To think a lot of what we do is just passing time till death?

[crunchymint]

This is going to sound like I am depressed, and I am not. But a lot of what people do is really just filling in our time until we die. Watching TV, MNing, going for walks. All just ways ultimately of using up the hours we have.
I guess this is more an existential question. If you are religious there is an obvious purpose to life. On a biological level the purpose of life is simply survival of the species - individuals don't matter. On an individual non religious level, life doesn't really seem to have any purpose. We are simply filling in our time till death, and on the way if we are decent people, trying to help others avoid too much pain.

Bettyfood According to psychology, to reach the highest levels of happiness we need a project - something bigger than ourselves to invest time in. That can be kids, work, volunteering, political activity, a garden, renovating a house - but something that we care about and that takes us outside ourselves. I know when I have been a bit low, volunteering with those struggling always helps.

NooNooHead - of course I know that. I suppose I object to the phrase 'living life to the full' - how can you judge that? How will I know, at the end, that my life was lived to the full? And the fact that this insecurity and fear of wasting my life is used for commercial purposes is what really annoys me.

skorpion I totally understand that. Commercial companies are excellent at tapping into our insecurities.

And as a point to my argument - I give you an advert on the right for Tony Robbins workshop 'Unleash The Power Within'

Because we obviously need a mega workshop to tell us how to live...

I'll join you on the hippy bench cat.

I think the real things that make live meaningful and important, love and friendship, have been colonised by marketing and repackaged in impoverished manner to sell junk.

I do think we live and love the same way as we ever did but it's hard to draw upon that meaningfully because the language we use to engage with it has been corrupted.

Maybe I should have paid more attention at Subday school but I am religious and don't know the point of existing. Whether in this world or the next, it is even more time-passing to contemplate!

I guess we are here whether we like it or not so it's good to be kind and enjoy things and stand up for what is right.

I was saying exactly this the other day and wondering whether it was just that I was depressed. I'm finding it difficult to see the point in doing anything very much as I'll be dead at some point! I have just been diagnosed with something that could be life threatening so I feel I should be grateful for the time I have, but I'm not feeling it at the moment. I wonder whether it's a bit of a midlife crisis, I no longer have any career development aspirations, my DD needs me less now she's a teen, but I still have little free time with work and household stuff to pursue my own interests, and I've had to give up the hobbies I had because of my health, so it's more difficult to find my own meaning.

ParadiseCity Actually that is a good point. What is the point of existing in Heaven? Yes more hours to find things you enjoy doing

Absolutely loving this thread...
cat that was a lovely sentiment behind the flowers..
Just gorgeous!

skorpion I wasn't saying you DIDN'T know that - sorry if you thought my reply came across that way.

You are living life in as much as it will have meaning to you choose to imbue upon it - if that makes sense (sorry if it doesn't).

I didn't feel my life had much meaning until I had my DD, and have seen close family members pass away prematurely. Also being three months prem myself and having been given the gift of life when I almost didn't have it has made me really try to make every day count, even if the things I do would seem trivial or futile to others.

Sorry if all that sounds 'twee', I sometimes feel the same as you and worry that I will get to the end of my life and feel like I haven't made the most of it or contributed enough in some way. Just being a good parent to my DD will give me fulfilment, so I guess in some ways I won't feel completely like my life wasn't worthwhile.

WeareGerbil Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I suspect it is just making you face your own mortality, allied maybe with a mid life crisis. Hope things get better for you soon.

This is an excellent thread!

*it will have the meaning that you choose to imbue upon it... that previous statement was senseless!

Skorpion I know exactly what you mean.

I feel pressured to 'live life to the full'. Especially because I got given a 'second chance'.

But what does that mean?? What do I need to do to feel I've fulfilled my life's proficy?

It's stresstressful

Amazing thread! Has just made me realise how stupid most of my worries are. Thank you!

Great thread. It’s making me think, smile, laugh and cry.

I’m in a dilemma now though. Do I tackle a major job (does it matter if the newly plastered walls never get painted?), do I go out and hug a tree? Do I just spend some time ‘passing the time until I die’ doing something I enjoy doing? Or do I sort out the remortgaging papers, shove some washing on, hoover through (blah blah)? Do I spend a few hours naval gazing about the meaning of life?

Am I ‘wasting the short time on earth’ or am I adequately ‘whiling the time away until I die’?

It’s a BIG question for a Wednesday afternoon.

...I think ☕️ Is required.

We are just here really to fuck up the world and nature.

I agree that we are just passing time. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy or find meaning in the things I do though.

I often think about the people forgotten that have died. I think of the lovely grandchildren Lady Di is missing and seeing how her boys turned out. I have a old pic of a young woman I have no idea who she is and not real sure where the pic came from. I think from my deceased parents home. I keep the pic out in my spare room. I feel she deserves being remembered.

I mostly feel less inclined to 'live life to the full' since losing people close to me. I like to stay close to home and don't feel guilty about achieving nothing. I just like being warm and comfortable and cuddling my children.

Ah ha, not quite the Dutch artist I originally thought but cool nonetheless...

Some interesting blurb on the pic...

Charles Allan Gilbert drew this optical illusion picture in 1892, when he was 18 years old. After he sold it to Life Magazine and they reproduced it as a print, it became famous.

This is an ambiguous optical illusion, where we see more than one thing in the picture. If we view the overall image, we see a human skull. When we focus on the details of the picture, we see a woman looking in her vanity mirror.

The phrase "All is vanity" comes from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Christian Bible. It refers to the vanity and pride of man. In art, vanity has long been represented as a woman preoccupied with her beauty. And art that contains a human skull as a focal point is called a momento mori (Latin for "remember you will die"), a work that reminds people of their mortality.

NooNooHead - sorry, I thought I hadn't made myself clear at first.

Not twee at all, I admire people who know such things about themselves.

I suppose I have moments of weakness when I'm not sure about my own situation. It doesn't help that so many things (work, housework, schoolwork) take up so much time I find myself bumping into an old friend in a shop and realising that we hadn't spoken in two years. How does that happen? We have so many expectations put upon us that time seems to sometimes just slip through our hands...

And the ones that put those expectations on us don't seem to feel the same way about crunchymint's sentiment. Humans seem to have collectively lost that sense of what's important in life. I certainly can't give it to anybody as an excuse for missing a deadline or appointment

There is no purpose in life. But there is a force that compels us to survive at all costs. Think about the weeds in your lawn or coming up through the patio. Is their 'purpose' to annoy you?
No, they want to reach the light and survive.
Life is what you make it and I as a person will always be glad that I was given the chance to be a Human being.
We are the Universe, experiencing itself. Even if it wants to watch rubbish TV and stuff it's face with cake...

skorpion - No worries or offence taken. And yes, you are right, modern living is totally pressurised sometimes and the seemingly trivial things can be made out to be really important and vice versa. But I guess what is truly important as PP have said is love, family and friends - albeit dressed up in silly ways by big companies and advertisers etc.

So have that and skorpion and feel happy doing it. Some of my best memories are just enjoying time with my family and friends being happy with them, while eating copious large pieces of cake and getting larger - ha ha!

I often think about Very Important People doing Very Important Work, making Very Important Decisions, etc (I like thinking about these in Winnie the Pooh's capitals). Do they also have these thoughts? Do they feel trapped in their situations? How has the Earth's society got to this place? Have we been conned by somebody or have we cheated ourselves into this? It's all just pretend Importance, isn't it? So much of it?

Haha, yes, I'll have that tea cake! Let me just finish this bit of work and then do the shopping!