what IS life...really?

We spend so much time focusing on what we "should" be doing or how we "should" be living our lives.

But what IS life?? Why does the whole phrase Live Your Life have to mean load up on friends and social gatherings,have a successful career,live on your own,etc...?

Who says that is the way to live your life? What if you're just supposed to grow spiritually and be a good person in order to be counted as a person who lived their life??

I just don't understand why people who don't have friends and connections have to be considered as not having a life.

If our lives are what we make them, why is it not ok to just be alone and be happy with yourself?? When did standard of living become a contest of how many friends we have and how many people value us? If we value ourselves is the rest REALLY that important? Does it really matter how many trips around the world you've made? Does it really matter how many people you'd have to attend your funeral? Isn't it enough to just be a nice person who is happy and content with the way they are without needing hoards of admirers and social gatherings to get fulfillment?
Why is it considered pathetic and indicative of loserville if your circle of friends are online? Why is it shameful to find yourself in love with someone you've conversed with via the internet? Who gets to judge these things and determine that they're not the way to live your life????

I'm rambling and probably not making much sense. This just popped into my head and I wanted to express it.

our "lives" don't exist before we live them

so there is nothing that we have to live up to

no expectations, other than what we impose on ourselves

after it's all said and done, and you have reached the very end

you will still have nothing more than what you came into the world with

finding peace and contentment in each moment is as an admirable pursuit as any

coyote said:

our "lives" don't exist before we live them

so there's nothing that we have to live up to

no expectations, other than what we impose on ourselves

after it's all said and done, and you have reached the end

you will still have nothing more than what you came into the world with

finding peace and contentment in each moment is as an admirable pursuit as any

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exactly i can always count on you to tie up ramblings into a nice, to the point thought.

Agent_Violet said:

exactly i can always count on you to tie up ramblings into a nice, to the point thought.

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great minds think alike ;]

I think a lot of it has to do with our own perception and this false feeling of inferiority when we compare ourselves to other people. We see them as the benchmark and ourselves as the less special alternative. I also think we are the ones who place the most pressure on ourselves to be TYPICAL. If we see any atypical aspects in our life, we automatically dismiss it as inferior or unsatisfactory. You're right there is no one way of living your life, but i think we're usually the ones who need the most convincing about that.

I also feel that the media has a lot to do with this false reality of perfection. We as people are beginning to use people on tv and the internet as those we should admire, not realizing that the media is advertising controlled and we are shown this "perfect" figure only because liking them, or wanting to be like them, is the fastest way for us to spend our money.

planemo said:

I think a lot of it has to do with our own perception and this false feeling of inferiority when we compare ourselves to other people. We see them as the benchmark and ourselves as the less special alternative. I also think we are the ones who place the most pressure on ourselves to be TYPICAL. If we see any atypical aspects in our life, we automatically dismiss it as inferior or unsatisfactory. You're right there is no one way of living your life, but i think we're usually the ones who need the most convincing about that.

I also feel that the media has a lot to do with this false reality of perfection. We as people are beginning to use people on tv and the internet as those we should admire, not realizing that the media is advertising controlled and we are shown this "perfect" figure only because liking them, or wanting to be like them, is the fastest way for us to spend our money.

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my self-esteem has never been better than it has since i stopped watching television and installed adblock on my internet browser - seriously

to those suffering from depression or self-esteem issues, i highly recommend dropping an anvil on your television

coyote said:

my self-esteem has never been better than it has since i stopped watching television and installed adblock on my internet browser - seriously

to those suffering from depression or self-esteem issues, i highly recommend dropping an anvil on your television

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i hear that! I stopped watching regular tv a long time ago. i still have to put up with it though bc hubby watches it regularly.

i try not to read entertainment type news online and stick with the real life stuff. that helps also.

there is definitely something to be said about media influence on a person's lack of contentment with their life.

coyote said:

my self-esteem has never been better than it has since i stopped watching television and installed adblock on my internet browser - seriously

to those suffering from depression or self-esteem issues, i highly recommend dropping an anvil on your television

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I actually watched a documentary recently which suggested the same thing (and that all people under 12 years of age be banned from watching adverts). it really does effect the way we think about our lives.

planemo said:

I actually watched a documentary recently which suggested the same thing (and that all people under 12 years of age be banned from watching adverts). it really does effect the way we think about our lives.

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isn't it funny how government can step in and ban things they deem unhealthy or dangerous for society but they won't ever ban the TRULY harmful things like glossy ads and airbrushing...lies about how to live brought to us by the likes of that dumbass chick who just had the 4hr wedding special. she'll remain nameless on this thread bc she's too highly googled as it is.

anyway...if the government wants to ban things...they need to ban entertainment media and glossy ads.

laughing at myself...realized my last post sounded TOTALLY like a conspiracy theory

Blabla.. said:

But Agent_Violet , really questioning yourself with these kind of questions is important , without it , it would be like standing in a hole with a bunch of people without ever wondering what lies above , in my opinion the goal of this life is to understand

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i don't think there's anything wrong with questioning things. not at all. but I do think it's wrong the way we try to measure our lives and our worth from what other people say is right or wrong/ cool or pathetic.

who knows...maybe i'm just using some sort of defense mechanism trying to justify the way many people here live their lives.

Agent_Violet said:

who knows...maybe i'm just using some sort of defense mechanism trying to justify the way many people here live their lives.

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yes, sometimes justification is necessary

i've spent the last 40 years cultivating this "cool, mysterious, bad-ass loner" persona

i have too much invested to change now

coyote said:

yes, sometimes justification is necessary

i've spent the last 40 years cultivating this "cool, mysterious, bad-ass loner" persona

i have too much invested to change now

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oooh you sound like me! lol

Agent_Violet said:

We spend so much time focusing on what we "should" be doing or how we "should" be living our lives.

But what IS life?? Why does the whole phrase Live Your Life have to mean load up on friends and social gatherings,have a successful career,live on your own,etc...?

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I don't think it does. Surely "Live Your Life" means just that. Live *your* life. If you want to have lots of friends and go to social gatherings but you aren't (because of SA or whatever) then you're not living your life, but if you have no desire to do those things anyway then they're not factors by which you should be judging yourself.

Who says that is the way to live your life? What if you're just supposed to grow spiritually and be a good person in order to be counted as a person who lived their life??

I just don't understand why people who don't have friends and connections have to be considered as not having a life.

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They're only considered that way by shallow people, who feel the need to constantly compare themselves against others in order to gauge how "successful" they think they are at life. If that's how they want to measure themselves then that's fine, but why should their opinions matter to the rest of us?

Why is it considered pathetic and indicative of loserville if your circle of friends are online? Why is it shameful to find yourself in love with someone you've conversed with via the internet? Who gets to judge these things and determine that they're not the way to live your life????

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You're only accountable to yourself. Others will have their opinions about you, as you'll have yours about them, but so what? You're not living their life, you don't necessarily share their values, and you don't have to measure yourself by their criteria. Live your life in whatever way makes you happy. It's your life, not theirs.

Agent_Violet said:

laughing at myself...realized my last post sounded TOTALLY like a conspiracy theory

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In a way it is. Adveratising is there to make you feel inadequate. Your trained to need their product to be accepted and happy. Its so blatantly obvious though few seem to realize and/or care. Welcome to the matrix .

Though to reply to your original post. Your right. You and you alone are the judge of all things. What makes you happy is for yourself to decide. As such deciding that the ignorance of others, or society as a whole, has no bearing on your personal fufilment in this life is another step towards that goal. Understanding it is one thing, putting it into action is another.

Though I beleive that social interaction is a very great part of life when one can let their guard down and truely interact with another human being. It's nearly impossible for me at the moment though Ive had times in life where its been my greatest joy. Life isn't meant to be experienced alone and depriving yourself of this joy will leave you lacking in fufillment.

Society is a broken construct, manipulated from every angle. It's hard to find a real human being out in the world these days. People have little understanding of happyness. Just be glad that you do.

I keep trying to reply to this thread, but I just can't put it into words. ::

As for advertising...I'm thoroughly convinced that it is evil. I don't watch television, but on the rare occasion when I am around someone who is, I am simply shocked by the messages that are being thrown at people nonstop. I'm always left wondering if anyone else thinks it's as ridiculous as I do? Maybe after a while you get numb to it and just don't realize that the best thing you can do is ignore absolutely everything they are trying to tell you. Marketing is sneaky, manipulative, and profit-driven. It just makes me sick even to think about it.

Life is given to you. a chance to take, and of course give love to other people. It's YOU who decides who you LOVE and TAKE and RETURN
It's your choice to TAKE and GIVE, it's your world that you want to TAKE and not GIVE into... Just TAKE what you love and GIVE what you wanna share to the world and think what you want.... It's all about your own world.

Life is a chance, an opportunity, a daily risk beautifully and sad, an offer of good precious moments, a moment of decisions, discover life every day more, like a child is born and a puppy walking first time.. Also, life is to bring you what you want. What do you want? What you do live for? Just think about it. Or not think about it, just live.

Life is just what you make of it yourrrself