Do you think life is a gift

[Sweet Tart]

This question makes me think of Justine, by the Marquis de Sade. Iirc, Justine is an innocent girl who is sent into a depraved, deadly situation. She escapes and thinks she's safe, then discovers the person who helped her has now trapped her in an even scarier, more perverse situation. On and on, for hundreds of pages and numerous encounters, she keeps barely making it out alive and thinking she's found reprieve, only to be confronted with increasingly bizarre depravity and cruelty.

It's not good literature and life is not a good gift.

 

[stilhavinightmares]

It is quite amazing that humans, or any life forms, exist at all and I think there is some beauty and appreciation for the way the universe somehow aligned everything to this exact moment of existence. That's pretty cool.

With that being said, when you bring it down to scale and think about all the suffering that subjectively outweighs the awe for a shit ton of organisms, and for those of us who have the consciousness to suffer….life is a gift but free will over that life is a bigger gift.

 

[Kerrtu]

Looking frantically for return gift receipt

 

[Arihman]

To add to my post in the previous page, I think this quote conveys quite well how asymmetrical positive and negative things are: "Trust is built up over years, and destroyed in a second".

Now, apply this concept to suffering and pleasure, with the former coming on its own, and the latter requiring effort, being fragile, and not being guaranteed, and you'll see why it's not that far-fetched to conclude that life is not a gift at all.

 

[leavingsoon99]

No. Life is NOT a gift.

 

[ikadasui]

It Is indeed a gift as it was given! Remember though gifts can be bad. if someone mails u a pipe bomb that is technically a gift but it won't be a pleasant one

 

[Deathisbetter]

Nope I want my life to end asap

 

[I wish I were a cat]

For the amount of suffering vs the amount of joy.. I'd have to say no. It's not a gift.

 

[doneforlife]

I would feel very safe to relish the gift if there was a way to give it back without causing any pain to anyone physically or emotionally whatsoever.

 

[Arihman]

Another paper explaining why there is a prevalence of suffering:

Is There a Prevalence of Suffering?

 

[leavingsoon99]

This question makes me think of Justine, by the Marquis de Sade. Iirc, Justine is an innocent girl who is sent into a depraved, deadly situation. She escapes and thinks she's safe, then discovers the person who helped her has now trapped her in an even scarier, more perverse situation. On and on, for hundreds of pages and numerous encounters, she keeps barely making it out alive and thinking she's found reprieve, only to be confronted with increasingly bizarre depravity and cruelty.

It's not good literature and life is not a good gift.

Wow. If I was going to be around much longer, I'd order that book. From the sounds of it, the story pretty much sums up "the precious gift".

 

[tieiwi]

Life is like a gift you didn't ask for being thrown in your lap and you're expected to be grateful even if you don't like it.

 

[FindingHome]

Life isn't a gift for me. I wish I was never born.

 

[lachrymost]

A gift one cannot decline, or at least easily discard after receiving, is really straining the concept.

 

[Misfit72]

It's an unsolicited gift from a man I don't love and a woman who died too young, so one I have even more right to reject than others have theirs.

 

[justwant2sleep]

Life is a shitty gift that you sadly cannot return easily due to lack of receipt :/

 

[Xta4Love]

I lost my mind. I lost everything. Everything I was is gone. Is that a gift?

 

[enditplz]

Yes, life is a gift in the sense the receiver may or may not like it, but the giver is giving it anyways. I just wish this gift was easier to throwaway.

 

[Ambivalent1]

It's a gift from a fairytale meaning there's a catch.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Yeah, the gift from hell that just keeps on taking.

 

[Ico]

Life is a "gift" for those of us that are born into the world with the qualities to truly engage with the world as it has been constructed. If you are neurodivergent, mentally / physically disabled, intellectually challenged, introverted, physically unattractive, or outside of the 'norm' in any way shape or form, it is an unending hellscape.

 

[ringo99]

If it is I'd like to regift or file a return

 

[Hunter2005]

Hell no, it's boring af too

 

[fearandloathing183]

It is to some, to others it's a curse, like everyone else is saying. I believe it could be different, but in the world we live in it's so unbelievably difficult for the vast majority of people to build a happy life. And even if they do, there's the constant threat that it could all be taken from them. I don't know if I'd call that a gift.

 

[J&L383]

It is quite amazing that humans, or any life forms, exist at all and I think there is some beauty and appreciation for the way the universe somehow aligned everything to this exact moment of existence. That's pretty cool.

With that being said, when you bring it down to scale and think about all the suffering that subjectively outweighs the awe for a shit ton of organisms, and for those of us who have the consciousness to suffer….life is a gift but free will over that life is a bigger gift.

For some, if the gift is a welcome gift such as apple pie, then yes. If the gift it's not welcome, such as a slime pie, then it is a gift I do not want, and would return it. (concept borrowed from Shelly Kagan's lectures and book). For me, now, it's just a lot of slime.

 

[sadandlonely99]

By definition, life is NOT AND CANNOT BE a gift because it can't be returned or given away. A gift is no longer a gift if it can't be returned or given away; it's a burden at that point…

 

[ablationaaa457]

Generally, gifts are defined as being given to someone without expectation of payment in return. In this sense, I don't think life can really be viewed as a gift. It is something that is given to you, but generally there is still an expectation of payment in return (e.g. providing value to society). If it were a true gift, then we should be able to freely reject it without hassle.

 

[sammiechzxv]

There are gifts within life, but as a whole, not really