Is life just about getting attached to things we have to lose?

[R_N]

Then we have people who say "it is about the journey". Why are they so emotional when life goes the way they don't want then?

And when it gets truly miserable why fall to despair? This is why motivational stuff is unrealistic af to me. You have to ignore reality (whole picture outside your temporary bubble) to throw that crap into everyones face.


If you are born you are playing a losing game idc who you are.

 

[WAITING TO DIE]

Never understood all of that motivational stuff. Life is shit for most people and there's usually not much they can do about it.
It's just trying to brainwash yourself into thinking that life is amazing when it's not.
I'd rather keep myself grounded in reality because life is mostly about loss and suffering.

 

[cryvinglightning]

i don't think so. not that i'm an expert on the meaning of life or anything, but getting attached to things is human nature. i believe we are wired to be affectionate to stuff.

 

[R_N]

i don't think so. not that i'm an expert on the meaning of life or anything, but getting attached to things is human nature. i believe we are wired to be affectionate to stuff.

I am not sure because usually animals are also attached at least to their offspring. Some are territorial as well when it comes to food.

And we all have bodies we are literally attached to. Losing parts of it or our health affects us badly even if we don't grieve. But we do mostly.

My point is we all have to part ways with things, and a lot of said things we liked to have. Then life will snatch them and in the end life ends as well.

Feels like a cruel joke to me. This existence.

 

[FuneralCry]

It's just the reality that nothing ever lasts, all we know is temporary and overall I just see existence as a distraction from the fact that death is inevitable.
Many humans get so attached to things in this existence as after all this existence is all they know, but eventually no matter what all we know will be erased as all is forgotten about in the eternity of death.
To me the thought of permanently ceasing to exist is the only comfort, as the non-existent cannot suffer from anything and they have no need for anything, they are at peace instead.

 

[cryvinglightning]

I am not sure because usually animals are also attached at least to their offspring. Some are territorial as well when it comes to food.

And we all have bodies we are literally attached to. Losing parts of it or our health affects us badly even if we don't grieve. But we do mostly.

My point is we all have to part ways with things, and a lot of said things we liked to have. Then life will snatch them and in the end life ends as well.

Feels like a cruel joke to me. This existence.

there was a really sad quote i read once, by richard siken.

"Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story."

it's cruel, but the story goes like this. building memories throufh it all is the only way we have to push forward. of course, the option to CTB is always there.

 

[Forever Sleep]

It kind of sucks but then- I don't know what the alternative would be. Take things we enjoy- if we could do them all the time, wouldn't they become boring? Part of our value system seems to revolve around the fact that things are transient. Not that I like Christmas but for those who do- would it be as special if they had it every day?

Death is terribly sad for those left behind but it is necessary. This world is overcrowded as it is. Imagine if nothing ever died!

I guess the difficulty lies in becoming attached enough to things and people to appreciate them but still acknowledge that it won't be forever. I think a lot of the time, we just try and fill the gaps as we go along. Sometimes more successfully than others.

 

[R_N]

It kind of sucks but then- I don't know what the alternative would be. Take things we enjoy- if we could do them all the time, wouldn't they become boring? Part of our value system seems to revolve around the fact that things are transient. Not that I like Christmas but for those who do- would it be as special if they had it every day?

Death is terribly sad for those left behind but it is necessary. This world is overcrowded as it is. Imagine if nothing ever died!

I guess the difficulty lies in becoming attached enough to things and people to appreciate them but still acknowledge that it won't be forever. I think a lot of the time, we just try and fill the gaps as we go along. Sometimes more successfully than others.

The issue is life hurts. Losing things will hurt. Alternatives making something "boring" hypothetically don't make this existence any more bearable.

 

[Forever Sleep]

The issue is life hurts. Losing things will hurt. Alternatives making something "boring" hypothetically don't make this existence any more bearable.

Very true. Like- I've never really understood the theory of just being numb. It's true that nothing will hurt but you won't feel joy either.

 

[R_N]

Very true. Like- I've never really understood the theory of just being numb. It's true that nothing will hurt but you won't feel joy either.

Yeah. Sometimes when I suppress my emotions it just helps me cope better but it doesn't make my life enjoyable.

And you can only do so much with it.

 

[peace_van]

Is life just about getting attached to things we have to lose? This is what Buddhism thinks of ordinary people.
Ordinary people are always obsessed with those temporary things, like money, relationship, sex, power...
When they lose these things, they will be disappointed or angry. This vicious cycle is a torture for the unliberated people.
They don't know the true origin of happiness.
Buddhism teaches followers to understand the fact that everything outside of people's mind will disappear, and one shouldn't let the external affect their internal mindset.
Internal peace itself is the basis of true happiness.
On top of that, do good deeds, help others... True happiness grows from what people do and how they feel, but not how others react.
One will feel fulfilled when they are convinced at heart that they are making something positive for the world.

Of course on this forum you will say 'I can achieve eternal peace by ctb'.
Buddhism denies this by making up a story of reincarnation- one will be put to hell in their afterlife if they ctb.
Though I like Buddhism's theory in general, I don't believe in reincarnation.
So ctb is an option for me.

 

[Celerity]

This thread makes me think of the poem, "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

It also makes me think of one of those Buddhist teachings about the broken cup. Everything decomposes and fades over time. As human beings, we long for permanence in an impermanent world. To live is to suffer - even a "good" life. I think we have to spend our whole lives trying to make peace with this until the moment when we finally lose everything when we die.