World/human population is 8 billion now. It keeps increasing. It doesn't even matter if one person is gone. It doesn't even matter if I'm gone or die.

[nikiwonoto]

Most people probably don't think about this. People keep living everyday, thinking that their lives mean something; that their lives have meaning or purpose. Most people are even too busy with each their own survival mode everyday, which in today's world/era, it usually means people are busy making money, whether it's work, or run a business, etc etc etc.

Most people in this world are oblivious or ignorant to this harsh reality, that we are all basically just little speck of dust on this planet, let alone universe. I always use the illustration of ants: Some ants live, some ants die (from getting trampled, crushed by feet, etc etc etc). Nothing special. It's the same with human life.

People of course will always try to rationalize this, all in a hope to convince themselves basically that life, especially their own lives, have meaning & purpose. And that each individual matters; each person matters. But in the grand scheme of things, the harsh truth is nothing really matters (well, perhaps unless if we could somehow defy reality, whether perhaps through space travel, immortality, transhumanism/posthumanism, AI (artificial intelligence), VR (virtual reality), etc etc etc; but nothing is guaranteed for sure, in reality again). Everything we do will eventually just crumbles to the dust. So why bother?

Today there is even now a popular 'hype' philosophy like "optimistic nihilism". But to me personally, it's just the same basically with hedonism, which basically it all sounds the same, eg: "just live in the present moment, enjoy life, since we only live once!". But again, is this all there is to life? existence? It still feels pointless, in the end, in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Livelife]

Most people probably don't think about this. People keep living everyday, thinking that their lives mean something; that their lives have meaning or purpose. Most people are even too busy with each their own survival mode everyday, which in today's world/era, it usually means people are busy making money, whether it's work, or run a business, etc etc etc.

Most people in this world are oblivious or ignorant to this harsh reality, that we are all basically just little speck of dust on this planet, let alone universe. I always use the illustration of ants: Some ants live, some ants die (from getting trampled, crushed by feet, etc etc etc). Nothing special. It's the same with human life.

People of course will always try to rationalize this, all in a hope to convince themselves basically that life, especially their own lives, have meaning & purpose. And that each individual matters; each person matters. But in the grand scheme of things, the harsh truth is nothing really matters (well, perhaps unless if we could somehow defy reality, whether perhaps through space travel, immortality, transhumanism/posthumanism, AI (artificial intelligence), VR (virtual reality), etc etc etc; but nothing is guaranteed for sure, in reality again). Everything we do will eventually just crumbles to the dust. So why bother?

Today there is even now a popular 'hype' philosophy like "optimistic nihilism". But to me personally, it's just the same basically with hedonism, which basically it all sounds the same, eg: "just live in the present moment, enjoy life, since we only live once!". But again, is this all there is to life? existence? It still feels pointless, in the end, in the grand scheme of things.

I think about it frequently. Now much of what you stated here is a truth for me. And sometimes I can tap back into believing the following; that there is higher purpose that can be made tangible, it involves having particular mindsets to open to other experience, nothing to do with being catalyzed or manifested by anything outside of ourselves. And also further purpose that can't be experienced by staying strictly within the boundaries of the lower dimensions operating from just the 5 basic senses that most all people think of being the sum total of what there is to the human incarnation.

 

[iloverachel]

I have some similar thoughts.
I think about how theres billions of people and really no one really cares, and that my life is of very little value and worthless like a speck of dust or ant.

 

[seabird]

@nikiwonoto There is no way for you to prove that one's existence doesn't matter.

The thread's topic is a circular reasoning kind of statement.

Plus, SF is a place to be supportive of the life we and our fellow humans have, not present defensive reasoning against it.

 

[seabird]

We care about you @iloverachel .

 

[iloverachel]

We care about you @iloverachel .

 

[Lara_C]

But in the grand scheme of things, the harsh truth is nothing really matters ......Everything we do will eventually just crumbles to the dust. So why bother?

The fact that everything is temporary doesn't mean it's meaningless. While we are here, we all want to be happy and not to suffer and that has meaning in and of itself. Should we deny our selves or our loved ones life saving medical treatment because everyone dies anyway? Should we turn a blind eye to the victims of famine, poverty, war etc, because ' in the grand scheme of things' nothing lasts forever? Why does life have to have a meaning or purpose beyond life and living itself ? Why can't we just take the fact that we are alive as our starting point and strive to make the living of it as happy as possible for all?

 

[Acy]

@nikiwonoto — I’m sorry your view of the world and each person’s place in it seems very confined.

Life doesn’t mete out advantages, skills, opportunities, talents, or good and bad things equally — not in terms of experience, material/financial issues, health, and personal traits. Life is not “fair“ so finding a one-size-fits-all meaning/purpose for life could be difficult.

A wise man told me once that maybe the only purpose of life is to make it as good as we can. And maybe we ourselves determine what “as good as we can” means. That puts the burden of making life meaningful on us.

Making each day count and feel or be good…For me, that means feeling satisfied and helping others to feel their life is good, too.

If my goal were to change the whole world, I might not be able to find proof of that. However, I can make someone’s day a little better — my own, another person’s, a few people’s. I don’t have the personal resources and skills to effect large-scale change. I must be satisfied that small things do matter. I might realize that bringing a smile to someone could mean that smile was passed along to someone else, to another person, and yet another one after that…My day can be made better by someone else just by someone sharing a joke with me, saying a kind word, asking me to join in…

In my life, I have…been in the right place at the right time to listen to someone who needed help; been fortunate to have people be there for me at times; shared hours of laughter with friends who have nothing else they can afford to give; received gifts that I didn’t feel worthy of; given gifts that were mere “tokens” that were appreciated beyond measure; scalded by vicious words from so-called family and friends; wrung out by overwork and demanding bosses; stressed over financial difficulties; lost loved ones; been agog at the beauty of a sunset and stunned by the power of tornadic storms. Life is a mix of good and bad, give and take, joy and sorrow, feast and famine. It is not perfect. It might not demonstrate that our life is “meaningful” in a grand way…but each one of us is meaningful and has a purpose, and we can find meaning and purpose in small mundane things and in small special things.

So I’ll turn this around on you a bit: What would make life feel good for you? In big ways or small ways? Given that most of us are limited in time, resources, and usually the power to cause “great change” in the grand scheme of things…how would you like your “speck” to live out its time? What would make it seem worthwhile to you? (You don’t need to reply, it’s kind of a rhetorical, make you think question. And you don’t have to agree with me. I get that many people, especially on this site, are disillusioned, and some are truly nihilistic and experiencing a kind of existential crisis. I still hope that you do eventually find something that makes you feel good and as though your life has a purpose of some kind. Be well and stay safe!)

 

[may71]

But in the grand scheme of things, the harsh truth is nothing really matters

Imho, whether a thing matters or not comes down to a subjective evaluation.

I think there are Zen practitioners who say that nothing really matters, but for them I don't think it's a cause for despair or suicide.

It's really only depressed people who want to kill themselves or who feel despair about life. A not depressed person could have more or less the same philosophical view of life yet not want to kill themselves.

 

[Dante]

If nothing else matters I would say that human experience matters. However, the vast majority of those 8 billion people dont care and seem to, at best, look out for themselves, and at worst actively make people's lives worse on a grand scale without a care in the world. Anyone who has read my "Suicide Forum" thread knowns what I think about the quality of people in SF. The lives of every single one of you has great meaning to the human experience, as the lives of some of the major minority who DO give a damn about other people's happiness and WONT screw over others for petty self gain.

You ask the important questions: what is my purpose, is there any meaning, am I hurting or helping, how can i get better... most dont. THAT gives you value and meaning in and of itself. I am probably quite callous in saying this but if many of those 8 billion died, it wouldn't matter on the grand scheme, but someone like you or anyone else on SF dying would.

 

[Ziggy]

Most people in this world are oblivious or ignorant to this harsh reality, that we are all basically just little speck of dust on this planet, let alone universe.

That's true, but somebody still needs to feed my cat.

 

[Just_a_guy]

As I see it, it doesnt really matter at all how many ppl know that you exist. The fact is that in life youll ever know a very very few people who care about you or even know that you exist. When we all eventually be in the dirt, the chances are that in 100 years there will be absolutely nobody that knows that we even ever existed. Also, when we are in the dirt, all this crap is the last thing in our minds.

What matters is what you make of your life and how you live it, how you enjoy it and how you make use of what you have.

 

[Lady Wolfshead]

That's true, but somebody still needs to feed my cat.

I love this!