the year. These goals give me motivation to go to work and earn money so that I can make a better life for myself later on life. But i am make sure its not at the expense of my current living situation, that is why I eat well and live as i like now, even though I could save more now. I prefer to live well in the moment as that what makes me happy.

 

[Kreeeee]

.

 

[easyrider]

Nobody talks about it because what's the point? If we are all here to die and everything we do is pointless then why even discuss it?

That is the whole point.

Discussing it is absolutely necessary to free yourself from the shackles of philosophical suicide.

People worry about their job, their money, their environment, their sex lives etc...

But why? Because they think it has meaning.

Once you try to embrace the absurd then you can start to actually live your life.

 

[Craig321]

You're the only one holding yourself back. I left my career, sold everything, and moved to a new country working 3 days a week, and I have never been happier.

I now spend my time seeking out new adventures and learning new things, and life is amazing

Got to go, the snow is perfect up the mountains today and my snowboard is calling to me.

What do you do, out of interest?

 

[BongoHunter]

Having had my dark times and come out of the other side mostly intact, I would suggest that some of the posters here could benifit from a visit to their GP.

Life is what you make of it, being trapped in a situation is an illusion (unless your being held in a cupboard by ISIS).

Those that seem to think that they are intelligent to the point of figuring out that life is pointless, your wrong, so so wrong.

Enligtenment is more than figuring out that you're mortal and that we are all going to die.

I have a nice quote that I found surprisingly comforting despite the fact its complete fiction:

Lt. Cmdr. Data: I have a question, sir.

Capt. Picard: Yes, Data, what is it?

Lt. Cmdr. Data: What... is death?

Capt. Picard: Oh, is that all? Well, Data, you're asking probably the most difficult of all questions. Some see it as a changing into an indestructible form, forever unchanging; they believe that the purpose of the entire universe is to then maintain that form in an earth-like garden, which will give delight and pleasure through all eternity. On the other hand, there are those who hold to the idea of our blinking into nothingness - with all of our experiences and hopes and dreams merely a delusion.

Lt. Cmdr. Data: Which do you believe, sir?

Capt. Picard: Considering the marvellous complexity of the universe, its... clockwork perfection, its balances of this against that, matter, energy, gravitation, time, dimension - I believe that our existence must be more than either of these philosophies. That what we are goes beyond Euclidean or other practical measuring systems, and that our existence is part of a reality beyond what we understand now as reality.

 

[glenimp617]

this happens to me every year..luckily it only starts at the end of september and will finish mid march

thats when the new trout season starts...work is just there to pay for my hobby! flexible working means every daylight minute possible through spring, summer and Autumn is spent doing something I love with work just being an inconvenience I will suffer to pay for my enjoyment

and now imagine you had a job which you enjoyed as much as trout fishing

 

[glenimp617]

That is the whole point.

Discussing it is absolutely necessary to free yourself from the shackles of philosophical suicide.

People worry about their job, their money, their environment, their sex lives etc...

But why? Because they think it has meaning.

Once you try to embrace the absurd then you can start to actually live your life.

spoken like a true mass murderer

 

[Kreeeee]

.

 

[MookJong]

Having had my dark times and come out of the other side mostly intact, I would suggest that some of the posters here could benifit from a visit to their GP.

You prove my point from my last post! I'm just not sure what a GP can do about the state of the universe though? I'm not depressed and I know what makes me happy but the reality of our situation is not that simple. I think you are maybe missing the crux of this matter.

Your star trek quote is by admission another masking mechanism, something to place between yourself and reality. I agree with easyrider on this topic. The only meaningful life you can ever lead must surely start from a full understanding and acceptance of our predicament?

Religious belief has driven many societies in the past, then as science and technology has increased a combination of consumerism, capitalism and self help has dominated. However the cracks are showing. This idea of sending everyone to the GP who consciously or unconsciously realises something is not as sold is not going to be sustainable.

 

[Closing]

The only meaningful life you can ever lead must surely start from a full understanding and acceptance of our predicament?

I think this pretty much sums it up, there are some that seem to be blurring the boundaries of nihilism and pessimism or that this way of thinking = depression.

 

[TheMightyTen]

******* Emos

 

[413x]

I think this pretty much sums it up, there are some that seem to be blurring the boundaries of nihilism and pessimism or that this way of thinking = depression.

I think I kind of followed the classic stages of acceptance of death being the end
Denial, misery etc etc

Now I really believe that life is pointless as talked about in the thread

After you accept this you can go a few ways
Give up from not caring
Live life by not caring

Sometimes not caring helps when life is **** (oh it doesn't matter in the end) never mind move on
Othertimes is the opposite.. What's the point in trying for that dream job it doesn't matter in the end

It doesn't matter (as nothing does) which route you go

Because I know I am not brave enough to give up (suicide) I don't want to live in misery (it isn't pleasant) so I have to go the other way

This for me means only caring about immediate people important to me as this makes life pleasant
Thus I don't care about anything much in the wider world.. Some people would say this is cold.. But surely at least it's grounded.. Most people who care wouldn't do anything about their "care"

 

[Robosapien]

I have a nice quote that I found surprisingly comforting despite the fact its complete fiction:

Lt. Cmdr. Data: I have a question, sir.

Capt. Picard: Yes, Data, what is it?

Lt. Cmdr. Data: What... is death?

Capt. Picard: Oh, is that all? Well, Data, you're asking probably the most difficult of all questions. Some see it as a changing into an indestructible form, forever unchanging; they believe that the purpose of the entire universe is to then maintain that form in an earth-like garden, which will give delight and pleasure through all eternity. On the other hand, there are those who hold to the idea of our blinking into nothingness - with all of our experiences and hopes and dreams merely a delusion.

Lt. Cmdr. Data: Which do you believe, sir?

Capt. Picard: Considering the marvellous complexity of the universe, its... clockwork perfection, its balances of this against that, matter, energy, gravitation, time, dimension - I believe that our existence must be more than either of these philosophies. That what we are goes beyond Euclidean or other practical measuring systems, and that our existence is part of a reality beyond what we understand now as reality.

What a fool!! Every idiot knows that Minkowski 4 dimensional spacetime is non-Euclidean.

Or are they going to patch that up like they did with Wiles' 'false proof' by claiming Einstein was proved wrong by the 24th Century.

 

[CaptainComedy]

No life is meaningless, your presence alone affects people around you and so the butterfly effect takes shape.

Would you ever say to your child "life is pointless"? You cant define life as such because it varies on scale.

As an individual, what you do affects the micro economy of the human race, you get a job (dead end irrelevant) get a family and die... Your child on the other hand grows into Albert Einstein. Those little fleeting moments push the macro side of human life (towards being greater to what it is now)

on the macro end, our current endeavour is like cancer - survival and expansion. We want knowledge and understanding to ultimately push out of our boundaries. Of a planet.

 

[jpod]

Don't be silly. You're born to die, probably in prolonged agony and suffering - that sounds more like cruelty than luck. Your life is completely pointless and meaningless in the grand scheme of things. You're adrift on a rock in a vast oblivion, like a grain of dust in the wind, powerless to control your own destiny. This travesty is ubiquitous and regardless of first world/third world status.



Don't be silly. Your ancestors weren't thinking about you at all - they were thinking about eating bananas and rape. It's down to the blind luck you reference above that they didn't end up in an evolutionary cul-de-sac like millions of other species on this planet throughout millennia. Your primitive hopes, dreams and thinking patterns will mean nothing when human beings evolve after countless small variations into some sort of creatures that are as far removed to us as we are from our common ape ancestors. And when all life is extinguished and the universe dies it's heat death, your ancestors thoughts will matter even less.



Don't be silly. You don't have the ability to respond to everything. Assuming personal responsibility doesn't give you absolute control over every facet of your life and the universe you reside in.



Define happiness? Is being stuck in a delusion, 'happiness'? Does taking a happiness pill everyday to make you happy actually give you true happiness? Would you unplug from The Matrix if you had the choice?



Comparing the human brain to a machine is a crude analogy at best. Don't be silly.



Madonna? Don't be silly.



Don't be silly.



Don't be silly.



Don't be silly.

Ah the 'don't be silly' argument, the wisdom is strong in this one.

 

[estebanrey]

If you don't love your job, I feel sorry for you. I've had bad jobs, damn I nearly ended up having a breakdown over stress at one. Luckily I gave myself a talking to and moved, then moved again. Now I'm in a job I absolutely love

Do you take your holiday allowance ever year? If you do, please tell me again how much you love your job.

 

[regulus]

I had that 2 years ago back in the UK before I moved to NZ. Used to get up at 5am, take the tube from Notting Hill to Edgware Road then walked up to Marlybone to get the train to Banbury. Walked there in the dark and used to walk back home in the dark. Standing half asleep on the tube with the other zombies just to drink at a better pub with all the money I made doing these crazy hours in the first place.

Then I emigrated to NZ. I wouldn't say life is perfect now but a hell of a lot better.

 

[Bassmansam]

Well i guess this is why a lot of bars are full on Friday/Saturdays!

 

[glenimp617]

Do you take your holiday allowance ever year? If you do, please tell me again how much you love your job.

You are one of the many I was referencing in another post

right or wrong, up or down, ying or yang

Unfortunately that train of thought is quite confined. It's not unusual, far from it. Most people are like it today, which I honestly think leads to depression.

Yes, I take my holidays. I love my personal time. I also love my job.
I'm having my cake and eating it

If you can set yourself up in such a manner that you love both your job and personal time, you end up being happy all throughout the day. Monday mornings mean as much to me as friday evenings.

I'm not saying I don't have bad days, or I don't want to stay in bed on cold mornings, but the thought of going to work pleases me (it wasn't always like that).

It's not an easy road to navigate, but one most people should attempt.

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

Confucius

This doesn't specifically address the OPs statement. Even if I lead a happy life, I still end up dead. What's the point? There is no answer, because the human race has not evolved to a point to be able to answer it.