Why normal people want to live ?

[lostinthedream]

What is normal?

I wonder that myself... all the time.. if you figure it out, let me know

 

[KillVenus]

Thanks. Yae I remember in football simply getting better with the more practice i did was so full filling. Coaches congratulating you, teammates, chearing you on, etc. Life may not have meaning but in moments like that recognising your hard work and getting positive feedback from others was pleasurable and made all the suffering in life justifiable enough to keep going. So chasing that feeling in my opinion is what most people are after and why they keep going.

Do you have any dreams, hobbies, etc that interest you?

None of these things unfortunately...I only see grey im not interesting and not interested by anything on Earth and that's the problem I wanna be happy and sad to be happy again but I just feel frustration because I ain't feel none of these emotions

 

[KillVenus]

What is normal?

The ones who are married who's living in a pretty house, have 2 or 3 childs, a dog, a best friend... The classic human, the default character that you supposed to be when you was born.

 

[Miss clefable]

The ones who are married who's living in a pretty house, have 2 or 3 childs, a dog, a best friend... The classic human, the default character that you supposed to be when you was born.

Expectations are rubbish

 

[raskolnikov]

I'm at my family's house this weekend, which I always really enjoy. Several of my family members are genuinely happy people, and others may contemplate the meaning of life, but continue to consider it worthwhile and somehow meaningful.

I had a pretty happy life age 19-30. I had struggled as a teen, but had a mostly happy childhood. I experienced bouts of depression as an adult, but wasn't at all suicidal. I found life interesting, enriching, and rewarding, and always felt like there was plenty to look forward to. I was one of the people who I now don't understand, and who I envy. Someone who takes life seriously.

I was at a museum today, looking around at people, especially 30s and older, wondering how they keep engaging with life, finding it interesting, find it worth going on for. I remembered my old self there, the one who was fascinated by museums (I am 31).

But you know who probably wasn't at the museum? The depressed people, the disabled, the older people who have lost interest in life and are just trying to get through the day. The ones who can scarcely get out of bed.

Very interesting thoughts, thank you. You're right about what you noticed in the museum. I also recently went visiting a beautiful musuem that I hadn't ever seen, and it's true what you said. I managed to get involved just because I was with close friends and I felt sort of abstracted from my "real" life and enjoyed my tour like a sort of "trip" in another dimension. But if I could isolate myself for a moment, I could feel how out of place I was there, like if I was already dead just like the mummies I was seeing lol. You are right there was only youngsters and at worst middle aged men with their sons. Older people just get through the day and I feel just like one of those, already facing death and waiting for my time to come. It's very sad destiny if I think about it. In a certain way I am happy I won't reach older age. It's the most horrifying thing see ourselves slowly falling, and when you are old you have no future, you can't have hope because you know you are near the end, so you only have anger and remorse. Maybe humans are stretching their will to live too far.

 

[hunter_lewis]

I'm at my family's house this weekend, which I always really enjoy. Several of my family members are genuinely happy people, and others may contemplate the meaning of life, but continue to consider it worthwhile and somehow meaningful.

I had a pretty happy life age 19-30. I had struggled as a teen, but had a mostly happy childhood. I experienced bouts of depression as an adult, but wasn't at all suicidal. I found life interesting, enriching, and rewarding, and always felt like there was plenty to look forward to. I was one of the people who I now don't understand, and who I envy. Someone who takes life seriously.

I was at a museum today, looking around at people, especially 30s and older, wondering how they keep engaging with life, finding it interesting, find it worth going on for. I remembered my old self there, the one who was fascinated by museums (I am 31).

But you know who probably wasn't at the museum? The depressed people, the disabled, the older people who have lost interest in life and are just trying to get through the day. The ones who can scarcely get out of bed.

so what happened to you between 30 and 31 that now makes you suicidal?
Seems you were doing really well at life! So maybe there is hope left???

 

[samhelloall9]

Societal conditioning/reinforcement, dopamine rushes from relationships and sex/recreational drugs, and the pursuit for success.
I however see through it all
Everyone realises the truth sooner or later. Even the religious. The bible itself speaks a lot about "the truth"
Spoiler alert: it's an inside joke, at you the gullible reader/follower, dong.

Duh

 

[NOISYMIND]

It's like a game. Some people find it meaningful and interesting, some people don't. It's everyone's right to decide living it out or not.

 

[couldntthinkofaname]

WoW, I'm not judging anything I'm just saying that even if you have the most successful or the happiest life you'll just die like everybody else on earth so how can you find motivation or satisfaction knowing that life is useless because you die at the end...and even if you were immortal or if we put the death problem away...it's like a game we don't care about the end because what did you expect when you start the game ? You know that you spend your time on something useless there are achievements in game and in life too but it just another detail on your character description where is the motivation or the satisfaction at achieve something useless ? so this why I meant when I created the thread and I still mean that but I want to make it clear to those who don't understand because I'm not really good when i wanna put my thoughts on a text so it was obvious to be taken as an arrogant guy

normal people are too busy with their life and have a too sufficient brain chemistry to have this kind of thoughts which are eventually bad for your mood anyways

not we are superior, they are

 

[RacilyDank]

Because, in my opinion, life is worth living when you are 'normal'.

Sure, you are born, you have to go to school and then to work and then you eventually die, but when you are 'normal' there are many good things about life which make it worth living.

It's when you are mentally ill/have had significant trauma/chronically ill that life becomes unworthy living.

Just my two cents.

 

[bigj75]

Because, in my opinion, life is worth living when you are 'normal'.

Sure, you are born, you have to go to school and then to work and then you eventually die, but when you are 'normal' there are many good things about life which make it worth living.

It's when you are mentally ill/have had significant trauma/chronically ill that life becomes unworthy living.

Just my two cents.

This is the simplest but effective answer. I completely agree.

 

[RacilyDank]

This is the simplest but effective answer. I completely agree.

I realise I'm approaching this subject from the perspective of having experienced periods of 'normality' (watever that means) between times of mental illness that make life unbearable, but I truly believe when 'normal' life is more than worth living

 

[bigj75]

I realise I'm approaching this subject from the perspective of having experienced periods of 'normality' (watever that means) between times of mental illness that make life unbearable, but I truly believe when 'normal' life is more than worth living

I agree. I've been there myself.

 

[samhelloall9]

Societal conditioning/reinforcement, dopamine rushes from relationships and sex/recreational drugs, and the pursuit for success.
I however see through it all
Everyone realises the truth sooner or later. Even the religious. The bible itself speaks a lot about "the truth"
Spoiler alert: it's an inside joke, at you the gullible reader/follower, dong.

Duh

Thanks @Miss clefable

 

[KillVenus]

normal people are too busy with their life and have a too sufficient brain chemistry to have this kind of thoughts which are eventually bad for your mood anyways

not we are superior, they are

No one is superior in this context. Their not my bosses I'm not their employee I'm not a slave their not my masters when we talk about life it's like talking about art it's subjective so their live their life their own way and I do the same I don't feel superior I feel sad for them. It doesn't mean they have to ctb it means in my head with the thoughts that I have I asking myself why they're ok with their life but I'm not.

 

[KillVenus]

Because, in my opinion, life is worth living when you are 'normal'.

Sure, you are born, you have to go to school and then to work and then you eventually die, but when you are 'normal' there are many good things about life which make it worth living.

It's when you are mentally ill/have had significant trauma/chronically ill that life becomes unworthy living.

Just my two cents.

Wait it's not because I Create this thread that I'm mentally ill or whatever. I'm "normal" but i spend my time alone so I have the time to think about that.

 

[couldntthinkofaname]

Wait it's not because I Create this thread that I'm mentally ill or whatever. I'm "normal" but i spend my time alone so I have the time to think about that.

also known as "depression"

if we would you in an mrt scan i bet your right brain half would be more active compared to none depressed optimistic people

 

[RacilyDank]

Wait it's not because I Create this thread that I'm mentally ill or whatever. I'm "normal" but i spend my time alone so I have the time to think about that.

I'm not saying you are mentally ill. We all have our own reasons. I'm not sure that if you were 'normal' you'd be having these types of thoughts though

 

[KillVenus]

also known as "depression"

if we would you in an mrt scan i bet your right brain half would be more active compared to none depressed optimistic people

I'm alone because I want to and I'm ok with that, I don't feel depressed at all. Is it something that I can't see ?

 

[KillVenus]

I'm not saying you are mentally ill. We all have our own reasons. I'm not sure that if you were 'normal' you'd be having these types of thoughts though

I don't feel like I have some dark thoughts because I abnormal in my head but more like I think like that because it's the most logic thing and this logic thing is dark it's like imagine a world where god exist and there is proof it exist some people would think that it's a nice entity but some ppl says that it's bad and they think like that not because they're abnormal but because they're right. I don't know If you get it with this bad example but I'm not saying that I have the answer I'm saying that I try to find it and for the moment with the clues that I have in my position I'm at this moment when I think that life is meaningless. For meit's not dark thoughts (seems like I went way too far lol i hope you get what I want you to get)

 

[Lara Francis]

Hi ! (First, I'm a newbie and a french guy so my English is probably bad be indulgent with me (^w^))

I'm sad not about myself but about the « normal » people, the ones who want to live...

Why ? I'll explain

The fact that life is meaningless is not a news for you guys and a lot of non-suicidal people knows that but for a unknown reason they don't want to leave this world

The "after system" is a good thing to see the life as an useless thing :

You born and after ?
You grow up as a kid then a teen then as an adult and after ?
You get a job and after ?
You find your future wife/husband
and after ?
You marry her/him and after ?
You've got a child and a second one and a third one and after ?
You watch them growing up with probably the same mental struggles than you and after ?
You "enjoy" your last years with you wife/husband in a trip around the world and after ?
Then you f*cking die.

And "normal" people is ok with that... My mom said that the meaning of her life was to watch her childs growing up I was like "wtf mom it's a shitty reason to live" and if the most of the people in the world think like that they all f*cked up and I still don't know why they find that as a good reason to live

So I wanted your thoughts bout this...

For you why normal people still want to live?

Welcome to the forum

 

[KillVenus]

Welcome to the forum

Thanks ^w^

 

[Dani Paradox]

Yes because of a quack doctor who ruined my life 4 months ago. But I would have still been happy and loving life if I never knew him

I too was robbed of happiness by quack doctors.

 

[checking out]

Interesting discussion everyone, thank you. I believe that life is inherently meaningless, as I articulated above, and for those of us that believe this the choice is whether or not one can enjoy life or not. Life may be meaningless but still enjoyable/wonderful/fascinating etc. Interestingly, how many times do you hear 'normal' people (those that believe life has meaning/purpose etc) give advice like 'you've got to find a reason to keep going', 'you've got to find a purpose, something to get you out of bed in the morning'. Aren't they just admitting that life is inherently pointless? If life has inherent meaning, why does one have to 'find a reason to live'?

 

[bigj75]

Interesting discussion everyone, thank you. I believe that life is inherently meaningless, as I articulated above, and for those of us that believe this the choice is whether or not one can enjoy life or not. Life may be meaningless but still enjoyable/wonderful/fascinating etc. Interestingly, how many times do you hear 'normal' people (those that believe life has meaning/purpose etc) give advice like 'you've got to find a reason to keep going', 'you've got to find a purpose, something to get you out of bed in the morning'. Aren't they just admitting that life is inherently pointless? If life has inherent meaning, why does one have to 'find a reason to live'?

Because life is suffering. Things that relieve you of suffering in a positive way are the things that have meaning. Its up to everyone to try to find their own thing that relieves them of the suffering that is life.

It's like sure I'm going to die no matter what I do but it's beneficial and meaningful to me to be at my best physically, mentally, and emotionally until i do die.

 

[Life sucks]

First, welcome and please don't let any judgment hurt you and I really understand you.

And yes, one doesn't have to be "depressed" or whatever to realize the nonsensical or illogical stuff in life. I can be happy af and still say the same or more.

Without grouping people to "normal" and "abnormal" and to avoid the repetitive replies defending a group and hurting the other. Its all about programming the person biologically or by many other ways like society. Some people just follow the programming and some struggle while others don't follow. But its with variety of degrees and not completely distinct classes. Continuous indoctrination through the human history results in this but humans are different and some will rebel against this specially if its associated with injustice, abusing and other negatives.

I can talk about myself and say about being meaningless but that's not what I'll talk about as I'll tackle the individual argument and how life is meaningful depending on the person. Just because some people give themselves meanings, it has nothing to do with the complete meaning of life whether one consider it meaningless or meaningful. We are a population of humans and not a single one, for life itself to be meaningful, it has to be like that for "every" single one. If I get a "meaning" while others got meaninglessness, it is selfish to accuse them negatively. However, the opposite is different, if I get a "meaningless" while others got "meaning". It is not selfish to talk about how life gives you and some others the "meaninglessness".
Also, one can think and observe without including himself "whether own life has meaning or not" and see how others get meaninglessness and unnecessary suffering. One can be happy and give himself a meaning but when looking at the miseries of others, what's the point of seeing a young kid killed in a war or massive number of people dying from diseases in the past? What was the meaning of that, its not our own lives but we can see the misery and how some die or live without any control over their lives. Many people are born and dead and their lives never got a meaning and how this world and life works is part of the reason. One can be happy about themselves and I don't attack anyone (and I already can get happy sometimes) but if you ignore others and their inevitable sufferings and try to force meanings, then you are the selfish one.

 

[checking out]

My view of life is my own, of course; it may be shared by others, or rejected. I do not judge others, and I certainly do not begrudge those that find meaning in their lives. I do not begrudge those that are happy. Yes, I make broad statements like 'life is meaningless', which I stand by. Whether I live or die is of no consequence to the planet (except that the fewer people in the world the better as far as conservation of biodiversity is concerned). It is of no consequence to the nearly every single person who exists. It is only of consequence to the relatively small number of people that care about me. If every human life had meaning, and the loss of any individual had consequences, then lonely old people wouldn't be found dead in their lonely apartment months after the fact. This doesn't mean I do not value human life, or have sympathy or empathy. I rail against injustice, cruelty, unfairness, war and greed. I live my life trying to do more good than harm, and treat all with respect and kindness. The philosophical question I struggle with is as life has no inherent meaning (once again, my opinion), and I feel no pleasure or joy in life, is there any reason to keep living?

 

[worldexploder]

I consider both normal depending on the individual. What doesn't seem normal to me is people who want to live seeing others like us as abnormal.

 

[trilogy]

"normal" people have things worth living, and things to look forward to.. unlike most of us i'm sure.

 

[windingdown]

so what happened to you between 30 and 31 that now makes you suicidal?
Seems you were doing really well at life! So maybe there is hope left???

I developed a mental illness and my whole life unraveled. At the same time other life things came to the fore, like coping with aging, disability, hair loss, and a total loss of interest in life. There are several things present that, just on their own, make living untenable to me. Shall we begin with being poor? (on disability). Disability? Being in constant physical discomfort? The fear of losing ever more of my hair? Losing one's looks just through normal aging? (how are people just OK with that?) Or the perpetual intense boredom, which in itself kills?

Your hopeful tone is sweet : )