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Has realizing that our time on earth is finite changed how you see life? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 days ago by marc4267@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Lately I’ve been thinking about death: it happens to all of us, it’s something normal, it will happen to me, I could even die tomorrow. Even if I don’t want it, I will die, like everyone else. I’m not exceptional just for being me. No matter how many gods I invent, no matter how many opportunistic preachers I pay because they promise to save me.

I’m just a monkey among 8 billion monkeys, I’m insignificant. Nothing wrong with that. It is what it is.

My life so far: take the path of least resistance. I have a job I don’t like much but I do it good enough so I don’t get fired, I enjoy cooking, fishing, poetry and drawing, hobbies that are cheap. I don’t need to keep up with the joneses.

There seems to be a perception that somebody like me is a loser, lazy, somebody who fails to live up to his potential, maybe I should try to do something exceptional with my finite time on earth, leave a legacy…

But that doesn’t appeal to me. After I die I won’t feel nothing, nor will I care about a legacy, so what’s the point?

Did realizing your time on earth is finite change how you see life?

Feel free to point out if this is me being depressed or if I need to snap out of my misanthropy, as somebody put it. I don’t consider myself depressed but after seeing and reading what humans do to other humans I don’t trust the better angels of our nature can make the world a better place.

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[–] tacosanonymous@mander.xyz 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"Insignificance" is subjective. Your life may not have an impact on the foundations of reality but that’s the same for anyone even if they were combined.

The point of life is to make your own meaning. Form connections, be happy with yourself, etc.

One of the cruelest things the ruling class has done is take away our childish sense of wonderment. Claw that back as much as you can. Also, you’ll make a huge difference if you can encourage anyone else to keep theirs.

[–] isleepinahammock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

Here's my proposal to bring more whimsy to the world:

Let's legalize piracy on the high seas...but only if the pirates use 17th century-level ships, tools, equipment, and weapons. It will still be legal for other ships to defend themselves, and they can use modern stuff. So no guarantee the historical reenacting pirates will survive. But in the off chance they do, they can keep whatever booty they plunder, and do so legally. Their ships will be too small and fragile to be a threat to big vessels like cargo ships. But it sure would make the lives of billionaire yacht owners more interesting...

"But this isn't the 17th century. Billionaire yachts are not Spanish galleons laden with gold!" You shout!

But no worry, historically, pirates often took more than valuable cargo. They often seized entire vessels...