What is Good about Life and living???

[think]

Because you can't feel or do anything when you're dead... at least if I am alive I have a chance to do things that make me happy and that feel good.

Kathryn - there is no way to prove that idea about the afterlife let alone be aware of what happens when the life energies leave or even if they do? I do disagree that spirits are there after death and often "heal" me from time to time from the other side ,,I do see these apparition before i fall asleep.. of course there is no way for me to prove that as well... I just have that experience ..

We just buried my brother-in-law who was 3 years younger than me. My sister is still in shock, but she's strong. She'll survive.

Three years ago my cousin lost his only daughter. She was 23. He's still devastated. I saw him at the funeral the other day and it was all he could do to hold himself together.

My mother lost her husband about nine years ago. She pretends that she's ok, but the pain is all over her face.

My wife's father left us just over a year ago. The family is still trying to deal with that, and now her mother's health is failing.

Dad lives alone, and had a heart attack about three months ago. He could very easily have died before help arrived.

With all of this, and more that I won't go into, everyone still gets out of bed and finds a way to go on another day.

I guess what I'm getting at is no matter what life hands you, as long as you wake up breathing it's a pretty good day. The only really bad day is the one where you don't. And we don't know for sure what happens after that.

I am sorry that they are missed but to believe they are in a better place is more "positive" then not

I can notice my mood changes from post to post I don't know if anyone else see's this but yes this is what I deal with when it comes to feelings mostly like everyone else just probably much more intense for the individual that this is occurring to,..
sometimes it is so intense on my end that.. I cut.. so that is that but better physical pain then the emotional pain is how it is for me sometimes.

The way to enjoy life more is not to expect too much.

Most of my friends complain about their lack of money but as they and myself are wealthier than at least 80-90% of the world's population I think we should be grateful for that.

I have a roof over my head, shelves full of books to read, food in my cupboards, access to the Internet etc.

Over the years I have lost family and friends including the three closest friends I ever had. One of them died (Susan) when we were 11, the other two died when they were 37 and 52. Whenever I start to feel down about my age and how I only have maybe 20 or 25 years left I think of Susan and realise I have now had 45 more years of life than she did. I should be grateful for those years.

I am often in pain which gets me down but it would be far worse if I was living in a third world country with my health problem - so I should be grateful that I was lucky enough to be born here.

As well I am sorry for your physical pain... when I had physical pain in 2000 where my ankle ball was shattered into 25 separate pieces of bone.. (it took 3 dr's to count that high) I had to focus on the pain feel it for it to pass.. over time... I feel that maybe your pain is growing till you locate the source in the mind and find oneness with these various pains.,,..

life is suffering is a precept of some religions and --
also the outward intended projections come back three fold these things i know ... as true.

 

[galleywest]

Okay, time for the serious answer.

think, some of the things you've written make me wonder if you're suffering from depression or anxiety or something similar. If this is the case, I hope you find someone (a counselor or the like, maybe) to discuss these things with.

Given this, I'm not sure that the things that people post here will change your mind much. What I will say on the subject is this: modern humans have been around for a couple hundred thousand years. We're part of a story of life on the planet that goes back billions of years. Clearly, there is a drive to survive--and it's not just about sex. Sex is the mechanism by which we continue as a species, but doesn't get to the heart of what pushes us to keep going even in the worst of conditions. I won't pretend to know exactly what that "thing" is, but I do know this: you don't survive through billions of years of near-extinctions, catastrophes, and harsh environments by "faking it." Maybe what is special about life is how hard we hold on to it.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

The way to enjoy life more is not to expect too much.

Most of my friends complain about their lack of money but as they and myself are wealthier than at least 80-90% of the world's population I think we should be grateful for that.

I have a roof over my head, shelves full of books to read, food in my cupboards, access to the Internet etc.

Over the years I have lost family and friends including the three closest friends I ever had. One of them died (Susan) when we were 11, the other two died when they were 37 and 52. Whenever I start to feel down about my age and how I only have maybe 20 or 25 years left I think of Susan and realise I have now had 45 more years of life than she did. I should be grateful for those years.

I am often in pain which gets me down but it would be far worse if I was living in a third world country with my health problem - so I should be grateful that I was lucky enough to be born here.

I agree with this entire post, it is how I think all the time when things start getting me down. I have always felt wealthy even when technically well below the poverty line for my country. I had a resistance to feeling poor or harping on it because it just seemed so ridiculous in the face of how many people are hungry and whose kids die because they can't give them medicine.

I have also lost a lot of friends over the years to death. Cancer, other illnesses. I will never complain about getting older because it always come to mind that my friends would have LOVED to be the age I am now. And they didn't get to and that's incredibly sad and will be incredibly sad if I'm in my 80's and decrepified.

I enjoy many seemingly small things rather intensely, and if I don't I work hard to get it back

 

[RJDiogenes]

Also sex. You mentioned it, but I'd really like to highlight the sex part.

Highlight, bold, and underline.

C'mon people! You call yourselves a sci-fi board?! Fine, I'll do it:

"Conan! What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women."

Whoa! Seeing your name again made today worth living for. How are you?

Okay, time for the serious answer.

think, some of the things you've written make me wonder if you're suffering from depression or anxiety or something similar. If this is the case, I hope you find someone (a counselor or the like, maybe) to discuss these things with.

Given this, I'm not sure that the things that people post here will change your mind much. What I will say on the subject is this: modern humans have been around for a couple hundred thousand years. We're part of a story of life on the planet that goes back billions of years. Clearly, there is a drive to survive--and it's not just about sex. Sex is the mechanism by which we continue as a species, but doesn't get to the heart of what pushes us to keep going even in the worst of conditions. I won't pretend to know exactly what that "thing" is, but I do know this: you don't survive through billions of years of near-extinctions, catastrophes, and harsh environments by "faking it." Maybe what is special about life is how hard we hold on to it.

Life is the antidote to entropy.

 

[Australis]

Okay, my take.

There's two components. My/your life (the personal experience), and life itself.

From what you've said, your life's not much chop. In my life there's a lot of things wrong, that I don't want to talk about, but there are a few good things happening. Some I have to do myself, some just come along, like the fact (big announcement) that I'm going to be a grandfather, so that's going to be interesting. I have no idea what it will be like, but... let's find out. So, a mix of good and bad.

Then there's life itself. Life itself, is AMAZING. Look around you! YouTube, Rolling Stones, Vincent van Gogh, Doctor Who, Star Trek! Star Wars, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Neuromancer, Iain M Banks's Culture novels, Fred Astaire as he glides through the air, while Ginger Rogers does it all backwards and in high heels! Arthur C Clarke, Tangerine Dream, Terry Pratchett, Spike Miligan, the Who, Leonardo da Vinci, Ian mcKellen!

And with those I've just mentioned I'm barely scraping the very top layer of the surface.

There are so many brilliant, shining things out there that aren't part of my life directly, that I bring into my life because they bring me joy, or provoke thought, or let me reflect on other days, or lead me to puzzle about the jigsaw that is history. There is so much in Life, that is Life, that once you start looking at it with open eyes, you never stop.

Take yourself down to an art gallery (if you can) Look at some of the paintings or sculptures. Think about how thought had to go into them, and talent, and skill and practice that went into that. Find some who have taken care to give the painting a photographic life, or the swirls of Van Gogh giving a simple scene a whole new sheen (watch the Dr Who episode, 'Vincent and the Doctor', that's a great ep about life, creativity, loss and depression).

Look at Terry Pratchett. His brain is slowly turning to mush, yet he's still writing, travelling, still struggling against the coming darkness. His books are great (get into them) and his life is inspiring.

In short, without meaning to sound harsh, stop looking down, and look up instead. Your life may not be great, but there is so much going on around you that, at a minimum, it'll serve as a distraction, and at most an education and even life-changer. Good luck.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^ Great response, Australis!

 

[Jedi_Master]

I think peanut butter is pretty rad. I stick around so I can get more peanut butter.

 

[Pondwater]

...Even on my worst day, the alternative is most certainly worth avoiding.

This.

Absolutely. This.

Totally!

I think peanut butter is pretty rad. I stick around so I can get more peanut butter.

Biscoff spread is better.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Bacon and eggs.

 

[galleywest]

C'mon people! You call yourselves a sci-fi board?! Fine, I'll do it:

"Conan! What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women."

Whoa! Seeing your name again made today worth living for. How are you?

Out of my cryo-chamber for the day. I got nostalgic.

But see? Even being away for a while, I can still come back and there are familiar avatars hanging around the place. We now live in a world where we can connect with people in new and different ways, like we never could before. When I was growing up, I could talk about Star Trek to about five other people. Everyone else just thought I was a nerd. Now I know I'm not alone. That's a pretty good thing about life, right?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Bacon and eggs.

 

[Amaris]

Out of my cryo-chamber for the day. I got nostalgic.

But see? Even being away for a while, I can still come back and there are familiar avatars hanging around the place. We now live in a world where we can connect with people in new and different ways, like we never could before. When I was growing up, I could talk about Star Trek to about five other people. Everyone else just thought I was a nerd. Now I know I'm not alone. That's a pretty good thing about life, right?

NERD!

*pushes up glasses*
*snorts*
*runs away, tripping over untied shoelace*

 

[Taylirious]

Life is what you make of it.

I never liked hearing that when everything was going wrong and life felt like a nightmare but it is true.

Things aren't ideal now but they never were and I am okay with that. I just know what I want and I am going to try my best.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Excellent. Best of luck to you.

Whoa! Seeing your name again made today worth living for. How are you?

Out of my cryo-chamber for the day. I got nostalgic.

But see? Even being away for a while, I can still come back and there are familiar avatars hanging around the place. We now live in a world where we can connect with people in new and different ways, like we never could before. When I was growing up, I could talk about Star Trek to about five other people. Everyone else just thought I was a nerd. Now I know I'm not alone. That's a pretty good thing about life, right?

You had five? You were lucky. Yeah, it's fantastic to be able to meet interesting and talented people like you for a change.

 

[RandyS]

Very Little. VERY little.

But truthfully? Even that is enough to keep me going.

For now, anyway.

 

[Inactive-Shapeshifter]

Sometimes i sense that the meaning of life is closer than we think. We are human beings, we have flows, we are not perfect. We live in a not perfect society and world. The meaning for me is to simply become a better person with each day. Very much like "expanding my program". We all have programs. It is up to us to make them something we can look and be proud off.

We are here to better ourselves and the rest of humanity.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

What's Good is Life and living.

FTFY.

 

[Amaris]

...Even on my worst day, the alternative is most certainly worth avoiding.

This.

Absolutely. This.

This.

Absolutely. This.

Totally!

There are days when thoughts get so dark that I wonder what the point is in continuing, but the spectre of death is not something I am ready to face, because there is no going back. I hold to the hope that days will get better, even though my rational mind tells me that the odds are heavily against me. This is why, despite those thoughts, I am an optimist.

 

[Australis]

Anbd, as they say in Reddit, OP plz respond. We've given you a range of thoughts without much in the way of reply.

 

[Pondwater]

This.

Absolutely. This.

Absolutely. This.

Totally!

There are days when thoughts get so dark that I wonder what the point is in continuing, but the spectre of death is not something I am ready to face, because there is no going back. I hold to the hope that days will get better, even though my rational mind tells me that the odds are heavily against me. This is why, despite those thoughts, I am an optimist.

Same here. Although, I'm a pessimist. I keep hanging on and try harder to improve.