Im a young christian, and have not been through great hardship or suffering, but i simply do not see the point in life. I feel very little motivation to continue living, and wonder if this is a widespread feeling, or if other people have some powerful motivation. Many say love or religion, but i believe i have experianced both (i am a devout christian and have a girlfriend), and neither one makes me feel i want to continue living. That being said, i fully appreciate the fortune i have in being healthy, provided for, and having all the caring people around me, but none of that gives me a reason for living.
So with this belief, logically, life shouldnt be worth living. I have contemplated suicide, but am held back solely by fear of pain of dying and the unknown. So, i ask, what makes other people continue living, and do the majority of people feel the way i do?
You're too close to the trees to see the forest.
We are in the middle of a war between life and death. Death is all around us. Things conspire to steal life away from us, from bacteria to terrorists…even depression (sabatoged by our own minds and biological processes!).
You are free to choose to give up your life to the forces of death, but then you couldn't do anything else…seems to be a waste. Life, then, is a very rare gift, considering everything else in the universe that is not alive and the countless opportunities for you to die.
We exist, because we don't want death to win. Our existence paves the way for future things to exist, continuing and evolving life. The world is much more interesting with life in it.
And it should make you angry that things around you are trying to take your life away. So even if you feel you don't have anything to live for, fight on principle alone…soldier on.
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Now since your a christian there is one thing that you can do. Witness to people about jesus so that they could go to heaven because we dont have much time left on earth the end is near and armegedon is comming someday. Get closer to god and seek his guidense. And no some people dont think life is worth living but it is. You should enjoy life while you have time to live. We have only 1 life to live.
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You're too close to the trees to see the forest.
We are in the middle of a war between life and death. Death is all around us. Things conspire to steal life away from us, from bacteria to terrorists…even depression (sabatoged by our own minds and biological processes!).
You are free to choose to give up your life to the forces of death, but then you couldn't do anything else…seems to be a waste. Life, then, is a very rare gift, considering everything else in the universe that is not alive and the countless opportunities for you to die.
We exist, because we don't want death to win. Our existence paves the way for future things to exist, continuing and evolving life. The world is much more interesting with life in it.
And it should make you angry that things around you are trying to take your life away. So even if you feel you don't have anything to live for, fight on principle alone…soldier on.
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In a fight, you'll know what it means to be truly alive.
If you are a true christian and think that this world is basically a test to see if you deserve an ETERNAL life of happiness and joy, I don't see how you can possibly lack motivation to live unless you have a chemical imbalance in your brain.
Maybe you need to see a psychiatrist and get some meds to see if it helps.
Since you are a christian, I would advise you (and your girlfriend) to follow Jesus' advice and get rid of everything you own and devote your life to helping the downtrodden exactly like he did. Shouldn't he be your best role model? If your next 60 years on earth are a test, stop delaying!!! That's 60 years compared to… forever. I mean FOREVER, come on. How hard can it be to see the trade-off?
-atheist
To answer the rest of your question, you are right, there is no reason at all for any life to continue anywhere. If an asteroid hit tomorrow and wiped us all out, the earth would continue to spin around the sun for the next 3 billion years anyway. Humans are an accident and mean nothing to the universe. But I'm an atheist/nihilist, apparently you are not.
And Flyingdove is wrong, the one unfogivable sin is blasphemy, not suicide. The bible does NOT say suicide is unforgiveable anywhere.
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I have gone through hard times as well as good times and what kept me living was that deep down I knew that there was a universe in imagination, colors and lights inside of me and that I could never voluntarily end all that.
I think you will see all this more clearly during your life, which is unique. Please don't do anything foolish, you don't know yet what is waiting for you just around the corner: everyday can bring you what you are looking for in an unexpected way.
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If you are a real Christian, they you will NOT kill yourself, as that will damn you to Hell for all eternity (its the one unforgivable sin).
Life is all about what we make it- you can wallow in misery, or be happy, its your choice! Me, I would rather be happy then miserable! God gives us blessings, some get more, some less, but its really up to us to recognize our blessings and be thankful for what we do have, instead of always searching for what we don't have, and be happy with what you got!
Peace be with you………
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Do you love your depression too much to give it up?
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Well, first of all, I would strongly suggest that you seek counseling through social services. Coming here to Yahoo Answers is not necessarily the best place to come for information or suggestions when a person has reached such a depressed state in their life. In short – get help and get it now!
I have a very good life; a wife that loves me, as well as a son and grandson.
We enjoy many, many activities that are available to most people; ie, not expensive.
What makes me want to put my feet on the floor in the morning and take another breath of air?
My family, my hobbies, nature, music, many things.
Even though I have known people in my life that have battled depression, I have never been able to understand how a person could not find ONE thing in this whole world that they couldn't claim as a reason to keep living.
You are in a very dangerous state of mind, and you should seek professional help immediately.
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You are the life of the body, you lived before you had this body and you will continue to live after it is gone. Sorry, you have no choice in the matter of living or not, just become the witness of all that occurs in your waking, sleep and deep sleep states. offer all that you think, say or do to the service of God and all that he created. God has been preparing you for a work. Read the "Impersonal Life" by Joseph brenner. Learn to intuit Gods will. "The mind is not for thinking, the mind is for receiving thought". My peace i give unto you. I pray you may abide in unconditional love,within your heart.
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experience
Lets look at both sides of the argument for where everything came from before I answer your question. If there is no God and we evolved, it took billions of years of evolution, from our planet being born from the ashes of a nuclear furnace (the sun's formation) to all of the infinitely complex evolutions that played the cosmic lottery time and time again to get to your existence. By all statistical rights you shouldn't exist, yet you do. Likewise, if you believe in God, the shear volume of thought and beneficent creativity that went into your individual creation could not even be fathomed by people. Either way you look at it, the very fact you exist at all is jaw droopingly amazing. We see casual violence on TV and think that lives are expendable, but the truth is that you are utterly unique in the universe and have not, nor will you ever, exist again as you do now.
We often think that two things that are alike are the same thing, just occurring at different times or places. But the truth is both instances are unique, never to have occurred before and never to occur again. It is the belief that we can hold something static and permanent that causes trouble for us. We try to make things as it was, but that can never be. All things change and are impermanent; this is an indisputable fact of life. You too are changing all of the time. Both mentally and physically. None of the cells in your body are the same ones when you were a child, yet you feel like the same person, yet changed. Since you know you will change in parallel to life around you, if you are willing to take control over your change, you can change your perspective about things that bother you. Ultimately, how happy you are about life depends solely on you. If someone is angering you, it is not them that is actually making you angry, it is YOU deciding to be unsatisfied, thus changing your inner condition to anger. If you don't like the view, change your perspective. Find something to be happy about in the crappy situation, be rational.
The trick that has saved me is to find something, anything, to be rationally and compassionately happy about in every moment. In the very moment you are in. Don't worry too much about the future, that will happen later and can be delt with then. Don't worry about the past, simply learn from it and remember that it has already happened and will never happen again. You are what you think; what thoughts you hold in your mind. Bad thoughts are ok to have, but only to notice it is a thought and let pass. If you fixate on bad thoughts, they become the object of your attention and fester. On the other hand, if you think happy thoughts and concentrate on those, you will find yourself a far more content person. Good luck, and remember, it's all about your frame of Mind.
References :
Happiness: A Guide to Life's Most Important Skill
by Mattheu Ricard (Clinically the happiest person in the world according to modern science and an fMRI)
http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Guide-Developing-Lifes-Important/dp/0316167258/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3708426-7817766?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174158557&sr=8-1
I want to live simply for the mystery of the whole experience.
As a devout Christian, I can understand why you would not want to continue life, because as Christians, we look forward to our eternal life, but The Lord wants us to continue.
Your questions sound vaguely familiar to one I answered previously by a person who was also questioning a reason to live. Since you are a Christian, the door is wide open for reasons to live. Find your calling.
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I believe that life exists for the sake of life. There is no reason I see why amino acids should arrange themselves in such a way that allows life. Yet billions of years ago they did. And ever since life has been evolving. We may feel as if all life before us has led to human existence ut we are just one link in the chain. Something out there, call it god or nature, is stopping us from dying until the link is complete and time can continue onto the rest of the chain. So I don't think it matters whether people see the reason to life. The purpose of life is to continue living until new life can take its place. And without religion, thats the only reason we'll get.
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we share the same delimma right now but the only reason that i continue to live is becoz God permit me too…. our life is God given so everytime i wake up in the morning; one thing that is always in my mind is that i know God wants me to do something today that's why He allowed me to still wake up….
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What unknown ? Devout Christians know what awaits them after death. Want some cheese for that whine?
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http://www.counterorder.com/faq.html
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Curiosity for what happens next, and the prospect of enjoyable times to come.
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Plain and simple: Others, when you hold others before yourself you can truly live. Fight for them and be willing to die for them.
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Honey, if you are a devout Christian, then you should know the love of Christ and all the blessings that he has in store for you. You really should be praying to Him and asking Him for advice and not people on the internet. Talk to you pastor. Pray and pray with others.
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I certainly didn't think life was not worth living when I was your age. My father was an alcoholic, my first husband died of a brain tumor when I was 25 and he 27 and I was pregnant with our second child. After five years I dated a man who told me he was a widower. I fell madly in love with him. He turned out to have a wife and 2 children. I married again after about six months to a man who didn't want sex for most of the 12 years we were married. When he was 45, he left me for his 19 year old secretary. There's more…but I don't want to bore you more than I already have. Have I ever thought of suicide? You betcha. However, as you mentioned, even though I too am a believer in Christ, fear of the unknown and being chicken prevents me from doing anything about it. Besides, death is so permanent.
I advise you to see a doctor. I think you are suffering from clinical depression and need help badly. If your life was as wonderful as you say it is, you would not think life is not worth living. What will happen to you if something dreadful happens? Get some help.
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i live in this world but not of it. there is nothing in mans world that interests me. mans world revolves around money and power and i have no interest in either. i spend my time seeking knowledge and understanding in the hope that i may shorten the amount of incarnations that i need to become one with the creator
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Believe in yourself and your own potential. Be good to the natural world which you are part of. Enjoy life and accept its limitations, you will find that everything else will start to fall in its proper place.
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Whats[sic] the motivation, what makes [living life] worth the effort?
You do, we all do, everything is expanding, unfolding, learning, coming to know itself, and coming to know that it know itself. Even God Itself exponentiates and ever expands in magnitude. You as you facilitate this expansion.
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Your problem is your blind belief i perceive!
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You might consider the motivation to live this: God gave you life, and it's His to take away. So do not kill yourself. If living is that bad, maybe you should try to make it better for others. That will keep your mind off how empty yours is and pretty soon it won't be so empty. Volunteering in your community can help with that a lot.
I think the majority of people feel like you do, at least at some point, and many for years. If you explore your interests and stay open-minded, you'll find a path to follow. Don't give up!
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I too am a devout Christian and am sometimes wondering the same thing. We spend our lives trying to accomplish things, please others, be remembered when we die, yet what is it all for? There are questions that hold answers we can't possibly comprehend. I feel this is a question no human can simply answer because it varies for everyone. all people have something that drives their life. I would recommend for you to read The Purpose Driven Life. I've read it and it taught me that life is beautiful. That God loves is unconditional, and the life we live on Earth is not pointless. Everyone has a purpose.
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i think you are asking yourself,"what makes life worth living?" you havent found it yet. keep searching, the reason is out there, and im sure you will know what is it when you find it. I have a feeling once you look outside yourself and look to the happiness of others, you will find your answer.
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You should think positively, forget depression, it is not good for you. You should find a hobby, try thinking of others, try to help them…What do you think that would happen to your mom and dad if you were dead??? They would cry their eyes forever…You are lucky to have them beside you, so stop whining…Life is what you make it…
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To see what tomorrow brings, and if we die either by natural causes or our own hand, then there is no tomorrow.
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