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Original poster

To cope and take comfort from the fact everything is pointless and in 100 years we’ll be dust

139 replies

Ramalam · 11/09/2025 22:39

I have a very stressful job. My coping mechanism is to stop, consider that in the grand scheme of the world everything I’m doing is utterly pointless, and that in 100 years I’ll be dead and none of this will matter one jot?

I used to live opposite a graveyard and it was full of people who had lives full of hopes, fears, ambitious, happiness, sadness. And now none of it matters; it died with them. So best not to
worry.

I don’t know what I’m asking - is this unreasonable or weird?

OP posts:
NoelFurlong · 13/09/2025 09:28

I agree. I have nihilist tendencies. It’s good to have a moral compass and do well in life but also to remember the universe doesn’t give a shit about us and we will all cease to be when we are dead.

DaisyBeatrice · 13/09/2025 09:27

Coconutter24 · 13/09/2025 08:50

I’d say health is pretty up there

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Again, not when you’re dead!!!!

Bumblebee72 · 13/09/2025 09:24

CoheedandCambria · 12/09/2025 23:32

Yeah but you won't know anything about that

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Nor do I need to.

AliceMaforethought · 13/09/2025 09:21

Firefly1987 · 12/09/2025 23:12

But it'll happen anyway. Are you saying we should all be terrified about the prospect of non-existence for the rest of eternity instead?

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No, I'm saying that we shouldn't be thinking that way at all. This thread is bizarre to me. Of course our existence in our current form is tiny compared to the vastness of time, but that is surely all the more reason that every moment matters. It's literally all we've got, so best make it good. All I see on this thread is people making excuses for mediocrity. Excellence is worth pursuing in and of itself, not because it will stand the test of time, but because it is timeless.

Bumblebee72 · 13/09/2025 09:18

Tiddlywinkly · 13/09/2025 08:59

This thought pops into my head every so often. That and the fact that, given enough time, our planet won't even be around. Humans will have long gone by then anyway 🤷

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Exactly like the dinosaurs before us, and how ever many iterations of life come after. Who knows at some point even the crocodiles who have survived both so far will evolve enough to make nuclear weapons and blow themselves up.

CancelTheTableAlan · 13/09/2025 09:16

RosesAndHellebores · 11/09/2025 22:50

No, because my legacy will remain. In 100 years I hope my grandchildren and great grandchildren will be smiling at and loving their grandchildren.

They might be, but if they do it's because they are animals living their own lives for their own purposes,.not because they are your legacy. Your grandchildren aren't any more of a thing than anyone else's. That sounds very insulting and rude sorry!! I mean that having a legacy that consists of having spawned other people has no more inherent meaning than anything else- so the comforting nihilism can still remain ;)

MissWhichart · 13/09/2025 09:13

When I was younger and would get upset by horrible older people doing horrible things in the world I used to think never mind they’ll be dead soon.

now I’m older and am upset by horrible people
doing horrible things in the world I find it comforting to think well never mind I’ll be dead soon.

Cushionseams · 13/09/2025 09:05

I sometimes lie in bed in the early hours pondering life, death & existentialism. I'll get a bit overwhelmed and try and put it in perspective with this thought and that it won’t matter. And that the only thing I can truly appreciate is the here and now. All I have is this moment, and this moment is enough.

Bluecrystal2 · 13/09/2025 09:00

I'm no more important than a grain of sand in the great scheme of life. Some of those single grains do make a lasting impact, but most just get washed away. It actually helps me to not worry about all the everyday niggles.

I'm old now, and realise life is just a blink of an eye, so for all the young people out there, don't put off making yourself happy today and enjoy what's left of life.

Cynic17 · 13/09/2025 09:00

Of course it's true - it's very comforting to realise that none of us are important and we'll all be forgotten very quickly (unless we're either Mozart or Shakespeare!).

Tiddlywinkly · 13/09/2025 08:59

Bumblebee72 · 12/09/2025 23:13

I believe we are pretty inconsequential. We have one of billions of stars in our galaxy, which is one of billions of galaxies the universe, I think there then billions of universes in the "multiverse" or what ever its called. The only explanation I can think for why the big band theory makes sense is if that big bang is a small bang in something much bigger, there may be billions of "multi" verses in what ever comes next.

This thought pops into my head every so often. That and the fact that, given enough time, our planet won't even be around. Humans will have long gone by then anyway 🤷

MaudlinGazebo · 13/09/2025 08:52

It’s the Ozymandias approach to life
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias
I too find it extremely comforting. DH suffers from anxiety relating to his job and I fundamentally don’t get it. Who gives a shit? How and why would you give a shit? Life is short, enjoy yourself and don’t worry about things you can’t control, most of it really doesn’t matter and you’ll be dead soon.

Shutupkeith · 13/09/2025 08:51

DD best mate got killed a few weeks ago aged 21. In one split second her life was over, her future taken and the lives of her family and friends ruined. It absolutely shifts ones perspective on things. I have just ended my 8 year farce of a marriage after this as yep life really is too short.

Coconutter24 · 13/09/2025 08:50

DaisyBeatrice · 12/09/2025 21:55

The only thing that matters is love.

I’d say health is pretty up there

Coconutter24 · 13/09/2025 08:48

AllrightNowBaby · 12/09/2025 21:59

True…..

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Health?

ConnieHeart · 13/09/2025 08:42

Dogaredabomb · 13/09/2025 08:31

Do you mean they were around at different times to each other?

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Yes. Exactly that. My dd told me that too. Kids these days come out with great facts! I certainly didn't when I was that age....

ConnieHeart · 13/09/2025 08:40

Well I don't agree that everything is pointless. I just try to do my best every day & then I can rest easy at night and pass this on to my kids. I realise it's not that simple for everyone. I often ask myself "what does it matter?" if I feel I'm getting stressed or upset about something. And I find that if it matters to me, then it does matter. But it's not always worth worrying over little trivial things

Dogaredabomb · 13/09/2025 08:39

It's huge isn't it knowing that death is certain. I think it's like one of those concepts that is 'too big' and (in everyday life) is gaily ignored.

ResusciAnnie · 13/09/2025 08:37

Ramalam · 11/09/2025 23:24

Thanks all!

I should’ve added at the start that I’m not a depressed or sad person at all - I’m actually quite cheerful and laid back. I also only fall back on this when I start to feel overwhelmed - I don’t not wash, or not pay the mortgage because it’s all pointless. That would be a bit daft!

Edited

Right exactly. Make the most of your time here because we’ll all be gone soon. But also in 100 years, your grandchildren will probably still be here to remember you (depending how old you are now I guess!).

Dogaredabomb · 13/09/2025 08:35

GarlicPint · 12/09/2025 23:52

I enjoy this kind of fact, too. If a T-Rex looked up at the night sky, it did NOT see the same sky that we see - because the solar system was on the other side of the galaxy! One galactic rotation takes 230 million years, our system's been round it 19 times so far.

I think people go one of two ways: some, like me, find it comforting to know we are tiny, ephemeral parts of something majestically vast. The other lot find it terrifying and need to believe they're ... significant, maybe?

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I didn't know that about the t-rex seeing a different sky!

Dogaredabomb · 13/09/2025 08:33

outerspacepotato · 12/09/2025 23:29

So you're saying the universe knows itself through us.

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Ah, are we back to did the tree fall even if unheard 😂

Dogaredabomb · 13/09/2025 08:31

Bumblebee72 · 12/09/2025 23:25

I agree I think we find the idea of time really hard to comprehend. Some of my favourite facts are things like more of the earths history passed between when the stegosaurus and when the T-Rex walked the earth, than has passed between the T-Rex and us. .

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Do you mean they were around at different times to each other?

whoosit · 13/09/2025 00:49

Change jobs. I had a very stressful reasonably well-paid job a couple of years ago. I've now got a job which pays slightly less but is way less stressful and my life has changed massively. I'm home more, not stressed and enjoy life so much more. Money is tight and I'm constantly counting the pennies but my daily life is much happier and I'm a better person and better mom to my kids. Work to live dont live to work.

NomNomNominativeDeterminism · 13/09/2025 00:44

I love the comfort of ‘we matter not’, but I also love the things that link us across hundreds of years. James Ehnes was on the radio the other day talking about playing a Stradivarius made in 1715. That’s awesome, right? Playing a violin in 2025 which was made when Bach was alive. Practically the same as having a coffee and a meat pie with him.

Music is good for the soul so here is James Ehnes on YouTube playing Bach. No idea what violin he is playing.

@Firefly1987 this is for specially for you.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ilq8MmasjA

wavingfuriously · 13/09/2025 00:00

Firefly1987 · 12/09/2025 22:38

It's a nice thought knowing in 100 years life will be over and done with. The only thing is having to go through death to get there. I honestly wish I hadn't had to bother with life in the first place, but then it wasn't my choice.

😢