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#3085By Scitus Omnis (142.165.69.131) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 11:33 am

What do you suppose the whole point of life is? Could it be living as best as you can, procreating or pursuit of knowledge. All religons basically teach us to live in harmony with each other and with the earth. Maybe there is a God and maybe there isn't, perhaps that's not the point. I think the entire reason for being alive is to expirience life in your own way and to know yourself. Being good or bad doesn't really matter as long as you are happy with the life you are living. I don't know but life is life and living it is the entire point of existance. At least that's what I think.

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#3110By Carlan (205.188.209.6) on Friday, March 07, 2003 - 5:16 am

I like what you have to say about what the whole point of life is to you. As we go about experiencing life, we learn through many sources that our thoughts as well as our ideas change and expand. Life will show us and teach us things when we do good and bad things. Life will let us experience feelings of happiness, grief, shame, and other such emotions to help us to better understand what it is that is going on all about us. Life is to be cherished and life is to be honored and life most of all is a privilege to partake in. You are chosen, not all spirits are blessed to take part as you are able to do. Do your best to make your life's journey a joy for yourself and a present to the rest of us.

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#3594By Fanta Uprashnyenye (148.245.121.1) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 6:16 am

Scitus Omnis, how many religions have you explored? Which ones? I used to think science was commited to finding a meaning to life, but now I think it's only a fraction of what can help you figure out the purpose and nature of life. I started exploring religions. Some of them I simply crossed out because they are out-and-out irrational. But most major oriental religions are strikingly rational. Their purpose doesn't seem to be to whip up a story to calm down the masses. They honestly seek to understand life, the universe, etc. in a way that is practically scientific. Actually, some of them actually have a say in physics, for instance. The ones I have explored are jainism, hinduism, and buddhism. Since they are so coherent they are very good to apply to your everyday life. I saw a dramatic change in my life, I'm more peaceful, understanding, patient, and, I think, commited to good and truth. It's like someone removed a blindfold I was wearing. A whole new world of things to think about appears. These things will seem ever so much higher and important than what you knew before. I would strongly recommend you try it, too. The most wonderful thing about them is you don't have to "believe" anything feeling like you're being had. Buddhism and jainism say you should analyze and reason. If it doesn't seem rational to you, you don't have to take anything in. Their goal is mind liberation, to achieve total understanding of the nature of yourself and the universe. Well, why don't you see for yourself?...Good luck!

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#3769By Anonymous (219.65.134.206) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 8:34 pm

"But most major oriental religions are strikingly rational. Their purpose doesn't seem to be to whip up a story to calm down the masses. They honestly seek to understand life, the universe, etc. in a way that is practically scientific. Actually, some of them actually have a say in physics, for instance. The ones I have explored are jainism, hinduism, and buddhism. Since they are so coherent they are very good to apply to your everyday life. "

Don't be so sure. You are not an Indian living in India. Or you would HAVE to live with caste system, whether you like it or not.

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#5263By AIRTOG on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 2:46 am

What happen to this forum?? Awsome insights, have you
ever heard the saying..."The purpose of life is to have a
purpose?" I truly believe this... In actuallity, wouldn't you say
that technically, we are here to serve?? I'm only 21, and
friends of mine who are the same age are doing absolutely
nothing with their lives... they are quick to find someone,
have a baby and such.... I believe they want a purpose, a
reason to live, a feeling to be needed... Others, like myself,
wish to contribute something to the world... I think that it is
much more than just enjoying life and living it.... People
need reason, purpose, goals and achievements in life to
want to keep living.... I believe once someone has no goals
and stops dreaming, that person is already dead...

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#5278By mysticsdream on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 6:22 am

In the ancient words of The Moody Blues... 'we're all looking for something'... their album was "in search of the Lost Chord". Their lyrics reflected both on the then relatively new experience of finding enlightenment through drugs, but the content was also influenced by eastern spirituality.

Whether its 'the lost chord' or Indianna Jones and the 'holy grail'... many people devote themselves to searching for keys to unlock the meaning of life. I think the work of Victor Frankyl, "Man's Search for Meaning" attempted to give this a psychoanalytic base.

Most would probably agree that life has a meaning and purpose.. but may disaggree what its meaning is.

Your value 'to serve' is an honourable one. Examples of other meanings could be to accumulate wealth and power, or to get through the pearly gates, or to find peace and harmony within self. To say life has a meaning, is something akin to saying we are either born to explore the riddles of existence, or we are like sheep, and follow the meaning that someone else has defined for us.

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#5281By Carlan on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 9:36 pm

Airtog, I think that for every person there is a point of his or her life. Each of us has our own point or our own points for our own lives. The point for one person is far from being the point of life for other people. Some of us are here to serve others in our own individual way and others of us are here to be served in our own individual ways. You have chosen for you what you believe (for now, at least) is the point for your life. However, to say that your friends because they choose (at least, at present) to do nothing with their lives does not mean either that they have not chosen any point to their lives or that they are not, eventually, going to contribute to the good of society much later in their lives. Points of living life, purposes in living life, goals achieved or at least attempted are always changing in intensity and in passion. We may or may not know or tell anyone what are our private goals or our private plan for what we purpose to do in life because we don’t know how to articulate our goals or we choose not to tell anyone about them or we are not sure what our goals should be or could be at the present time. As you say, perhaps a person is dead already if he or she does not dream nor has any set goals but I think that as long as a person is physically and mentally alive they are likely over time to find that special and often time’s unique point of why they are alive at all. Some people are fortunate enough to know almost from birth what they were put on this earth for; others like myself are still keenly scanning the horizon for what will prove to be the main point of: why was I put here? The answer lies just in front of me and I know it but I am not sure that I will ever see it.

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#5286By AIRTOG on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 9:39 pm

Wow, I didn't think there was going to be a response for
such an old forum, but glad there is... Carlan, what you say
definitely makes alot of sense... But when I say there is
people around me who do nothing with their lives, I mean
literally... Their life is about smoking up, drinking, I mean,
there are people like you who are looking, but for the others
who aren't, I dont think its going to come to them, they have
to go out and explore... To me, thats doing nothing, but you
brought up and interesting factor with time... Maybe they will
change later, maybe not, definitely something to think
about.... I'm a Tibetan, I'm a buddhist, born and raised in
America, so I do tend to over observe things sometimes, its
in my blood....lol, but great replies, I'll be checking back....

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#6258By joweed on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 8:07 pm

there's a point? ... eat, drink and be merry for tommorow we might as well be dead...

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#7970By John Doe on Tuesday, March 01, 2005 - 8:21 am

The point in my life is to enjoy everyday and to help at least one other person enjoy that day. My wife, my kids, or even a stranger. Stranger??????????? You might say. Letting someone go ahead in line, helping a elderly person lift something heavy, lending an ear to someone, but without picking or choosing. Just living in each moment. Because life is just a series of moments. And sometimes it's the little things that bring a smile. To Anonymous: Do you mean living in Tao?

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#7972By Albert on Tuesday, March 01, 2005 - 12:54 pm

You've got the essence of it John Doe.

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#7979By Carlan on Wednesday, March 02, 2005 - 2:17 pm

I think that most people that live under a fairly good democratic system of government everyday has John Doe’s wonderfully sentimental and pretty simple attitude as to what they perceive are very good points to how they approach their day. Don’t we all wish that that was all that we had to do each day? Don’t you wish that we all could live under conditions where we could freely move about our local streets and our local markets and our local stores without having to see gun toting soldiers and police everywhere whose job it is is to try to protect us from terrorist and fanatics and lunatics not to mention the ordinary criminal element that always surrounds everybody no matter where they live? Don’t you wish that everyone did not have to worry about whether or not their humanitarian rights and dignity and liberties might be taken from them in the next minute because they had spoke out against their own government and against their own government’s policies and decisions? Don’t you wish that everyone could have a choice in choosing who governs them? Don’t you wish that everyone could have a choice in choosing which religion or non-religion they wanted to devote themselves to follow or to not follow? Don’t you wish that everyone could enjoy the rights and the privileges that every free democratic person lives under around the globe? Don’t you wish that everyone had access to the best medical care and the best health care and the best old age care that humans have made available to themselves over the centuries? Don’t you wish that everyone had made available to them the best educational facilities and teachers and the best and safest working conditions ever established on the planet? Don’t you wish that no one had to worry about where they were going to get their children’s’ next meal or where the next clean cup of water was going to come from? Don’t you wish that no one had to worry if they were going to be shot or blown up today? Don’t you wish that no one had to worry about if they or someone in their family was going to die from some kind of cancer or from some horrendous disease, or from an assassin's bullet, today? Don’t you wish that everyone had a good paying job that came with good family benefits for them now and will be there for their future cares, too? Don’t you wish that everyone could walk and talk and understand and get around as good as others of us can? Don’t you wish that bad drugs and bad alcohol would not be destroying people and families and countries? Don’t you wish that everyone was treated with respect and dignity and fair justice wherever they lived? Ah, yes, that point of life that you speak of John Doe is a good one if you are fortunate enough to get it that is for sure!

I wonder if we will hear from some other people out there and I wonder how they see their point or their points of their lives is or are.

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#7981By Albert on Wednesday, March 02, 2005 - 3:56 pm

I realize that everyone does not get to live like John Doe's vision, but I live that way for the most part. That is pretty much the way my life is.

Perception is reality for the most part.

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#7993By mysticsdream on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 5:56 am

I endorse the philosophy, but I don't set out to measure if I have done a good deed each day.

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#7997By mysticsdream on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 11:03 am

I was always taught that "it is rude to point".

But I did it anyway.... what's life if it has no pointing?

And if anyone asked me how I do it, on a sunny day like an impressionist, on a sad day like a violinist, and every other day like a gestalt therapist.

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#8000By Albert on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 12:25 pm

Your short absence has made you very sharp and witty....and pointy.

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#8013By John Doe on Thursday, March 03, 2005 - 8:02 pm

Imagine you actually knew the point of life. Would your life lose alittle bit of meaning. Wouldn't you become bored. Imagine waking up everyday knowing exactly what your purpose today was and knowing exactly how to accomplish it. You would walk around everyday of your life going through the motions. Sometimes I think we need a little monkey wrench thrown into our plans to bring out the passion in our life. You know, get us fired up a little. So I would like to rephrase a statement I made earlier by saying "I make it a point in my life.... and not the point of my life" You probly thought I was like a monk traveling the world helping people.

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#9379By Sam OPrey on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 12:14 pm

I always thought the point of life was life and without it there was no point, but then again saying that people are always saying that I have sligtly missed the point and I can only hope they don't mean the point of life because if so what is the point???

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#9398By krishnapran on Sunday, August 13, 2006 - 5:21 pm

Interesting!Very interesting indeed.The point of Life is to depart from the point and to expand awareness till you merge into a pointless vacuous,into an energised inactivity,into a conscious dream state.There are ways of getting into it.Some ,like Mother Teresa, do it through work.Some like Budhha do it through wisdom.Choice of path is yours.

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#9404By molly on Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - 3:49 pm

"Life is a series of short stories posing as a novel." Author unknown. The point of life, some might say, is the reflection of one entity's ego; some might say there is no point since life on this sphere is a process and the life of plants, insects, animals, humans, is just a "point" on the continuum; some might say it's to procreat the human species and that this species lives the "point of life" in its everyday discoveries. Personally, I think Sam has a "point" likened to knowing the time and day we will die - if we knew the "point" or the time and day we would die - what would we do with it? I agree with Krishnapran that there must be as many "points" (purposes) as there are individuals.

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#9406By Carlan on Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - 12:14 pm

I think that any answer that we choose to give as our answer to the question of ‘What is the point of life?’ will answer that question correctly and meaningfully for ourselves. I don’t think that anyone can get the answer wrong or for that matter get it correct. I think that the question is one that has been asked since the creation of human kind. The question was and remains a deeply intriguing question but other than that the question and the various possible answers will always remain somewhat mysterious and always curiously vague.

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#9443By Amy on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 3:09 pm

I agree that the meaning of life is unique for each individual but also discovering what it is or living it out will be what makes life the most satisfying. Some need a specific purpose and well defined goals to feel on track while others just want to have fun. What is most important in life is being happy and content with whatever situation you are in, whatever life throws your way. Many people find this hard to do because they do not realize everything in life is a choice. And I'm not saying physically, you are able to have all the riches in the world, but mentally, you have a choice to be content or bitter. You can choose to make the best of your situation or you can choose to complain. You choose whether you want to be in good mood or sit around with a scowl on your face. And let me ask you... wouldn't you rather choose to be happy?

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#9445By Carlan on Friday, September 22, 2006 - 1:13 pm

Amy, yes, I would rather be happy as to be unhappy. I am happy and contented most of the time but at some few other times I am sad and angry and frustrated. I don’t like to feel sad, angry, or frustrated. I do not think that I would feel any of these ways if everyone everywhere would just live their lives doing all that they possibly could pleasing me. If they would just get out of my way when I am trying to go somewhere and if they would let me in line in front of them when I am trying to check out of the grocery store would be a good gesture. If they would get out of my way on the freeway would be nice. If they would make sure that I would get nothing but green lights wherever I drive my car would be a good start. If they would make sure that all of my cares and all my concerns were addressed and taken care of before any of their cares and concerns would be good. If they would help me to get ahead in the world would be great. If they would sacrifice their selves for my family and friends and me instead of expecting my family and my friends or me to sacrifice for them would be the way to go, too.

But since most people seem to want to do what they think is best for them and not for me I am thinking that though I choose to want to be happy and joyful all day long that that is not going to be reality for me and I am going to have to put up with every now and again being sad, being angry, and being frustrated.

Oh, and one more thing that might interest you to know about me and that is though I may sound like a self-centered jerk to you that down deep in my heart if I could I would do all that I could to make each of your lives happy and contented all day long. I also have a huge, heavily traveled bridge over that bay located off San Francisco, California for sale if you are interested in purchasing. Give me a call; I think we can work something out.

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#9447By v on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 4:00 pm

Fascinating thoughts.

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#9450By Amy on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 4:34 pm

I definitely got a little chuckle after your last comment, Carlan. Not sure if I could afford it... not sure I understand it haha.

BUT although all your reasoning is completely valid (I always respect other's opinions), I'm not sure you completely understood what I was trying to say. Your entire response was about "they" and "them" and not about you. What do you do? How do you react to them? You become annoyed, frustrated, sad because what other people do. You grow angry out of choice. If you let other people bug you, then they will. If you choose to accept them or choose not to be bothered, those things start becoming less of a nuisance. I know that is the one thing I have really started to learn and try to make a habit. Accept people. Accept them with all their faults. For awhile, I saw my new roommate as selfish, a dud and someone with an insensitive superior attitude. But now I've noticed she actually has a hilarious sense of humor and has become a really good friend. Although I'll catch myself becoming angry with her at times, I always try to remember that is just how she is. My anger dissipates. She is who she is and that will not change. Only my attitude towards her can change.

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#9453By Carlan on Friday, September 29, 2006 - 1:05 pm

Amy, I am glad that my words gave you a bit of a chuckle and added a little humor to your day and I am proud of you for trying to understand others and me. I am delighted that you try very hard to accept people for what they are and not for what you want them to be. I think this attitude of yours will prove best for you over the long haul, too.

As to what I specifically do when I get angry, frustrated, or annoyed depends upon the circumstance in which I find myself. For example, if someone tells me that they are going to meet me at a certain time in a certain place to discuss something or another and he or she doesn’t show up I get annoyed at first but then I think, well, perhaps he was hit by a truck or maybe she was called away for a family emergency of sorts and then, I go about doing whatever else I need to get done that day. Now, say a person becomes intoxicated at a bar and begins to annoy my wife with some kind of disgusting remarks and my wife becomes embarrassed because of what he is saying to her, then, I become angry and I lose my cool and I remove him from our immediate area. I then cool off and take my wife home and we enjoy a game of dominoes. Another example would be when I am waiting in line to pay my bill and someone jumps the line in front of me and though at first I think what’s the deal here? I will let it pass this once and wait my turn just like I was waiting my turn before. Say someone attacks my personal way of life in a way that I believe may deal my way of life a crippling or devastating blow, then, I will do all that I can do to make that someone regret the day that he or she was born. Then, I will choose to go home and continue living my life the way I want to live my life and that is live my life in peace and harmony and with plenty of gusto.

I think that you are correct in that most people do choose to act and react the way that they believe will be good for themselves most of the time, however, many times though they may want to choose to do and to say the proper things to those people that seem or that are trying to disrupt their lives in some fashion that they do not care for there will and there shall be some certain times when they and we will act and react in a way that will make us seem as though we are insane or we are hateful or that we are disrespectful or that we are stupid, or that we are very, very foolish. I know I have been seen and heard by people at home, at the office, and in public that can attest to seeing me in each and everyone of those guises over the years and I must admit to you that I was and I am still ashamed of how I acted and how I reacted in most all of those unfortunate circumstances. I am also happy that all the films and all the recordings of those self-disemboweling events were destroyed or were never made in the first place. Because believe me, Amy, when we see ourselves or hear ourselves as others may see and hear us, especially, when we are deliberately trying our best to show everyone that are around us just how great we are and how little they are and how we know everything about everything and they know nothing worth knowing and how we are so much better than they are and how we can show them a thing or two and they cannot show us anything at all, well, I can say that when the recorded sound and the recorded pictures are shown we, immediately, wish that we could crawl into a dark hole where no one can see our own shameful and very embarrassed face.

So, I am with you, Amy, I too think that it is best for all of us to try as hard as we humanly can to make better decisions and better choices today than we made yesterday or the day before that, in order, to make ourselves happier.

Also, I do think that if all of you people out there and in here would do all that you could to please me each and every day that that would certainly make my conversion over to becoming a more gentle soul in this realm much easier and much more fun for me, too. Here’ a great big 'Thanks!' to all of you in advance!

P.s. Amy, I think your roommate has chosen to do and say things to better please you at present, however, I think your first impressions of her were and are still correct and the sooner you get another roommate and move away from her the better it will be for you!