fineleg Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 More seriously, what gives meaning to life? The answer is simple: Death Without death life would not be precious, because we would not lose it. A true appreciation of what you have can only come when it can be taken away from you. I disagree with this Marilize. Death is the end to physical life. But life is a journey of experiences, dreams, ups and downs. Its not just the physical life. Death is going to come to one and all, and it can come anytime. But - I'm talking about have you ever thought of "What is the purpose of my life? What am I really here to do?" Yes, we all study, watch cricket, slog at work/university/wherever, party and have fun etc. But have you stopped to wonder what could be the purpose of life? How do you realize and fathom the goals and dreams and purpose? Beyond the socialized goals of leading a educated and career+family driven life. We all have the socialized goals and dreams inculcated to us by family, society etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunner Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 But - I'm talking about have you ever thought of "What is the purpose of my life? What am I really here to do?" Yes' date=' we all study, watch cricket, slog at work/university/wherever, party and have fun etc. But have you stopped to wonder what could be the purpose of life? [/quote'] Self fulfillment and helping others around you see the joy and pleasure which life is to you. Bring them into the light of happiness. This is my view of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikred Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 The great table up there golt. :winky: Sorry you get only one table to play, then that's it. Enjoy the game as much as possible, there won't be any another game after end of this game. :winky: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varun Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 From a strictly semantic persepective, life is what differentiates living things from non-living things. Living things respond to their environment, evolve over time, grow and reproduce. Of course the dichotomy that is hard to resolve is that how "life" is created out of non living constituents (atoms), which leads me to conclude that life is itself nothing but an interpretation of our current state of being or "consciousness", in which we can perceive and react. As for goals, I believe that every living being has a couple of goals ingrained into their DNA which might truly give them happiness. a) Survival of Self b) Survival of their Species (as an extension of Self by passing over their reproductive DNA) For humans, we have many higher level goals, but IMO they can all be broken down to the 2 basic goals listed above that every living being has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Girl Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Was it worth it? Life is about good moments and the bad ones. You live and learn from both. The good ones as long as they outweigh the bad moments, its still a wonderful life. :icflove: I like who I am and where I am. I can live with myself, so YES, it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Girl Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 @ fineleg: If I can make a positive difference in the lives of others, bring happiness and a sense of peace, I will consider my purpose to be fulfilled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 @ fineleg: If I can make a positive difference in the lives of others' date=' bring happiness and a sense of peace, I will consider my purpose to be fulfilled.[/quote'] Fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooda Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 More seriously, what gives meaning to life? The answer is simple: Death Without death life would not be precious, because we would not lose it. A true appreciation of what you have can only come when it can be taken away from you. . Its a pity you see it this way. What lends meaning to life as per me is joy. Such joy need not be derived from anything awesome, just simple pleasures. I think youre both effectively saying the same thing. I watched this ep of Six Feet Under (good series-bit overrated) where this guy says that Death makes life worth living. Struck a chord because its so true. Death makes you realise how valuable life is, which is why you infuse it with as much joy (or as Liz says happiness and a sense of peace) as poss. Or try to. Also Gunner your GENERATION? :hmmm: surely youre not that much older than Marilize? Im sure youre the same generation. Well, Im not sure what 'age gap' defines a generation though. Anyways thats not the point here. Fineys asking what the purpose rather than meaning of life But - I'm talking about have you ever thought of "What is the purpose of my life? What am I really here to do?" Yes, we all study, watch cricket, slog at work/university/wherever, party and have fun etc. But have you stopped to wonder what could be the purpose of life? I think religion plays a big role here. I am religious, not overtly so. But it kinda defines your purpose in life. Or it SHOULD anyway, because you realise how temporary this life is and that the point lies in the hereafter. So the purpose of this life is to do as much 'good' as possible in order to have the best afterlife. That principle hold true for most religions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Girl Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Sorry you get only one table to play' date=' then that's it. Enjoy the game as much as possible, there won't be any another game after end of this game. :winky:[/quote'] I don't agree. My religion teaches that there will be another game after this one comes to an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 Gunner, Thanks for stating your view. That's good to hear. Varun - true - Goals can be split into SURVIVAL Goals and PASSION Goals. Survival goals are need based - money, health, power, food, basic needs etc. Passion goals can vary from person to person Everyone wants "security" in life. Yes. Family and Career etc can sometimes be at the intersection of Survival (Need based) and Passion goals. Depends on how well things align with your interests, passion and talent/strengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varun Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I don't agree. My religion teaches that there will be another game after this one comes to an end. That's just a way to come to terms with death isn't it ? It is hard to fathom the concept of ceasing to exist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Girl Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Soods, I think you're spot-on about religion defining what we believe to be our purpose in life. People live their lives according to the rules laid down by their respective faiths, and therein you find your purpose which, as you pointed out, revolve around doing good in most religions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikred Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I don't agree. My religion teaches that there will be another game after this one comes to an end. As long as you don't play this game just for the sake of qualifying for that so called "another game", I have no issues at all. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunner Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I like who I am and where I am. I can live with myself' date=' so YES, it was worth it.[/quote'] I didn't imply the opposite but fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 Within a span of 3 months, I came across two sets of people (unrelated folks, unrelated to each other and to me, though one of them was a good acquaintance). One set of folks - a husband and wife may be in their 30s, left very plush job in a very reputed company in the US and decided to take up a fully volunteer work with a Yoga/Yogic foundation. They are not being paid for that, and they are doing it full time in a different city (relocated now). They have reasonable savings, but not rich by any means, so they did not do this because they have already "made their money" or anything. They found their true calling or so they believe. I dont know if they had any setbacks in life or turning points. Another friend - a younger person - had a setback in life. That was a big turning point. This person lived in US, very good education etc. Over the course of a year or so, decided that the calling was in exploring Spirituality and Meditation. And, relocating out of the country in full time pursuit of this. Sometimes - there is a TURNING POINT that makes people investigate what their true calling in life is. Maybe people get it in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s...or maybe they never get it, and either cruise through life, or maybe some always know their bearings very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Girl Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 That's just a way to come to terms with death isn't it ? It is hard to fathom the concept of ceasing to exist True. We need to believe there is existence beyond this life. It makes it easier to deal with the death of a loved one. Honestly, I don't fear dying, but I do fear the death of those I love. Your earlier post regarding the semantics of life is a very level headed way of looking at things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunner Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I think youre both effectively saying the same thing. I watched this ep of Six Feet Under (good series-bit overrated) where this guy says that Death makes life worth living. Struck a chord because its so true. Death makes you realise how valuable life is, which is why you infuse it with as much joy (or as Liz says happiness and a sense of peace) as poss. Or try to. Not quite. We are actually taking pretty divergent views there. YOu should not need death to tell you thevalue of life. Also Gunner your GENERATION? :hmmm: surely youre not that much older than Marilize? Im sure youre the same generation. Well' date=' Im not sure what 'age gap' defines a generation though. Anyways thats not the point here.[/quote'] These days 6 years constitutes a generation. The intention of that statement was not condescend but rather to express the difference in views due to different stimuli and environment these days. Fineys asking what the purpose rather than meaning of life One can't be answered without the other. I think religion plays a big role here. I am religious, not overtly so. But it kinda defines your purpose in life. Or it SHOULD anyway, because you realise how temporary this life is and that the point lies in the hereafter. So the purpose of this life is to do as much 'good' as possible in order to have the best afterlife. That principle hold true for most religions. I am sorry, I cannot connect to any aspects of religion. We can discuss spiritual philosophy but religion is past its sell by date in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunner Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Sorry you get only one table to play' date=' then that's it. Enjoy the game as much as possible, there won't be any another game after end of this game. :winky:[/quote'] Good lord, it was just a metaphor. Give it a rest. :hysterical: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Girl Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 As long as you don't play this game just for the sake of qualifying for that so called "another game"' date=' I have no issues at all. :P[/quote'] You don't win this game by focusing on the next one. Get through this one before worrying about what the next will bring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 My post to Sooda was deleted by varun (by mistake) - But anyway Gunner has responded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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