what is life about?

allalone

im 29 and never have understood what life is about.you go to school get a job,get married ,have kids.but what if you dont get married and have kids.what else is left for you?

síofra

The life you talk about- getting a job, having kids etc. is what is sold to us by films, ads, the media in general and even though it is a nice idea and seems to suit quite a lot of people, it can't be put so easily into a box like that. Life is what YOU make of it and what it means for one person may not be the same for another. You are free to create whatever makes you happy, be it travelling the world, listening to people's stories or wondering what its all about. I look at it as a blank canvas that gets painted with different colours and with more than just one pair of hands. All the things that happen to you, the people you meet, the good and the bad times, your own thoughts get painted into this. A bit abstract I know but for me it makes sense. Having said that, I know that although I've made some kind of meaning, its not the only one .

p.pete

You could try looking into the area of positive psychology - it's a fairly new area so not scientifically robust. I've only heard of it recently and find it quite interesting, you could start by looking at Martin Seligman.

2Scoops

allalone wrote: »

im 29 and never have understood what life is about.you go to school get a job,get married ,have kids.but what if you dont get married and have kids.what else is left for you?

PI?

Latchy

allalone wrote: »

im 29 and never have understood what life is about.you go to school get a job,get married ,have kids.but what if you dont get married and have kids.what else is left for you?

Somthing i am sure most people ask themselfs on any one given day .

BroomBurner

Find some hobbies, or a hobby. Don't fret the big stuff either, 'cause no matter what happens, someone out there is having a more sh!t time (if PI is anything to go by). Just live life at your own pace, discover things, read books, etc. and treat people as you'de like to be treated (unless you're in to S&M...).

Helix

life = do stuff you enjoy before you die

if you have to work to get the money to do the stuff you enjoy then its an ends to a means. education means you can make yourself more likely to get a job you enjoy while getting money to do non job stuff you enjoy

my idea of a wife and kids is absolute hell, thatd be no life for me, however it also means i have more time to do things i actually enjoy without them which makes my existance all the more enjoyable

so basically, so far as i can see it, life is about indulgence and enjoyment

MIN2511

allalone wrote: »

im 29 and never have understood what life is about.you go to school get a job,get married ,have kids.but what if you dont get married and have kids.what else is left for you?

You are not the only one thinking like this believe me... i questioned myself today...

Why do we have to do all these things? Two of my friends are engaged, another one is getting married... Fair enough i am younger than they are but why do we have to conform to society.....

There are too many what ifs and you dont know what would happen tomorrow...

MJOR

I always live by the rule.... There are no rules. Live your life how you want to. Don't feel like you need to conform to any particular timetable of how you should live

The most important thing is happiness! Always pursue this and you cannot go wrong,

Karen_*

allalone wrote: »

im 29 and never have understood what life is about.you go to school get a job,get married ,have kids.but what if you dont get married and have kids.what else is left for you?

Nothing. You're not any use on this earth if you don't have kids or get married.:p

OP there's loads loads more to life!!! You could be a counsellor, work with the sick, travel the world, be an actor/actress, discover penicillen, be a famous painter, do Live Aid, have a great career, fall in love, have your heart broken, teach people, dance, run a marathon, be a nun, learn and grow as a person, laugh, cry, and I could go on all day.

Life can be pretty good an fulfilling but you have to go out and grab it for yourself and not limit yourself to a very small box i.e marriage and children. Life's what you make it.

Red Hand

Helix wrote: »

life = do stuff you enjoy before you die

if you have to work to get the money to do the stuff you enjoy then its an ends to a means. education means you can make yourself more likely to get a job you enjoy while getting money to do non job stuff you enjoy

Thats a good way of putting it.

I know that many people (including myself) wouldn't live life that way. The emphasis for me growing up was to get a qualification and a "clean job" from that qualification ie not hard labour like my father had to do.

Life revolves around work for a good many people (including me). A daily grind to pay bills. I can't say that education or work has been enjoyable so far or a means to do the things I enjoy...I don't really have anything that I get lost in or completely preoccupied by. Mainly just distractions that ease stress from work.

Maybe I should be working on seeing what there is I enjoy.:)

newestUser

As I type this, I am sitting in a city where I arrived a month ago, knowing absolutely no-one. I am 30 years old, and am renting a room in a house from a guy who's the same age as me and owns the house.

The guy has a pretty impressive sounding regional-managerial-type job in a bank, his partner is a registrar doctor in the local hospital, it's all Audi's/plasma screen tellys/stag nights in Vegas, etc. etc. I reckon both of them are a bit gobsmacked that I came here on my own for a bit. Neither of them would ever dream of doing something similar. I feel a bit patronised by them at times, and a little insecure and inadequate, to be frank, by these people.

The guy does acknowledge however that decisions like the one I've made are more commonplace now (even compared to say 15 years ago). Cheap travel, and the internet has made the world a smaller place. To each their own. My set of circumstances and history are completely different from this guys. Regardless of what he thinks of me, my decisions and the path I've taken are the best choices I could have made given the experience, knowledge, and options I had open to me at the time.

Anyway. Enough about me. The point I'm making is I'm not planning on getting married or making babies anytime soon, and life sure as hell isn't a howling void of emptiness for me. And you have to be assertive about yourself and your choices, because even if people don't agree with your decisions or agree with your logic, they'll respect you for that at least.

There's plenty out there to live and experience OP, what's stopping you from shaking up your routine? Insecurity? Fear? Just not having an idea what else you would do?

Marksie

allalone wrote: »

im 29 and never have understood what life is about.you go to school get a job,get married ,have kids.but what if you dont get married and have kids.what else is left for you?

all the above is a societal construct.

There is a whole world of experience, sensation, living and loving out there.

But you have to go out and experience it.

Sitting at home wondering will not change things.

From travel to career, relationships to hobbies.

Its all out there, the only limit is yourself.

RossFixxxed

After watching 'The Bucket List' we were discussing all the things we want to do in life (actually watch Click, that's the one with the optimism). Nearly everything was travel or sex. This was guys mind you!

But after thinking, it's to be happy when you can, to roll with the bad times and more importantly to make a positive impact on other peoples lives. I'm sure that's why so many people post to help here too and that's just a start to what we can do!

Don't limit yourself to what other people think makes a good life, it may well be one for them but maybe not for you. Travel can be very good to show you what's out there. I'd say keep your mind open and follow where your heart leads you!

R

Beruthiel

allalone wrote: »

what else is left for you?

Happiness and the pursuit of.

challengemaster

life is about what you make it.

token56

This is a question I have asked myself almost everday for over 5 years now. Although I have been trying to restrain myself for the past year from brooding over it too much however ever so often it creeps into my thought.
My believe is that there is no one meaning to life as each person is individual and unique and it is only resonable to assume to every person will find something unique to them which drives them in life.

As the others have said life is what you make of it, you have find something that makes you happy and work towards achieving it.

If you spend all your time worrying about what life is about then you have little chance of ever living a happy one.

von Neumann

Hi Op,

I always thought that there's a lot of truth in "sunscreen song by baz luhrmann"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5NAPZp2w-o (hope this is right one, no sound in work )

And it never fails to cheer me up .

meditraitor

allalone wrote: »

im 29 ?

Single?

allalone wrote: »

and never have understood what life is about?

Your thinking too much;)

allalone wrote: »

you go to school?

Nothing strange here

allalone wrote: »

get a job?

Try to find one you like

allalone wrote: »

,get married?

If you meet the right woman this is not an issue

allalone wrote: »

,have kids?

If your lucky

allalone wrote: »

.but what if you dont get married ?

Dont

allalone wrote: »

and have kids?

Dont

allalone wrote: »

.what else is left for you?

Sex, drug and rock n roll

Aurora Borealis

For me it's about happiness and respect for myself and those I love. It's trying to understand what makes me tick and not being afraid to do whatever that is. It's a massive and continual learning curve. Sometimes certain people walk beside you on that road, sometimes you have to walk bits alone.

It's exciting, scary, hard, joyful. It's many many things but above all else, it's mine and I'm grateful for it.

Dave!

Happiness?

Life is what you make of it, so as long as you're happy and not hurting others, what's the problem?

LegacyUser

Hi Op good question!

im going to get all philosophical on you now,i believe we all have a puropse in life and it is our job to persue that purpose,not ever womans purpose is to have children,think of women like Oprah where they have another purpose in life.

To be fullfilled is to follow your heart and believe you can be anyway you want to,

some people might want to change the world,others might want a quiet life living by the sea,others might want to lead the world,others might want to fight in a war,be a budhist monk or mother and father..... we are all different and unique,the only person who can answer you on what your life purpose is is you..... all you have to do is take some time to connect with yourself and feel what it is like to 'be' in the present moment,when you are in tune with the higher self you are more likely to hear what your true desires are,being a thinker is not a fault if thats how you are...

accepting yourself and loving yourself will bring you peace and calm,when you can live in the world where you dont need anyone else to reassure you of who you are you have set yourself free....


anyone interested in knowing what soul type you are try this quiz,it gives you an indication to what your higher purpose is... http://www.soundstrue.com/quiz/instruction/index.html

condra

Life is not "about" anything. Life is just the way it is.

A satisfied and fulfilled life can be achieved in many different ways. I choose prozac.

LolaLuv

meditraitor wrote: »

Sex, drug and rock n roll

+1

mbren

Life is not about any one thing...it's what you make of it! Its an old cliche, but you only get out of it, what you put into it!

LegacyUser

when i try to think of what to do with my life i always think of that baz lurhman song too.
the solution for me at the moment is to travel but, like others with careers/children/souses, its not for everyone.
iv started repeating a saying to myself alot recently
"be present" in everything you do.
so dont drift along letting things happen to you, take control.
its a very Dr Phil thing to say but i think it works.