Reasons To Live

[Narz]

Reasons to Live

How important is life, what makes it worth living?

Thoughts : Every moment we make little life or death decisions. Smoking, drinking alcohol excessively, eating excessively, even storing anger or ignoring pain all lead to premature death yet almost everyone engages in at least one of two of these behaviors and many others (like being 'out of it' while driving).

I wonder if they have a test - "how much do you want to live?" (or conversely - how much do you want to die?) or "risk of death tolerence". I'm sure anyone with a little programming ability and creativity could make one.

I want to do research on what motavates people to live - people who felt like they wanted to die or had very little motavation and then turned completely 360 to the point where they can say they genuinely are appreciative of and alive in each moment; as well as from those smart enough to go "straight to the top" rather than dabble in what's it's like to be miserable, confused and/or addicted first.

Feel free to help me with this (in terms of pointing out websites and/or sharing your own opinions/experience).

I hope this thread stays open, I know suicide is a touchy subject but I don't think it's discussion is anything to be afraid of.

- Narz

Moderator Action: No suicide discussion at CFC pls, despite any reason. Remained open for now, after edit of thread title. - XIII
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Marla_Singer]

We want to live because we're seeking happiness. Once we've found happiness, we want to keep it so we're still in some way seeking happiness. Actually, a smoker or someone eating excessively finds happiness in smoking or in eating excessively... they don't care less of life, they consider smoking or eating excessively is necessary to their life ! Because an unhappy life isn't that far from death.

 

[DvR]

A few days ago I had a discussion with a friend of mine about this subject.. The idea was as follows: Would you sacrifice your own life to save someone elses?
It was a rather touchy subject, not only because of the suicide part, but also because of the value of another persons life..
When is your own life worth less to yourself than the life of someone else?

 

[MarineCorps]

The Marine Corps is a very good reason to live!
(typicial anwser)

 

[BorgeoisBuffoon]

I live to see where life takes me. I'm at a crossroads in life, and I'm wondering what will happen. I wouldn't kill myself, to kill oneself is to admit defeat. There's always a solution to every problem.

Sappy-sounding, but eh, it's true.

 

[GenMarshall]

Well, before. I felt that I had no reason to live since I was in 2 failed relationships and that I could not get a Girlfreind.

 

[sysyphus]

Before I was attached to the love of my life, my main reason for living was that I had nothing else better to do.

 

[puglover]

Serving God is what makes life worth living.

 

[polymath]

Life is precious...you only get one shot at it. In all the vasty depths of space the Earth is the only sad little clod of rock where this phenomenon exists...and then the alloted little snippet we actually get to mess around with is just a fleeting glimmer buried in an eternity of darkness. It should be grasped firmly.

I've thought about suicide in passing, but never very seriously or with a compelling reason. I am far more keen to see what happens next than give up my brief time on this tiny stage.

 

[Azadre]

There is no reason to die and there is no reason to live...

 

[bobgote]

I'd firstly recommend to drop the bit about suicide discussion. Threads like that are usually summarily closed (no matter what intentions are behind their creation)

 

[Esckey]

I find more reasons to die then I have reasons to live, the one reason to live only slightly out ways the hundreds of reasons to die. And this one reason is also for a girl/love. Appearntly all you need is love

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Originally posted by Narz
Thoughts : Every moment we make little life or death decisions. Smoking, drinking alcohol excessively, eating excessively, even storing anger or ignoring pain all lead to premature death yet almost everyone engages in at least one of two of these behaviors and many others (like being 'out of it' while driving).

We all have a death urge and a life urge which are constantly at war during our lives. The death urge makes us reach for a ciggarette, the life urge makes us worry that we have cancer. When the life urge becomes stronger, we quit smoking (or whatever unhealthy thing you do), when the death urge takes over, we fall off the wagon and start smoking again. Those people who jog for miles every day, dont eat meat and live on nuts and berries and brocoli, and who usually look like they just got freed from a concentration camp, they are the victims of a life urge run amok. An all powerful life urge can be as unhealthy as a dominant death urge. The life urge and the death urge compliment each other, when in perfect balance, the individual will be healthy and will have a good quality of life.

 

[Smaasnekje]

ignoring pain

So If youy are shot in a war it's bertter to lie and cry while the enemy runs towards you than ignoring the pain and run like hell and take cover some other place??

 

[Qitai]

Death is for the cowards who do not dare to face life. If you do not fear death, then why do you fear life. Surely, life is not that terrible that you need to end it. You can escape with death. But what about your families, friends and everyone who care about you? I like to live just to see how this world evolved, much like reading a story book to me, a story which you can choose to participant in and try to change the ending if you want to.

 

[Narz]

Originally posted by Smaasnekje


So If youy are shot in a war it's bertter to lie and cry while the enemy runs towards you than ignoring the pain and run like hell and take cover some other place??

If you're in a war, yeah you gotta fight thru the pain to survive. The pain I am speaking of is for example, repeated chest pains that could be an early warning of heart attack. Or ignoring back pain until one day you go to lift up a chair and bam- you're out of comission for weeks.

The reason I started this thread is that I am struggling with addiction right now. I never thought I had the personality for that. I always like to consider myself rational and not one to metaphorically bang my head against a wall but I find myself doing it every day now and I'm scared. I think the scariest thing in the world is not outside but it lies in not being able to trust oneself.

Speaking for myself I find it almost impossible to just stop dead a bad habit, irrational tendency, addiction, whatever. One must replace it with something else and one must believe that life is important enough to be clear and strong for.

 

[Kakashi]

It is natural human instinct to want to live, and to not want to die.

 

[Mark Young]

Originally posted by Narz
Reasons to Live

How important is life, what makes it worth living?

I think that it is an individual thing that everyone has to define for themselves.
I believe that everyone on this planet has a reason for being here, but most people sit around idly waiting for their meaning for existence to suddenly drop into their lap like a slick feel-good Hollywood movie.
I believe that you have to get out there and make/create your own destiny.
I define who I am.
I create my own future by my decisions or by my inaction. And it is these decisions or lack there-of, that define why I am here.

[gets on soapbox]
I personally believe that if you sit around and wait for destiny/fate/meaning of existence etc, then you probably wont find it. Life is about doing something, taking risks and having a go.

People who became great leaders/conquerers/artists and anything else famous, did so because they did what they loved, and I believe that this is the key to finding out what your reason for existence is. To fulfill your destiny/reason for living, you have to do the thing that you love. And the thing that you love will automatically become your reason for living/destiny. So do what you love and you will find your destiny/ reason for living.

People need to stop worrying about their destines, they need to get out there and make them happen.
[/gets of soapbox]

 

[Mark Young]

Originally posted by Narz

The reason I started this thread is that I am struggling with addiction right now.

Speaking for myself I find it almost impossible to just stop dead a bad habit, irrational tendency, addiction, whatever. One must replace it with something else and one must believe that life is important enough to be clear and strong for.

I think you've answered your own conundrum.
I doubt if there is a person on this planet that doesn't suffer from the same thing in one form or another.

The only times I have overcome addictions is when they were replaced with something better, something more valuable and of more worth.

I did overcome one addiction by setting myself little goals, if I made it till lunchtime without doing what I was trying not to, and then if I made it untill midnight then 2 days, then 3 days etc untill I had beaten it.
This was the only way I could do it, but it had to be replaced with something else as well.
I also had someone to help me as well. Someone to talk to that can see it from where I was makes it so much easier to deal with.

Good luck

 

[Perfection]

To gain the expereince of life, of course!