If everything dies, what's the point of living?

Life just is. Enjoy!

Its not the destination that matters, its the journey.

While the outcome of life is predictable it is the vitality with which we live that is the point. Life educates, amuses, challenges us and even fights us along the way.

Since we cannot take anything with us when we pass- then it is the spirit and the deeds done that remain on. Then Actions and deeds are our final assets- the only true value we end up with.

It is what defines us at last.

A: Living.

Living is rewarding in itself. Why can’t people just live?

That’s a question that every person has to figure out for themselves for their own lives. Accepting your freedom to define your life for yourself is a huge challenge. Try reading some existentialist works and that may help some. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kafka and Sartre devoted their lives to studying your question.

We’re here to live our lives the way we want to on our own terms. Whatever happens in the next generation can and will be shaped by people living in that time period. Like others have said already, live for the moment, enjoy yourself, spread the love around, and be happy. You only get one life so make the very most of it.

I understand your question. It has been pondered by philosophers forever. My own take on this is that we have a rare gift: life—in between the nothingness (or whatever) that is on either side of our lives. It is up to each of us to make what we will of this gift. Just think of how amazing it is that you were even born. What you do with your life is your choice—you can make it wonderful or terrible. You choose.

The ability to love and to share that love with someone special.

Some people think that the point is to find the answer to this very question..

Only you can decide what makes your life worth living.

If you ask anyone what the purpose of their life is, parents will say that their kids are their purpose in life. It would be a rare person who would consider future generations of the human species in the same way as their kids. A person without kids surely wouldn’t devote his/her life to future generations. What fun would it be to slave one’s life away thanklessly for people who don’t even exist yet? My feelings are that slaving away, even for one’s own kids is idiotic, but that’s just my opinion.

Just think about the fact that you are so unique, nobody would be able to replace you in the generations to come

Whatever you do in this life will make things better for yourself in the future when you are reincarnated.

The point of living was the great burger I had for dinner with a group of friends.
The 2 hours I spent on the couch with my husband watching Babylon 5.
The fun I had talking to my clients at work today.
A phone call to my mom to talk about a show we both watched last night.
A phone call to my cousin to make sure he can make the party next week.
Checking Fluther for any good questions, and answering this one.

These are just a few reasons I lived, and just from today ;-)

Hotdogs from Sonic are my purpose in life, but my secret purpose in life is known only by that old wise homeless guy who suddenly appears out of nowhere at the lake and makes ambiguous Zen-like comments before disappearing spookily into the woods.

@ark_a_dong
That in itself is paradoxical, but purpose is subjective anyway; the human condition of existance shouldn’t be conflated with purpose from a human perspective.

If you’re just going to spend it anyway, what’s the point of having money?

The point is what you do with it.

Simply put? To live long enough to procreate. Just ask the salmon.

Outside of that, you shape your own destiny.

I really liked what (& I believe it was) Mark Twain had to say about it:
“don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out of it alive!”

You go around only once. Make the best of it, and don’t waste time by asking such questions.

I heard this story about a French farmer who went for a ride in a friend’s plane. The engine failed and it was obvious that they were not going to make it. The farmer jumped out of the plane and with the few remaining seconds of his life, did aerial stunts. Got to like the guy’s attitude.

You’re here to do whatever you feel you are here to do. Some people feel they are here to continue with the next generations of humans, so they have kids. Some people, like myself, feel that we are here originally to continue with our species, but since that’s no longer a problem thanks to the world’s population, we can continue with other pursuits in our lives. My goal in life is to be as happy as I can, as often as I can.

Everything dies. Life is 100% terminal. Be glad that you exist, instead of not existing. Don’t be upset about death, it’s inevitable! Take comfort in the time you do exist instead of worrying about when you will not exist.

Well excluding religion, lets just face it there is absolutely no point to life. As it is, life just happens and there is no real reason to it in relation to the world or universe.

However luckily for anything living that has reached consciousness, perspective often determines reality. Which effects percieved truths aaaaand purpose. Therefore, what do you precieve your purpose to be? Or as you put it, the “point of life”.

I think to answer this question fairly it is almost impossible to flat out ignore religion because it doesn’t matter what faith you subscribe too, religion for the most part answers this question by A: giving you, or atleast the society you live in, general values to adhere to and live your life by. and B: Explain your place in the grand scheme of things. Even if you don’t believe in god, most athiest would be hard pressed to say they don’t live by values that are similiar to what religion teaches us. Like don’t steal, kill, cheat, be destructive etc. The general idea seems to be to improve ourselves and by doing so we also improve society. I guess religion also provides a motivation for doing this by providing an afterlife however that arguement I assume is the one you are trying to avoid, and I am not very entertained by it either.

So, in addition to just living your life productively you are probably looking to give some kind of purpose to your own life. This is of course subjective, Some strive to perfect a trade, or profession. Others get satisfaction and relevants from the family they create. It really depends on you. But what ever you do, never fall complacent, continue to improve yourself, and try to put others ahead of you and certainly you will not look back on your life and ask, what was the point?

The point of living is to survive long enough to bear offspring. Everything else is human-crafted.. I don’t think there is a “point”, really.

Except I have no intention of bearing offspring.

@Vinifera7, me neither, so we get to focus on the human-crafted portion. Which is a blank slate, and you’re holding the chalk! :)

Well, regardless of whether you do or not, that is the entire biological point to living. ;)

I’m sure that many of our parents didn’t intend to produce offspring either. ;) It just happens sometimes. That’s “life,” as they say.

I answered glibly previously, partly because as a sufferer of depression this is a question that haunts me on a routine basis.

This may sound corny but the only answer that even begins to make sense is that it is all about love, where I take love in the widest sense of the word. As the Beatles said, “Love is all there is.” Love can be for the beauty around us, for offspring or compassion for everyone else who tries to make sense of things. Without love, the world is one harsh place. With it, we can make it from one day to the next.

@lostinparadice
Lurve for U!
till tomorrow. ;)

The World is overpopulated, so you people who’s purpose in life is to procreate are killing the rest of us. You’re all a bunch of suicide bomber terrorists coming into this world for the sole purpose of adding more people that the planet Earth can’t support. Your purpose in life is to destroy the planet.

…nothing dies without living…life and death are a couple… when a person dies do the body parts vanish, does it’s energy/spirit cease? NO… although they are less, they are embraced by something more… Would you like to know more or less? How about more and less?

There is no point to living—so stop it.