Your post intrigued me; it was the first search result from google when I searched “What is the point of life?”. I’m not sure exactly what kind of answer I was looking for, perhaps maybe a simple magic one liner that could allow me to continue my life as it was before; before I had the compulsion to ‘need’ to answer my search question. I’ve come to an absolute stand still in my life, I don’t move forward and I have no will to go backwards. In a journal not too long ago I wished foolishly that I could walk around in my life with drool hanging from my mouth (70 IQ?) so I wouldn’t be inclined to bother myself with questions such as this. I’ve seen the worst in humans in my short 27 years of life here, I’m a combat veteran and I have an extremely difficult time moving on from everything I’ve witnessed and experienced. Through some intense therapy and other means I’ve now come to the point of “What’s the flippin point to all of this?” .. and from your post here I believe we share the same frustration and curiosity.

This is dangerous territory, this question I ask myself because I know one of the darker answers, I’ve been there and I hope to never return but alas once a door is opened in the mind it becomes very difficult to close ( assuming it even can be closed without the use of some pharmaceutical approach) I’m frustrated at the fact that everywhere I turn, every object and every activity only serves it’s self to distract us (me) from reality, and my mind used to do this for me automatically through the use of various defense mechanisms that I no longer choose to use. I can only say that the reality light bulb has been flipped on inside of my head; just as I wanted it to be. Problem is, where the hell do I go from here?

Enough of the frustration, I’d like to leave my message with a touch of hope. It gives me comfort to read what you’ve written here especially reading that perhaps this is only one stage of our existence, one level as you put it. This alone gives me faith in myself to keep going because perhaps there’s something more, something better. Perhaps we’ve been placed here to learn something otherwise not able to learn in other forms. I’m not much of a reader, my attention span gives up easily however a page at a time I’ll be reading your book. I appreciate your time and effort on all of this, not to mention you’ve made the download free.

You’ve helped me already with just a few short paragraphs, I look forward to reading more and hopefully I’ll gain more of an understanding of where I am at the moment.

Thanks a ton!

Dustin

Thanks
Mark leng

I have come to a conclusion that there is no real meaning in anything it’s niether good or bad it just IS. There is no good or bad right or wrong ….we put the meaning into anything that just IS.

Life is quite mad really …as quantum physics will now agree…its the sea of potentiality. If it can happen then it will on some and every level a possibility will be played out by the Mind of One (some say God) and quantum physisists call the Unified Field of which we are all part of and connects every paricle in existence together.

I think that finding joy creates the stepping stones through the rapids of the random partical bomardment we call life.

Some might also argue that we experience our own universe from our own perspective and so therefore what matters to us is the only real importance…but perhaps life is more complex than that.

I think “successful” people do not give energy to things they don’t enjoy and instead focus on what they like…it makes sense, but involves a fair amount of self determination and drive and self belief that alot of us struggle with. In other words they choose not to dwell on things you and I might spend too much of our energy on. For example They might focus on what they can do rather than what they are lacking.

I believe that it’s all a holographic experience created out of electro magnetic energy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/sub221111#p/f/0/XPqferL9no8

http://www.youtube.com/user/sub221111?feature=mhum#p/f/6/4B7XVbHYAt4

Keep on truckin

Namaste

I’m also one of those that thinks too much. I can’t help it. At one point I thought – I should try to stop this… but, what’s the point of that? It is always there. You can’t drink full-time to stop your thoughts…

Best thing for people like us is to focus on something. Find something you like. Find something you love. As you said, something you’re passionate about. Once you find something to keep your mind busy – you think less.

Or, you might start writing books. I’ve done that recently. It helps to focus my mind, and get some of my thoughts out where someone might do something with them. Where they might even help someone. To me – that is the point of life really – helping others. Everyone’s in the same situation… we live on earth and have to deal with all that comes with that.

Did you download the free ebook in the upper right side of the page?

There are more ideas about the point of life and some responses from those that have read the book.

I think if you find something you LIKE… something you LOVE…. not someone, some THING – you will find that life blows by quickly. If you can channel your thought energy into something that helps you or others – a book, a movie, a video, a poem, creative art, a song, whatever it is – you’ll find that life is more bearable.

Good luck with everything, feel free to write to my email if there’s something you want to talk about and not post.

Cheers,

Vern

Good to read your reply and that you understood what I was saying. While i’m here i’ll just say that the reason I stumbled upon your site is because I looked up what is the point to life.
That was about 4 months ago and I have been meaning to ask you about what you wrote in that section since then and only just got around to it, because I came back to read your page recently, which I have bookmarked. I wondered about that part as I was hoping to take some advice from what you said about love relationships, but then you contradicted yourself with saying you were in one.
I’m not sure if you have any words of wisdom for me, but I am kind of struggling at the moment. I so often wonder what we’re doing here, and find it all SO crazy. Sometimes I wonder what is the point in anything? Were all going to die anyway. Whats the point in me studying. Or getting out of bed even. But then I do realise that there are things that can make me pretty happy, like travelling, and other things. I just can’t stop this mind process of thinking about things all the time. Sometimes I think my depressive thoughts might be to do with alcohol consumption and am trying to not drink anymore, but I keep going back to it because I need something to break the monotony of life. I guess I need to become passionate about something…I need wide open spaces and am not around them at the moment. I would like to be around more animals and nature. They make me feel more normal in the head. I want to just stop thinking about the point of it all, and accept that it’s going to be forever cryptic. I want to find something to break the monotony that is not alcohol. If I stop drinking for a few weeks I then feel like i’m just waiting til I can have a binge drinking night to forget about it all. Im not sure what else I could do that gave me the same buzz. Yoga and Meditation are good for my mind, though I should commit to them more and can be quite lazy with it. It seems that every one is trying to escape through alcohol (well alot of people I am surrounded by), how do you escape without it. Anyhow, I have found what you’ve written to be an interesting read, and some what inspiring, though I still haven’t found what i’m looking for.
Cheers..

Wow – you scared me – I thought my wife wrote that comment!

This post was written 3+ years ago. Actually more, but it sat on my hard drive for a while before I decided to publish it. Some parts I added – hence the “My girlfriend has a motorbike…” part you quoted.

I’ve since revised it to make more sense. Back 3 years ago I wasn’t sure if I could make the relationship I’m in now – “work”. “Work”, to me, means forever. We’re at 5 years and it’s the best relationship I’ve ever been in. I think this one goes forever… :)

Thanks for calling attention to that. :) Vern

Then write this:

“My girlfriend has a motorbike that cost $1500 USD almost 5 years ago. These are the major things we have.”

I have pondered this for a long time and I am currently writing a book on the subject. I think I may be able to help you by giving you a perspective that you have not considered. Email me at pjohnson@sourcelink.com and I would be glad to share my thoughts with you.

I’ve been thinking about these sorts of questions for many years…in many cases being seen as a bad person for question faith and what not. Over time, I too saw that I seemed to agree with the Buddhist “goal”. I like the way you put that. I even tried starting to meditate…

It’s hard for us to go through life with all of these attachments (and I think you’re right that American’s do have more), but what is life without them? It sounds like nirvana is not so much the “end of suffering” so much as the “end of emotion”. I feel like you’re article has saved me a bit of time coming up with conclusions that I was definitely on track to make.

Again, this is such an excellent article that will certainly help many people who are bold enough to search for answers to such questions on the internet.

Thanks for writing this.

SS

I’m glad you posted that comment – I also have this feeling… :)

Thanks for writing! I think that most people – when they really look at the big picture – like you obviously have, wonder naturally about – what is the point of LIVING? When you look at the point of life – if it doesn’t make sense to you, then what is the next question? What’s the point of living at all? I’ve asked myself that question hundreds of times. My answer? Who the hell knows? Lol.

When I look at the big, big picture – I don’t see any grand scheme – any good plan, any worthwhile explanation at all about why we’re all here and playing this ridiculous game that just seems to be one of lasting out various pain. Sure there are good times, but, if you look at it closely – most of our life is just spent getting over various things that pain us.

Gravity is a pain we have to overcome every time we MOVE. WHY? Who knows. Why do we have to stay between a certain temperature to be happy? Why are we at 98.6 while reptiles can be a whole range of temperature and be fine? Why are kids born without ears or conjoined to their twin? Who knows! Is there a good point to it? Hell no!

So what to do? End your life? See… we know nothing about what’s next either. Whether this life – this soul – something of “me” is carried on after death – WHO KNOWS? We could be reconstituted and have no recollection of this goofy game at all. We could just die in the dirt and have no consciousness ever reconstitute, or continue. We could go to a much more horrible place and play a really sick game next…. or, it could be the best game. Who knows?

There’s no more point in killing yourself than living. And actually, since you fark up your loved one’s games profoundly when you kill yourself – it’s not about you – it’s about staying alive for those that love you and think you’re cool to have around. If there are none of those people – then yeah, whatever, kill yourself and see what’s next… to me – no real difference in my mind then.

This game is a very twisted thing… there is no good answer that I can see for the WHY it’s being played out. So, there’s no good answer for how we should all go about playing it out either.

Life, death, no matter… whatever started this game thinks – no matter either – or we wouldn’t die in such ridiculous ways, at young ages or old… in spite of how we live our lives morally – it makes no difference at all…

;) Cheers bro… Oh, and on being a writer – YES! Write your ass numb. Checkout MikeFook.com if you get a chance.

Rather than giving my sob story, I’ll leave it at: I am simply just so exhausted of this life.

At the turn of my eighteenth birthday, things were finally going my way.

I am in a healthy romantic and sexual relationship with my girlfriend of a year.

I have severed ties and not spoken with the most detrimental person, my mother.

I thought I figured out everything I wanted. I wanted to be a writer and am going to school for it in the fall.

All good things.

Yet, I am still trying to fight the daily urges to end my life. Everything seems so pointless, irrelevant, and unimportant.

Everything that I can accomplish will someday be forgotten or obsolete. If I spend so much time trying to make myself happy, what will it matter when I die?

Thank you for writing this, Vern. It was refreshing to know that even the best of people struggle – maybe not with wanting to die, but struggling with finding the point of life.

Just, thank you.

Adam

I found it interesting!

Many of life’s rules have this inherent catch 22. The foods we find pleasurable are the fatty, sugary, salty ones that are also killers on the circulatory system and other body systems. Have sex too freely – too often, and catch something. Drink too much alcohol, take too many drugs – all the sudden you are addicted to them. Like exercise – just for the activity itself… do it too much – wear your body out – knees go, motivation dies, pull muscles, etc. Love to write? Carpal tunnel awaits. Love to sit and watch TV? Your brain atrophies. Love to talk? People grow tired of listening. Love to Sing? Eventually you lose your voice. Lots of things like this… I’m writing a book that covers things like this – not as a whole focus, just mentions it. Thanks for writing Pierre! Cheers… Vern

Essentially, I believe that the amount of pleasure that a person experiences in life is equal to the amount of pain that this person experiences in life. If you try to increase the amount of pleasure, the amount of pain will also increase to maintain the balance, and if you try to decrease the amount of pain the amount of pleasure will also decrease to again maintain this balance.

For example, the better food tastes (pleasurable) the worse it is for your body (pain in the form of fatigue, heartburn, obesity, disease, etc). The more you exercise (painful), the better you feel in general (pleasurable). If you take narcotic drugs, you may get high (pleasurable) but will have to suffer from a come down or withdrawal (painful). And so on and so forth…

And therefore, any attempt to improve life (i.e. increase pleasure, decrease pain) or increase your happiness (which is one form of pleasure) are bound to fail. You just have to accept this balance and live your life the way you want…

Hope someone finds these thoughts interesting…

Take care

I read all the comments here – and reply to most. Yours was exceptional.

You know why? The timing of it. That What is the Point of Life post has been around for a couple years now. 3 maybe. When you mentioned the “beautiful people” song by Manson I was like, WHAT did he just say?

I’m going to use that in my next book coming out in a couple of weeks. The name of the book? “Kicking Life’s Ass!”. I’ll send you a free copy if I remember, or, feel free to remind me that I said that!

You sound a bit like my friend Dave. He’s 44 and having the same issues. He was engaged and then his girl decided, she likes Dave’s best friend better. So they went off and got married. Dave still goes to their house – the two coolest people he knows hooked up. LOL.

Here’s my 44 year old wisdom speaking… At 24 years old you should only be looking for girls to have sex with. Your hormones are on fire and some say, “raging”. If you add up all the explosions in all the Bruce Willis and Arnold Swarzenegger movies – then that would roughly 10% of what MY hormones were doing.

Trying to have a relationship with someone who bases worth on appearance is a losing idea. Number one – you have an idiot you’re dating. Number 2, she’s going to find someone hotter than you no matter what.

Falling in love with such a person is a horrorshow I don’t wish on anyone.

Use this time to find fun people that like to have sex. Get rid of your raging drive and this way you’ll be able to focus on something other than chasing the hot chicks that want nothing to do with you. They want hot guys, rich guys, or bad boys. If you’re not one of those – you need to radically change who you’re looking for because you’re going to come up a loser a LOT for the next 20 years. Picture the last 6 years, 18-24 multiplied by 9.

I’ve dated models, Miss Columbia, and a handful of other hot girls that were neither – but though they were. A hot girl in the USA is usually almost devoid of personality traits I like. Great for sex – and little else. Society taught them to be this way.

Get this next book and I think it will hit many topics you’re dealing with right now. I may not have the answers, but I think you’ll enjoy reading it.

Cheers Adam.