What is happiness/the point of life?

cathpa

It seems to be that we are born and then we die. In between we do things like go to school, have jobs and meet somebody we like and then start a family.

Is that it?

AnonoBoy

cathpa wrote: »

Is that it?

Yes.

You may commence sobbing now.

shampon

If you want to know the meaning of life, look to Bruce Lee and Van Damme. Simple.

OSS.

partyndbs

have fun

sollar

cathpa wrote: »

It seems to be that we are born and then we die. In between we do things like go to school, have jobs and meet somebody we like and then start a family.

Is that it?

Yeah if your lucky thats it.

pragmatic1

Because there would be no point in a having a universe if there was no one to witness it.

EverEvolving

It's not the destination, but the journey

Jamiekelly

"Every living thing on Earth dies alone" - Donnie Darko

Have a great weekend everybody :pac:

the keen edge

cathpa wrote: »

It seems to be that we are born and then we die. In between we do things like go to school, have jobs and meet somebody we like and then start a family.

Is that it?

Well done, you have managed in two sentences to sum up all the achievements of the human race.

What a sorry shower of feckless bastards we are.

MistyCheese

Meaning of Life?

^ tbh

Scarydoll

Happiness is.....

Trog

Op, NEVER read anything Schopenhauer ever wrote and you'll get by just fine...

mikom

Happiness is a movie by Todd Solondz, detailing three middle-class New Jersey sisters who all have their problems with their families and sex lives.

Snakeblood

mikom wrote: »

Happiness is a movie by Todd Solondz, detailing three middle-class New Jersey sisters awho ll have their problems with their families and sex lives.

Frankly, that film had a misleading title.

alandublin15

1 opinion
http://www.youtube.com/user/BuddhistSocietyWA#p/u/9/wG5IadQxhvE

Aoifey!

Happiness only lasts for a short time til it is replaced by worry, problems, fights, or something alone those lines.

TeddyTedson

I think the idea is to try and be the best you can be and be number 1 and take control of the world.

Captain Darling

TBH

Naikon

It's simple. There is none. We try to justify our existence by any means possible.

biko

You can believe in some god(s) if that makes you feel better?

Proxy

Relax man. There is no point or meaning, we're just here. Take comfort in that. Now enjoy yourself. Go out and have a couple pints with some friends.

That's it. Drink up now. It'll all be ok.

CreepingDeath

cathpa wrote: »

It seems to be that we are born and then we die. In between we do things like go to school, have jobs and meet somebody we like and then start a family.

Is that it?

Happiness is determined by brain chemistry.
Some peoples happiness level are higher than normal, others lower.
This can temporarily be changed by life events, but we generally return to our normal level.

School, jobs etc, are just the standard way of obtaining resources.
You might be just as happy living tax free in a self sustaining hippy commune.

Red Hand

biko wrote: »

You can believe in some god(s) if that makes you feel better?

And blow people up in his honour.:pac:

Agricola

The point of life is what you make it.
You can chase material success and enjoy being filthy rich.
You can chase spirituality, go to Tibet, pray with the monks, become one with mother earth.
You can dedicate your life to improving the lots of others.

Whatever your thing is, go for that and then life will have meaning for you.

I should follow my own advice.

alandublin15

op everything you are is part of the universe, its not going to disappear

Blondini

Aoifey! wrote: »

Happiness only lasts for a short time til it is replaced by worry, problems, fights, or something alone those lines.

True to a certain extent .... but you can reach a comfortable state eventually ...

lamai

go away and have a tug to yourself

Up-n-atom!

Go read some Beckett, that'll cheer u right up!

Monday, Tuesday...Happy Days:p

Kasabian

The point of life is to leave a legacy with the people that you love. Living on in the hearts of those that love you and you have loved.

ManofStraw

To quote Thomas Hobbes "the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." But while I believe that life can be miserable in particular moments, in general life is only as miserable as you make it.

mickrock

The way to happiness is to step out of time and live in the present.

Just like an animal!

dilbert2

cathpa wrote: »

It seems to be that we are born and then we die. In between we do things like go to school, have jobs and meet somebody we like and then start a family.

Is that it?

If you are in severe physical pain and are struggling with some disease that is rendering your life difficult, then I heartfeltly sympathise with your position, and can understand why you would see life that way.

If you are however on the other hand simply some whiny teenager who has had a fallen out with his/ her parents, or got some homework they didn’t like off teacher, please dry up and get over yourself - life is what you make of it, there is more than enough things in the world to supply us with happiness and meaning.

And yes there are a million and one things in the world not related to family, school and work for us to explore, and make our individual lives worthwhile.

WopTittyPop

http://api.ning.com/files/Jc3IklCbD-F4eUCrTPSmuZ7d7Ny1h5ru*tdh-xC3c5tK4047ALE4tHSY8wA5uFkc9SoEhuokx5GF6ZLJz9Dh78pK2RqoQtiy/DyingtoLive.jpg

..And now for a real mindf*ck http://stapledesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/carlsaganexistence.jpg

sheesh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbiEx-BVKKo

dilbert2

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Because there would be no point in a having a universe if there was no one to witness it.

In fairness though, physical life in itself is not an inevitability. Just an (thankfully) offshoot of random physical forces in the universe which together resulted in the first cells nearly 4 billion years ago. The rest of the timeline up until the present just entails physical mutations of species resulting in other species (e.g. humans from primates).

However, while you could say that the universe and life in itself have no particular meaning- that in no way implies that people's everyday lives have no meaning. Of course they can, and do - there is so much science, art, music, creativity, sport etc in the world, along with countless societies and groups one can join, or countries and continents to a person could explore etc.

I'm sorry for going a bit off-topic there, but I just felt the need to distinguish between the two, aka. (a) the inevitably of life on earth, and possibly elsewhere in the universe, and (b) individual claims that life in general is meaningless for people in the here and now in society – which is a subjective claim only insofar that if a person is suffering from a life shattering physical painful condition, or perhaps even mental/ neurotic condition, that they can make a claim to the contrary.

.same.

cathpa wrote: »

It seems to be that we are born and then we die. In between we do things like go to school, have jobs and meet somebody we like and then start a family.

Is that it?

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Y[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ou are not just a meaningless fragment in an alien universe, briefly suspended between life and death, allowed a few short-lived pleasures followed by pain and ultimate annihilation. Underneath your outer form, you are connected with something so vast, so immeasurable and sacred, that it cannot be spoken of - yet I am speaking of it now. I am speaking of it now not to give you something to believe in but to show you how you can know it for yourself.[/FONT]~E.T.

mickrock

dilbert2 wrote: »

However, while you could say that the universe and life in itself have no particular meaning- that in no way implies that people's everyday lives have no meaning. Of course they can, and do - there is so much science, art, music, creativity, sport etc in the world, along with countless societies and groups one can join, or countries and continents to a person could explore etc.

Billions of years ago there was nothing at all. Now there's all this.

Amazing! Oh, I forgot, it's all the result of random forces.

Elohim

mickrock wrote: »

The way to happiness is to step out of time and live in the present.

Just like an animal!

Close, but we haven't got to the point where we can step out of time.
Until then the whole point of life is to further our understanding of things to help future generations on their path to building this time machine. Then we can all be truly happy.
Time travel for some, miniature flags for all!

dilbert2

mickrock wrote: »

Billions of years ago there was nothing at all. Now there's all this.

Amazing! Oh, I forgot, it's all the result of random forces.

I take it you've never heard of evolution then?

dilbert2

Elohim wrote: »

Close, but we haven't got to the point where we can step out of time.
Until then the whole point of life is to further our understanding of things to help future generations on their path to building this time machine. Then we can all be truly happy.
Time travel for some, miniature flags for all!

How would we step outside of time?

TheBunk1

“A life Jimmy. It's the **** that happens while you wait for moments that never come.” -Lester Freeman (The Wire).

While a great quote I prefer..." When we die, will we be that disappointed or sad,
If heaven doesn't exist, what will we have missed?
This life is the best we've ever had" (Neil Hannon, The
Divine Comedy, Tonight We Fly).

mickrock

Elohim wrote: »

Close, but we haven't got to the point where we can step out of time.
Until then the whole point of life is to further our understanding of things to help future generations on their path to building this time machine. Then we can all be truly happy.
Time travel for some, miniature flags for all!

I'm working on a time machine in my shed and am making good progress!

Stepping out of psychological time just involves having a still mind. Thinking is vastly overrated.

fonecrusher1

We're just clever monkeys. We start & end just like other animals, yes dogs, cats, hamsters (this is to demonstrate finality that people can relate to) we die theres a funeral & our lifeless body is put in a box & buried where it will decompose for years. Some people choose to have religious hocus pocus associated with the burial to ease the loss experienced by friends & relatives of the deceased.

I suppose the point is did you have enough sex & contentedness = happiness before you died? Just realised while typing this i don't think i have. I must do better.

bodice ripper

I hear it is about love and charity.

even as an athiest, that is hard to argue with.

Shield

What matters is what you do with your dash.

On your gravestone will be your name, the date you were born, a dash, and the date you died.

Some people use their dash to change the world (Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Pope John Paul II), while others choose a more wasteful or mundane path.

What you do with your dash is up to you!

mickrock

dilbert2 wrote: »

I take it you've never heard of evolution then?

Doesn't a continuous movement from the simple to the complex imply an intelligence rather than completely random forces?

And I don't mean a separate entitity apart from the universe i.e. God.

dilbert2

mickrock wrote: »

Doesn't a continuous movement from the simple to the complex imply an intelligence rather than completely random forces?

And I don't mean a separate entitity apart from the universe i.e. God.

There is no intelligent force that we know of, or specific intention behind the process of evolution. I think you are going a little off topic though, my main reasons for mentioning evolution was to (a) disagree with the contention that without life to view the universe, that it would be pointless as this would seem to suggest a supernatural as opposed to natural justification for the existence of life, and (b) I was simply pointing out that while physical life itself was pointless from the perspective of our existence and reason to be here as a species - but supporting the claim that there is much to be happy about in the world, and that life is not pointless - the question of which the OP was pondering about.

Metallitroll

contentments connected to the, geebone. n the geebones connected to the, dick bone. n thats a natural law. i'd settle for contentment..

can't you just be content? put up, or shut up. says he who's not gettin any


oh, wait?

Elohim

dilbert2 wrote: »

How would we step outside of time?

Well I don't know, we don't have that level of understanding yet so all we can do is lay the foundations for future understanding.
When we get to that point we can step out of time (God probably hangs out here with his cronies) and have all the time we need to find an answer to the question.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Happiness is different for everyone. I used to find it in material wealth but realised that the lust for money and other shíte is actually the path to sadness. This is for me, many others may find true happiness in material wealth, but I do not. I purchase what I need, not always getting the bare minimum as it's nice to be comfortable

bodhrandude

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

We're just clever monkeys. We start & end just like other animals, yes dogs, cats, hamsters (this is to demonstrate finality that people can relate to) we die theres a funeral & our lifeless body is put in a box & buried where it will decompose for years. Some people choose to have religious hocus pocus associated with the burial to ease the loss experienced by friends & relatives of the deceased.

I suppose the point is did you have enough sex & contentedness = happiness before you died? Just realised while typing this i don't think i have. I must do better.

Im inclined to agree here and like another poster mentioned happiness is a fairly short lived moment. Its like that old Irish reel Contentment is Wealth, eat plenty, have fun and get on with everyone as best as you can.