1340 replies to this topic

[Mathijs]

What? Don't care about life because you're going to die? I'd rather care about life BECAUSE I'm going to die.

[Rafv Nin IV]

Thank you, Matias, we appear to agree on some matters.

I don't believe in a higher deity because I don't accept anything as better than me. It's my personal philosophy of arrogance. By your 'logic', Segway, I should not care about my life because it has no greater 'meaning' to it. This is the precise opposite of my ideals: I care about my life because my life is the most holy thing I know of. I accept that I will not live forever. I even accept that I may die young; I have known people who died before their twentieth birthdays by little fault of their own. It is because of that looming death that I want my term in existence to matter. I exist; therefore I must justify my existence.

[Vortigern]

I take a slightly different outlook, but only slightly: I know I'm going to die sooner or later, so I do everything I can to enjoy myself while I'm here. "You only live once" is a kind of motto for me. The other side of my philosophical coin is that I would very much like to leave something behind, a legacy if you will, and the way I look at that is "the bigger the better". How awesome would it be to, in ten thousand years, be remembered like Ozymandias, King of Kings? Gigantic statues, broken and ruined, archaeologists looking at it thinking "who was this guy? He must have been someone totally awesome to have a statue like this". I think I can call that my ultimate goal in life.

[Puppeteer]

I don't view the existence of a God as particularly important. If God does exist, would he have created us just to be a personality cult, constantly worshipping Him? I wouldn't have thought so. I just want to live my life as if I've achieved something, perhaps left some kind of legacy behind and fallen in love along the way.

[segwayrulz]

I seriously think that if I need to waste about 1 hour of my life every week listening to some made up story about some guy who did a bunch of stuff then theres no point in it. now religion has just gone crazy look out there at alot of religions such as Scientology (I actually know what this is because im related to one) and Jediism (think star wars being a religion, it has about 1 million followers)

[Vortigern]

Scientology is absolute bullshit. I met a hardcore scientologist in South Africa and, being an open-minded chap, went with him to the Church of Scientology. I use 'church' loosely. It was more of an office. They got us to take a massive long personality test to see if we were 'suitable for scientology' and then proceeded to tell us that we were exactly what we had said we were in the test. It was a colossal waste of time. What I learned there put me off scientology forever, as though all the media opinions hadn't already. I admit that all the stuff about aliens and volcanic radioactive remains being our souls is rubbish, that's nothing to do with what they believe, but what they do believe is actually worse, in a way. Scientology is essentially alternative psychiatry. From reading 'Dianetics', their core text, written by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder, I got the impression that Mr Hubbard wanted very badly to be a psychiatrist when he was little, but got rejected somewhere along the way. I also find it hilarious that he is the man previously quoted as saying "If you want to get rich quick, start a religion."

Anyway, don't convert to scientology. Just don't. As for Jediism, I think that's more of a joke than anything else. Eight years ago there was a census in Britain and a group email went round the entire country telling people to register their religion as 'Jedi' so it would have to become the country's official religion. Not enough people did it for that to happen, but enough did that it had to be considered a genuine religion. It started out as a joke and grew into a big joke.

[Rafv Nin IV]

The problem with wanting to leave a great legacy, such as gigantic statues that archaeologists unearth millenia later, is that you'll be dead. End of story. You have to prove the reason for your existence within the course of your lifetime, and be satisfied with it, because you don't ever get any more chances.

[Allathar]

Yes, you'll be dead and won't experience a single thing of it. It will, however, be damned cool

Also, there is no such thing as 'proving' a reason for your existence, because there is none (well, except for reproducing). Of course, you can think up of very deep and seemingly meaningful reasons, but all of it won't matter once your dead, because well, you'll be dead. You can, however, leave a legacy behind, whether it's in the memories of your close ones (who will eventually die too, and your legacy with them) or through a big-ass statue. I prefer the latter, but if that's out of range, the other will do

Edited by Allathar, 25 April 2009 - 03:22 PM.

[Rafv Nin IV]

You don't have to actually "prove" the validity of your existence. You just have to prove it to yourself, and be satisfied. The legacy is not important because you'll never experience it. That's why I just want the statues to last at least until I die.

[Vortigern]

I don't think you have to prove anything to yourself. I don't think we have to believe that life has any kind of meaning whatsoever. We're an anomaly, we probably shouldn't exist and be able to philosophise and whatnot, but we can, so whatever. We can also build big-ass statues. Allathar seems to have got the point of that nailed down:

It will, however, be damned cool

That's what life is all about. Being awesome. Go forth and be awesome, my friends.

[Spectre]

I don't think you have to prove anything to yourself. I don't think we have to believe that life has any kind of meaning whatsoever. We're an anomaly, we probably shouldn't exist and be able to philosophise and whatnot, but we can, so whatever. We can also build big-ass statues. Allathar seems to have got the point of that nailed down:

It will, however, be damned cool

That's what life is all about. Being awesome. Go forth and be awesome, my friends.

Vort, I should quote that.

[Puppeteer]

That should be everyone's ambition on Revora, to be quoted by someone else in a signature/blue text

[Rafv Nin IV]

Puppeteer got that done

[Devon]

That's what life is all about. Being awesome. Go forth and be awesome, my friends.

Anyone seen Bill and Ted's excellent adventure? That reminded me of it



Be excellent to eachother.
Party on, dudes!



Yeah, I guess that's kinda how I live my life My two commandments, if you will. xD

Edited by Yoda_, 28 April 2009 - 12:14 AM.

[Vortigern]

Actually I watched Bill & Ted only the other day. I did have it in mind. Well spotted, Yoda. However, the sentiment remains the same. Whenever you're feeling down or blue, just stop it and be awesome instead. It's easier than it sounds.

[Allathar]

Actually I watched Bill & Ted only the other day. I did have it in mind. Well spotted, Yoda. However, the sentiment remains the same. Whenever you're feeling down or blue, just stop it and be awesome instead. It's easier than it sounds.

Uuuhm.... No, not so easy. I guess you just haven't had a depression.

[Vortigern]

I've been through all sorts of shit. And it really can be that simple. I admit, I did oversimplify, but if you want to pull yourself out of a depression, it's entirely up to you and you just have to make yourself take the initiative, give yourself that little push. Once you get going on a lift it does get a lot easier.

For example, I went through a massive paranoid depressive phase, which lasted about two straight months. I think I became a little unbearable, but then it just kinda clicked that I was being a douche and I put a stop to it. It really was that fast. After that I was fine, and still am, quite some time later. It's all about will power.

[Mathijs]

No Vort, I'm sorry but that is not how it works.

[Vortigern]

Well, that's how it works for me. Obviously I can't speak for everyone else, but I'd at least recommend trying my way, should your circumstances call for a solution. I understand that some people will find it a lot harder or be suffering from depression or other conditions far more severe than what I had. It's all personal. Different things work for different people, and that's what worked for me. I shall leave it at that.

[Tom]

In reference to the guy on the previous page saying "Who made God?"

Why does god need to be made? What if whatever "god" is just existed forever. Infinity is not comprehendible by the human mind because we are finite beings; doesn't mean that it cannot exist.

Personally I don't worry about what is "after death" because I will discover if I am a spiritual being having a human experience or if I am just a biological animal and a bunch of chemicals working together, when I die. If consciousness comes from the brain or beyond the brain then that will be discovered upon physical death. Other than that, as Matias said, I live because I know my time is short.