Finding meaning in life

[PairTheBoard]

Popinjay -
"So where do I go from here? I know I need some sort of meaning to my life, some reason to live. I feel I have the capacity to accomplish great things in my life (just like everyone else). "

Stick with that feeling. David's right about not overanalyzing things. You deserve the pleasure in simple things like golf and strip clubs - or whatever. It would be great if you could get involved with a group of friendly people; A Yoga class, Aqua Arobics, a local political party, a meditation class, an art class, a creative writing class, maybe a 12 step group working on depression, a native american sweat lodge, even a church if you can find one that suits you. Whatever appeals to you.

You don't have to believe in God to pray. Know that if you pray in a spirit of Love you will be heard in that spirit. If nothing else you can believe you will be heard by your highest self. Pray for things like, Compassion, Empathy, Caring, Love, Meaning, Understanding, Wisdom, Gratitude, Humility, Confidence, Enthusiasm, Excitement, even Sensuality and Eros. Pray for your friends and enemies alike and ask that they receive these same things that you want for yourself. If out of this you come to an understanding of a higher reality or a higher being or even something you choose to call God, don't let anybody harass you about it. It's yours to keep.

I have a hunch you will do great things with your life and the world will be richer because of it.

PairTheBoard

[Joe826]

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You do not need god to make your life meaningful.

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good luck with that

[Aytumious]

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You do not need god to make your life meaningful.

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good luck with that

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Nice sarcastic comment, but I think life is much more meaningful if you can create meaning for yourself regardless of outside influences like god or even other people. If what you value most comes from within, it is very hard to ever truly feel sad since happiness and meaning is an internal issue.

[David Sklansky]

"If life has meaning, then from a philosophical viewpoint, I don't see how it can unless God exists."

That may be true. What is almost certainly not true is that the God in question will not tolerate it if you don't fervently believe specific stories about him.

[Joe826]

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Nice sarcastic comment, but I think life is much more meaningful if you can create meaning for yourself regardless of outside influences like god or even other people. If what you value most comes from within, it is very hard to ever truly feel sad since happiness and meaning is an internal issue.

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I wasn't being sarcastic. Apparently he read my post, decided meaning could exist apart from god, and then felt the need to post it in reply. I hope he does well.

As far as the rest of your post goes, the very fact that you advocate "creating" meaning for ourselves seems to imply that true, objective meaning does not exist. If I decide to create my own meaning by deciding that the meaning of my life is to eat as many Skittles as possible, does that count as real meaning? Maybe.

But the OP is talking about a different kind of meaning. Not some artificial meaning that we simply create for ourselves, but an actual reason to live that extends beyond our subjective make-up accounts. Even if we create for ourselves meaning and a reason to live, in the back of our minds we'll know it's still our creation and therefore, pretty much bull [censored].

[Aytumious]

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Nice sarcastic comment, but I think life is much more meaningful if you can create meaning for yourself regardless of outside influences like god or even other people. If what you value most comes from within, it is very hard to ever truly feel sad since happiness and meaning is an internal issue.

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I wasn't being sarcastic. Apparently he read my post, decided meaning could exist apart from god, and then felt the need to post it in reply. I hope he does well.

As far as the rest of your post goes, the very fact that you advocate "creating" meaning for ourselves seems to imply that true, objective meaning does not exist. If I decide to create my own meaning by deciding that the meaning of my life is to eat as many Skittles as possible, does that count as real meaning? Maybe.

But the OP is talking about a different kind of meaning. Not some artificial meaning that we simply create for ourselves, but an actual reason to live that extends beyond our subjective make-up accounts. Even if we create for ourselves meaning and a reason to live, in the back of our minds we'll know it's still our creation and therefore, pretty much bull [censored].

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Perhaps for you it is bullshit, but that is really just your opinion. I think meaning in ones life is purely subjective. Living in a way that reflects your own subjective value system tends to create meaning in ones life. In a nutshell, that is really all I believe living a meaningful life is: understanding your value system and then living according to that code. Part of the experience of life is deciphering what your code is and then having the guts to live according to what you find within yourself.

[Sephus]

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"If life has meaning, then from a philosophical viewpoint, I don't see how it can unless God exists."

That may be true. What is almost certainly not true is that the God in question will not tolerate it if you don't fervently believe specific stories about him.

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i think using "almost certainly" is a little silly, because if this God is much more powerful than you he is certainly capable of doing or being something that completly defies what makes "sense" to you.

one thing to think about, is maybe God isnt really interested in whether you believe specific myths but cares a lot about how you live, whether you live for yourself or for him. a common theme of the major monotheistic religions is that people can choose to submit to their self-centered desires or they can submit to God, and that is the fundamental issue that concerns him.

some people might say that they can't submit to a God they don't know, but a great many of the people who claim to "know God" will tell you that God for some reason is really keen on being "sought for," and that if you earnestly seek him you will find him.

[Sephus]

i think what joe is saying is that if "meaning" is something that we can create ourselves, then it's not really what the OP is looking for.

for people like joe, believing that something has meaning does not make it really meaningful, even though it may "mean" something to him in the sense that it's important to him. when you say things like "meaning is an internal issue" it sounds like youre saying things with "meaning" are things that "matter to you."

when you think about it, him calling a self-created (exclusively internal) meaning bullshit isn't really "just his opinion," what he's saying is that it doesn't fit the definition of the sort of "meaning" the OP is probably looking for. if he's right about the desires of the OP, then it's actually fact and not an opinion.

i hope that made sense because i feel like getting really into this could be tiresome.

[Aytumious]

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i think what joe is saying is that if "meaning" is something that we can create ourselves, then it's not really what the OP is looking for.

for people like joe, believing that something has meaning does not make it really meaningful, even though it may "mean" something to him in the sense that it's important to him. when you say things like "meaning is an internal issue" it sounds like youre saying things with "meaning" are things that "matter to you."

when you think about it, him calling a self-created (exclusively internal) meaning bullshit isn't really "just his opinion," what he's saying is that it doesn't fit the definition of the sort of "meaning" the OP is probably looking for. if he's right about the desires of the OP, then it's actually fact and not an opinion.

i hope that made sense because i feel like getting really into this could be tiresome.

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We don't need to get too far into this, but I was simply pointing out that it's possible that no objective sense of meaning does exist and that to search is in vain and will only extend your sense of nihilism. In that regard, it may be useful for the OP to look within himself and find what he believes if he wants to find meaning in his life. Living up to what you think is your ideal self on a daily basis is certainly not a meaningless way to live and may be the most noble form of human existence.

[PokerProdigy]

I think you need to find something you really enjoy. I am also taking philosophy in school right now and I admit it is very interesting. Maybe you should consider studying that if you enjoy it. Also you may want to read the book called Man's Search for Meaning it may give you some insight to answering your question.