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Woah, I'm like, going to die! Eventually.
Lawnboy360
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys and gals.
I've just realized that I'm going to die, and then bam, nothing.
Now, I've known for a while that humans die, and I know I'm not the first one to have such thoughts. I know about existentialism and so on, but usually it was more on an intellectual level. For some reason, I've suddenly come to realize the very concrete nature of my mortality (yeah, fancy wordage. I know). And, well, this is disquieting.
The whole thing is just so ridiculous. Day to day worries seems so unreal when you think about this.
What am I supposed to do now anyway? Become religious and convince myself that there's more to it?
Like, what the hell? I don't know if this is the kind of thing that can be helped with. I'm just freaked out a bit.
I assume this is something pretty much everyone goes through at one point or another...
Please express your thoughts on the matter.
I've just realized that I'm going to die, and then bam, nothing.
Now, I've known for a while that humans die, and I know I'm not the first one to have such thoughts. I know about existentialism and so on, but usually it was more on an intellectual level. For some reason, I've suddenly come to realize the very concrete nature of my mortality (yeah, fancy wordage. I know). And, well, this is disquieting.
The whole thing is just so ridiculous. Day to day worries seems so unreal when you think about this.
What am I supposed to do now anyway? Become religious and convince myself that there's more to it?
Like, what the hell? I don't know if this is the kind of thing that can be helped with. I'm just freaked out a bit.
I assume this is something pretty much everyone goes through at one point or another...
Please express your thoughts on the matter.
Lawnboy360 on
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Of course, that just makes me enjoy life that much more.
You'll get over it.
The trick is pretty much to make the most of the time you have. Try and set goals for yourself, and work towards them. Be happy. If something sucks, change it.
I know it's easier said than done, but it's really about all you can do. You obviously can't live forever, but plan on living out a long, full life, and do what's necessary for you to enjoy your stay here.
What about reincarnation? The law of conservation of energy...the energy that makes you you has to go somewhere when you die, even if it does spread out to a trillion different places.
Just spend some time trying to nail down what you believe (...no pun intended). Just sit around and think, talk to a good friend, whatever works best for you.
If you've already decided that you believe there is complete and utter nothingness...well, I've always thought you could achieve immortality by accomplishing something in your lifetime that will be remembered beyond your years.
Of course, then that philosophy gets shot to shit when you realize that, just like you, all of humanity is going to die out someday, too.
Oh well.
Make the most of the time you have.
Concrete is not a fancy word.
Realise that whether you die or whether you live, it makes absolutely no fucking difference. Being dead has exactly the same significance as being alive. None. So why bother with it? Keep doing what you do, enjoy the ride. Make the best of what you've got. And if you die, well, you knew that was going to happen anyway.
This is not a pessimistic as it may sound at first.
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what matters is what we do in life
be good to one another, and try to leave an impression
the best anyone can hope for is that they'll be remembered
Or be survived by their offspring. That's my ultimate goal. Vehicle for selfish genes and all that.
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I think the best way to deal with it, is to be as kick arse as possible. Stop dwelling on stupid shit and get out there, much like everyone has said.
I mean here we are, moving at ludicrous speeds in a sea of nothing floating around the sun and we have what, a blink of the time that the universe existed to come to terms with it all.
You can sit there and think about it for a while. I know I did once people in my life started dying, like my parents for one. Then there was my brother who decided to take up drugs and hanging out with hookers. He's also older then I am and until he decided to go down that path, was my only role model.
Picture the whole fabric of life as you know it unraveling like some intricate tapestry. That's kind of the unique perspective of what I got dealing with all that shit.
After the dust settled, here I was being stripped of any sense of the previous reality that I had before. Then it dawned on me, rather slowly, but it did. Eventually I'm going to be at the end of it all. What am I going to have to show for it?
See, that's what motivates me. This could be the one chance I get to experience the myriad facets of what it means to be alive. All that's left now is to try to achieve whatever my heart desires within that construct. It might be a shitty deal but it's still an oportunity.
I get the same terrible feeling from time to time. It bothers me too.
In general, my response is to introspect and contemplate what I want the meaning and purpose of my life to be. I'm not saying I have a complete answer, but I know a lot more about what I want now and I work a little bit more toward it every day.
That line would be so much better in 'We Can Work It Out.' 'Life is very short/and then you die.'
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Of course, I suppose there is a possibility that dogs and whatever DO think about that and we just can't perceive it, but that seems unlikely to me.
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...and there's no tiiii-ii-ii-iii-iiiime for fussing and fighting my friend...
Just do your thing, be a good person, don't fuck up anyone else's shit, and be generally kickass. That's my philosophy.
But then the entropy will reverse again, and the universe will start moving in the forward direction, meaning you shall be born again.
Always living the same life, over and over, forever.
So make sure it's a good one, and make sure you don't get aborted.
And no, you can't "do something" different with each new change of entropy, otherwise you would have already done it. You are predestined.
What?
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This happens to me periodically like when I'm driving alone. I practically need to pull over I get so terrified.
99% of the time I just manage to distract myself. Basically I'm lucky. i have a good job that I like. I have a decent amount of time to do what i enjoy. I have a very functional family who is there for me when I need help. I have good friends to spend time with. And I have a wonderful girl that makes me forget about the depressing nature of mortality.
Surely you must have at least one of those things to help you through it.
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I'm an atheist, and had to struggle with the same realization myself.
I was raised Christian, but my intellect wouldn't allow me to buy into that stuff after I sat down to evaluate it for what it was. Same goes for other religions, reincarnation, spirituality, etc. I concluded that when I die, I will just stop moving and decompose. End of story.
Two ways to make yourself feel better about your impending doom: Make a mark on the world. I'm an artist, and rest well at night in the smug knowledge that even though nations rise and fall, people are born and then die, tv shows are created and then canceled, art is more or less eternal, and even when I'm rotting the art I create will allow me to reach out and touch people from beyond the grave.
You could also have kids if that's your thing, but I hear they inevitably become everything you hate 9 times out of 10.
Awesome, that's pretty much exactly what I think, myself. The only difference is that I'm agnostic and was raised Jewish (my dad is an athiest, my mother is Jewish). I'm also an artist, and can identify with pretty much everything else you said.
To the OP: making an impression on the world is a good way, I've found, to comfort yourself a bit. Lots of things can do that - something as simple as planting a tree, writing something, or drawing something. Another thing I've found that helps me is by helping people - just a small, daily thing. It's another way to "live on" - through peoples' memories. I think, "if I can make a good impression on this person, or brighten up their day a bit, they may remember something about me decades from now"...of course, it's not all for selfish reasons, I do like helping people in general...but yeah, don't worry about this - it's typically only a momentary freak-out. I went through a big one a few years ago, and periodically go through a tiny one. It does get easier to deal with as time goes on, though. I've gotten to the point where I'm accepting of the fact, and it's pretty nice.
If you die, and there's nothing after death, well, you won't care, because you won't exist. (this reminds me of Gabe being afraid of anti-anxiety drugs)
Or, if you believe in an afterlife that requires an entrance fee, go ahead and start helping old ladies cross streets and nursing injured Robins back to health.
I think that's one of the reasons why it IS something to worry about - you don't have any control over it, you can't change it, it is inevitable.
That and the fact that you don't know when it'll happen, how it will happen, for how long it will happen, or what. So the time we have to live is limited, but nobody knows by how much.
Not to perpetuate any anxiety on it
In addition to the mortality thing, I've had my first lucid dream the same night. Something strange is going on in there.
I've been reading a lot of pop-neuropsychology lately. Fascinating stuff... split-brain patients for example. It's kinda hard to take our "self" seriously when, as far as I can tell, it's all just a very sophisticated system to keep us alive and replicating. We're not necessarily capable of coming to a complete understading of ourselves or the universe.
At least we are smart enough to plan an happier life, taking into account our innate needs and desires. We are adaptive. Yay for humans!
As for "concrete" not being a fancy word. Well, I'm a non-native english speaker so yeah, I've got no idea.
Also:
But life requires effort.
Just go out and enjoy life and make sure in doing so you at the very least don't stop anyone from enjoy their lives, and, even better, enjoy life together and spread that joy of life with all your heart in whichever manner suits your nature best.
Take care of yourself, get educated, get a good job, and make sure you find a reason to honestly smile to yourself every day.
Few fates are better than, on your death bed, being able to pass on with a smile of satisfaction at all the years now behind you, and with your tears only for those who did not enjoy the same.
I was sitting in the library contemplating this exact same issue, completely terrified and woozy. I have always considered death, but I guess I've grown up and realized I am not the center of the universe anymore.
What brings me down into a deep, dark sense of fear is that there have been millions of people before us. Where do they all go? What makes us think we are so special and that we will go to a better place?
Personally, I have no idea. I'm struggling with religion at the moment but I honestly believe that the human spirit is far too complex to just be something that is born and then dies.
Whenever I feel this horrible dispair, like I've figured there will be nothing after my death, I look at really beautiful pictures taken of outer space and stars. Those pictures are the most sobering thing to me, there is so much out there we don't know, how do we presume to know there is nothing after our bodies cease to live? In my opinion, there are far too many mysteries in this existence to rely on logic alone to explain.
I hate posting this on here, because I know how hated Christians are on the forum. But, if you really do realize that you are going to die, then you owe it to yourself to investigate the truth about existence.
This site has some very logical reasons to examine Theism and after that Christianity. PM me if you want to talk/debate more about this. Best wishes.
Nothing to worry about if you can't worry anymore once it's happened! Just think about what makes your life good now at this moment.
I've been wondering why people believe in organized religion, which to me is a lot less understandable than just a belief in some sort of "supernatural entity". Hopefully this site will help me understand another POV. Bookmarked...
On the subject of death, yeah, you're going to die. So will everyone else. All I can say is make your mark while you're here. Personally, compared to things like hell and heaven, I think oblivion is a nice option.
Seriously, think about it; personally, it makes more sense to believe in God and believe that there's a purpose than it does to say that there is no purpose.
I find it more plausible that there is a God and that we are important and loved in his eyes and that we're here for a purpose than I do that existence itself (not evolution, not any of that other stuff, just existence itself) just kinda...happened.
But again, that's me. I can tell you this much, if you're in doubt, find out for yourself! Don't be afraid of what a bunch of forumers will think if you do or don't want to believe in God. My own advice, though? Even if there is no God, which I say there is, it can't hurt to try praying to him to see if he'll give you some sort of answer...and don't just try once for half a minute and give up...try, and if you really want to know badly enough, I can at least give my personal promise that God'll respond.
I'll just close quoting a scripture from the bible...take it for what it is.: James 1:5: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not (doesn't hold back), and it shall be given him"
Now, the rest of you can go and tear this to shreds, or just let it ride like the rest of your opinions.