Is the human journey worth it?

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bluegrey

Antiquities Friend
#1
This is by no means pro-suicide but none of us asked to be born and the journey through a human's life stages is both profoundly rewarding and unspeakably agonizing. Even the people who will never have reason to come to this forum are at the mercy of a human's vulnerabilities- physical and psychiatric illnesses, stress, disease, loss/grief, disillusionment, humiliation, the the eventual physical and cognitive decline late in life and an all to common exit in prolonged demeaning circumstances.

I was born and now I'm stuck here though sometimes I am experiencing a quality of life that doesn't give me enough reason to use the word "stuck". I was raised Roman Catholic but, unfortunately, (and especially for my own emotional well being) I no longer have any religious faith so I don't have the uniquely human experience of staying in the game if only because it is "His" will.

I really don't have a consistent opinion one way or the other. I do think planet Earth would be much better off without humanity because of the cruelty we commit on so many of it's vulnerable, unintelligent creatures and the environmental damage caused even at the very least by providing food and shelter for our species.

The majority of the struggling people here probably wish they were never born- I wish I hadn't and I would not have children even if I could competently and compassionately raise them. I am terribly sorry if this this post was harmful or depressing- I felt I needed to hear opinions on whether you believe the human lifespan and experience is, all considered, worthwhile?
 

morgan

Well-Known Member
#2
I can't say for sure. I don't think anyone can. This morning I saw the most beautiful sunrise over the ocean. It almost made me believe in God again. But I saw the newspaper and the cover story was about a 15 year old homecoming princess who was gang-raped. If there was a God, how could he let this happen?
I know life is what you make of it, so you can choose to see only sunshine and butterflies. To do that, you'd have to shut yourself off from the world, never read the newspaper and never connect to anyone you could lose. Is that really living?
At the moment, I am leaning towards the not worth it side of the fence (hence my presence on this site). I have found nothing to live for. But if there is no God, what if there is no heaven? What if it's all over after this?
 

Tobes

Well-Known Member
#5
My journey and the journey are both worth it. If mine weren't worth it, I would have killed myself a long time ago, and if the human journey weren't worth it, we wouldn't be where we are today. I think we live in a great world with bad occurrences and bad people, but ultimately, it's better than nothing.

And as far as I understand, God lets bad things happen because he can't interfere with free will, and it is rumoured that if he did interfere, humans would either lose their free will or have a mass breakdown. I don't buy the second one though, nor do I currently believe in the Christian God.
 
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boo

Well-Known Member
#7
No one will know that answer better than yourself. Because you are the one that will ultimately have to twist the knob and open the door and realise what you are about to face is a world full of surprises. But unlike most things nowadays life doesnt come with a manual. And if you break it that's it.
You will probably spend most of your life serving the others and wonder what is your purpose. Well there are millions of purposes out there. And you will never know which you will truly need to pursue because, life is fair... Mankind are not :tongue:

so i'll say no
 

Ziggy

Antiquitie's Friend
#8
The Universe is mainly empty space, you get a few rocks, a bit of hydrogen fusing here and there. And at the moment I'm listening to Beethovens 9th symphony and so I think it is worth it.
 

fromthatshow

Staff Alumni
SF Supporter
#9
Unless you know what death is like, how can we know if the human experience is worthwhile? And you can't really be certain what death is like, so that fact alone might make it worth it to stay alive and try to find happiness.
 

bluegrey

Antiquities Friend
#10
Unless you know what death is like, how can we know if the human experience is worthwhile? And you can't really be certain what death is like, so that fact alone might make it worth it to stay alive and try to find happiness.
I've been exposed to my own along with many other people's idea of the experience of death and that is simply nothingness- numerous times under general anesthesia while receiving ECT treatments. I hope I am wrong but I believe I've felt what "death" is to all beings.

Spencer and everybody, I am not implying life- all experiences considered, is not worth living. It definitely IS for many reasons especially as you pointed out simply the search for happiness but also for the meaningful, charitable and loving interactions with other people and most important the responsibility you are given by virtue of your birth to not choose to take your life and harm your loved ones.
 

Stranger1

Forum Buddy & Antiquities Friend
#11
Is my lifes journey worth it, NO!!
Is the worlds journey worth it, No!!
Mankind is destroying this planet.. Look how many speices have disappeared because of our own greed..Mankind should be removed from the equasion..
 

Axiom

Account Closed
#13
Yes I think it's worth it as a whole and individually. Alot of us have recieved the short end of the stick in one way or the other, and on a whole humanity has done an incredible amount of damage to the earth and it's species. We've also done an amazing amount of good, and have made leaps and bounds over the last 200 years. It would be an evil to stop progressing now after all the mistakes and sacrafices we have made, and all the achievments and hardships we have endured and overcome. We might be killing the planet and other people, but are becoming more and more aware of this, and proactive... all in all though, the earth will survive with or without us, and it will reestablish new life all the time. Nothings wasted, it's just reabsorbed.
 
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