To explore this existence.

I'm not spiritual, but I believe the universe as we know it was created by higher beings on a dimensional plane we can't comprehend. They created us as a resource. Perhaps for simulations, or science, or entertainment. I believe we are the worker ants for these beings and our collective meaning is to produce intelligence. Maybe we are an AI hive mind? Or fuck it maybe were just here to watch ufc and drink beer.

Life has the meaning you choose to give it.

There's no meaning to life. We are an accidental self sustaining chemical reaction that has lasted for billions of years. There's no creator, no higher power, nothing waiting for us when we die.

We're also about to go extinct and are way past the window of being able to save ourselves. You and I are among the last humans that will ever exist.

And IMO that's extremely comforting once you actually internalize it. Focus on making you and the people around you happy in the short time you're here, don't worry about the far future because it doesn't matter.

pet cats

Well, if you’re feeling philosophical I think you’d first need to address your presupposition that life has or is meant to have any meaning whatsoever.

Like, according to who? And how did they determine that? Would you be sad if it turns out there isn’t any underlying meaning?

Life doesn't come with a meaning, you are free to find one that speaks to you

Killing landlords and slave owners.

For me it’s succeeding in ways that are important to me. For instance for me it was getting sober from drugs and stable from bipolar. And then using my experience to help others do the same. The point is to help others have a life that is stable.

The meaning of life is to give life meaning

Hedonic threadmill: it's the theory that we tend to a baseline level of happiness and on average, after some time, people who have won the lottery are as happy (or unhappy) as people who have gone bankrupt.

Look at us, we are apes, barely out of trees. We were fighting predators and cold and diseases that no longer exist. Just by being alive, we are the winners of millions of years of genetic lottery, through evolution, fights, love and ingenuity.

We have access to most of human knowledge through devices that fit in our pockets, can visit other countries that were legendary to our forefathers, instead of hunting wild beasts we have satellites that guide us step by step to the nearest McDonald's.

Imagine time-traveling a few generations back, describing our life to our grand-grandparents, seeing their eyes grow wide. Now imagine, at the end, telling them how ennui got to us and we can no longer find meaning in our life.

Other people.

Make connections in your little circle/tribe; make people happy. It's what we evolved to do.

Whatever you want it to be. If that's nothing, cool. Trying to find some external thing to bestow a meaning upon you is religion.

Being a good friend, finding what makes me happy while in some way better off, and trying to do those things.

Failing that, doing very bad things to very bad people.

Everything is meaningless, nothing matters. Therefore whatever you decide is important is all that matters.

You can look up optimistic nihilism if you want

That's the fun part! It's meaningless! All of it. It means you can do anything you want to do!

are we just amusing ourselves until death?

IMO, yes. But just calling it "entertainment" is a bit reductionist, I think.

But yeah. And I don't see anything is wrong with that. Having a cat is cool, video games are fun, and good company is fulfilling in a powerful, indescribable, way.

To experience that kind of stuff, and for others to do the same, as much and as often as possible, is what I live for.

Yeah, there's a lot of bad stuff in the world. But I'm able to make my corner of it quite liveable. And not just for myself, but for friends and family.

I can't save the world, but I can decide to make the sliver of it that I'll interact with throughout my life, a little bit nicer.

The part I struggle with, is finding a way to make living, that makes things better, not worse. Jobs that don't contribute towards people having less and less time for the things that make life worth living, are non-existent.

it's your life, you decide. You can also decide not to give it meaning.

Life has no meaning. People will tell you it does, to give it meaning or to follow a religion, but it's all in service to deal with the fear of death.

I am the universe, and therefore the universe has a purpose in giving me consciousness for a lifetime. We get a lottery for what life-form we get created in (whether we're a human or a fish or a leaf) and most of that life will go just chasing the continuity of life (consuming energy, burning energy, reproducing), the rest is all made up rules of engagement in society (school, work, career, politics), all of which is "Leela" - a very believable illusion, like a game of monopoly or a very engaging play or a movie - believable, but not absolute truth. So back to the universe and why it gave me consciousness in the first place? It's just so that I can experience the universe, and see the beauty and oneness of all universe - not just the stars and the planets, but also the living forms of it - the flowers, the bugs, the pets, the wildlife, and all of the other humans on this planet, each one a unique fucking marvellous magical version of the same universe.

It doesn't have a meaning. "Meaning" is just a concept we made up to forever have something to chase after. You can endlessly ask "why" so it's like chasing one's own tail. It's the motor of the mind, fueled by the desire to finally be still.

Why do you believe life has meaning?

I personally don't believe life has any meaning, other than the one you choose for your own life. It's rather terrifying and freeing at the same time. If there is no meaning, and if there is nothing else, no higher power, then this is it. You get the time you get, running around as self aware stardust, and then it ends. Everything that is "you" flips off one day and there is nothing but oblivion as the stardust you were slow seeps away. But, that also means that you don't have to live up to anyone else's idea of what your life should be. You can make your own path, your own meaning, and fuck the people in funny hats who try to tell you otherwise. You are you and no one else gets to define what that is.

I was pondering why people fight so hard to beat diseases and live a few more years. What are they planning to do? Why exert effort just to be here longer when you don’t have a reason?

If this is all there is, if oblivion is on the other side of the door, I'll scrabble for every day existing that I can get, thank you very much. Sure, I have my own beliefs and things I would willingly accept oblivion for. But, if those aren't on the table, I'm gonna keep on existing as long as I can. It's one of the few things I'm pretty good at.

the bad news: there is no inherent meaning. the good news: this means you get to create your own. each of us do! the harsh reality is we exist against our will. nobody chose to be here and the "purpose" appears purposeless. if you ask me, there is no such thing as destiny and there is no afterlife for a soul to ascend to, so the existence you are experiencing here on Earth is profoundly unique and should be treated as your one and only. you might spend your entire life searching for a grand meaning, but the saerch is part of the discovery, because along the way you are progressing as a person, and aging and maturing through life, so you're not remaining stagnant and unchanging. it's okay if you never truly "know" who you are or where you're going--just keep doing it. you'll end up somewhere, you'll become someone.

The “meaning of life” is dependent on the scale.

On an intergalactic scale, practically nothing, unless you’re someone involved in some way in intergalactic travel (like Musk, potentially). On a planetary scale, your life as a political or corporate leader or humanitarian could impact generations of others. If you’re a doctor or lawyer, your life may impact tens of thousands or even generations of people. These are scales based mostly on space.

You could also look at a scale based on time. If / when the planet explodes, maybe someone like a Musk will be the only one alive today who genuinely has an impact on the human race long into the future. If you want to look at the time span of a country’s existence, someone like a Julius Cesar, a George Washington, or Adolf Hitler will have certain meaning for hundreds of years.

Your life’s meaning may yet to be realized. The point is to live your life day to day in a manner that has a positive impact on the lives that surround you. If you don’t have the impact of someone like political or corporate leader or someone like a Greta Thunberg, maybe the point of your life is to be a supporting player for someone else.

It gets difficult to find meaning if you live an isolated life. Without a family of your own, a fulfilling career, without traveling to engage with others outside your regular week’s schedule, it’s easy to say your life is meaningless. Because you haven’t made an attempt to give it meaning.

Your life doesn’t have to have meaning. But if you’re asking this kind of question and expecting someone to tell you there’s some inherit “meaning” bestowed upon you at birth, you’re not going to get a hopeful answer. That’s not to say you need to go out and look for it. It’s to say that “meaning” comes from the impact have on something, by choice or otherwise.

The sad part of existence is not having the choice. I literally wouldn't cared if I died tomorrow. I just don't want my friends and family to be sad. That's literally the only thing keeping me here.

"Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everyone's gonna die....come watch TV"

Point? Like most gifts, there is no point. You just got it.

Thats how I treat my life: as a gift. Because what makes me me, existed as matter for eons. Inert. And by an insane oddity it got "infused" with life, thought, wonder but only for an extremely short while. And after that short period it will go back into that inert state. So i do nice things which are within my reach. Things that makes me feel good. And modern (western) society gives us a lot of time to do that. I know it doesn't always feel like that but if you look at it historically we have the most off time ever.

Nice things can be anything. Maybe meaningless on the Grand scale of things, but I like making my family happy. I love cuddling my stinky old dog(well, not that old), I hate gardening but love the outcome of it. And yes, I love wasting time on movies, reading, gaming, theater. Or hikes. Or travel in general. The smell of the sea. The feeling of being in a forest. That first time you played "The last of us". that one specific movie. Or read that one fantastic book. That feeling when you finished it. Or when you went to that insanely funny comedian. Or just hanged out drinking beers (or whatever )with friends or colleagues. Its all fantastic.

And most of the times I like my job and try to forward my little society with it. (I work for a municipality) Within my own little means.

So... meaning? Of life? Experience shit. Make up your own mind.

And please: don't use big tech socials. They're made so you don't feel good, get addicted to them. Get you hooked. It and it's goals (sell ads!) are evil.

I've been inert for eternity. I will not waste that little time I have. Experience something. Anything.

There's no point and the meaning you have to make yourself.

nihil novum sub sole

Why exert effort just to be here longer when you didn't have a reason?

gosh i dunno perhaps dying is fucking terrifying?

No meaning to life besides try to live your best one. We’re all just earthlings floating on a space rock sitting in a giant void surrounded by more exploding stars

I like to recall some wise words of Christmas in these dark times:

Here’s the deal, newbie. You can stuff your stocking with shiny little toys from now until you grow some testicles, but until that stocking is filled with friendship, loyalty, love and devotion, well.. it’s just plumb empty.

And no, you can’t purchase those things at Laura Ashley. And no, you can’t win them in the red book giveaway extravaganza. And, gee, I’m sure if these aren’t things that you can wind up and watch spin for eight hours.

Let me make this exceptionally clear. Christmas is about love. You can’t live without other people’s love. Not during Christmas, not ever.

So go spend this time with your friends and family. And if they laugh at you, laugh with them. And if they laugh at you again, hit them and go find some new friends. But for the love of god, jesus, Mary, and Joseph and his technicolor dreamcoat, don’t ever ever forget this, newbie. You have to give love to get love. So start giving. Now.

Philosophically, I think the pursuit of truth and the exercise of compassion are worthwhile endeavors.

But when that's too abstract, I remind myself that I have people who rely on me and benefit from my presence in their life. I work to make the world around me better than it was before, so that others can immediately, and in the future, have better lives.

This is the first post I've ever seen that's gotten twitter-style ratio'd. There are more comments than votes.

It has same meaning as summer breeze, or warm rays of sunshine. We make things to be more complicated than they really are. Enjoy experiences you are given, live thru pain, be a human. Existence is a weird, yup.

meaning comes from us

Understand that most of the answers you’re going to get on Lemmy are self righteous. “There is no meaning of life.” As if they can also know there isn’t. I encourage you to look at the philosophy of this question over the ages and how others have answered it. You won’t find many other thoughts on it here since they believe that if you can’t see it, it’s not true. We know so little in all of existence that it’s incredibly arrogant to think we can answer this with any certainty.