Is there ever going to be anything more to this life?

worth living for… leaving this place a better place to live in, something tht will be here after my time I think….
happy about life, sure :D

Chop wood, carry water.

We work towards that goal. Discipline now will enable us to enjoy the things that are really important to us later.

Speak for yourself! I’ve been really comfortable, money-wise and I’ve been dirt poor. I’m somewhere in-between and quite happy. I don’t shop often and spend most of my time with my family. We do new things, all the time. We play, we learn, we participate in community service and sometimes, we just do nothing.

Only you can change your life. Only you know what you need to feel fulfilled. Don’t compare yourself to others and lump everyone into one group. We’re really not all the same.

Finding awe and gratitude in your daily life can open your eyes to life. Consumerism is an attempt to fill a need. Peace lies within.

If that’s all you decide to make of it, that’s all it will be.

If you want it, go get it.

Ah, near identical post times. Dang it, laureth. <3

That is entirely up to you. When you decide to make more out of the gift of a brand new day, you will find a whole new world.

I was told there would be cake.

There once was a man who sought more
Than to earn and purchase and store
He looked beyond his realm
and realized that he was at the helm
And he chartered a course for the shore

When he left his little ship behind
A wonderful world he did find
There were adventures to live
To others he learned to give
And his world indeed contained more.

Wait until you have kids, then ask the question. It changes your perspective.

I want you to hit me as hard as you can…

Seriously, dude. Watch Fight Club.

If you want to take the red pill, read David Icke’s global conspiracy book and watch all the interviews on projectcamelot.org (shill alert!). That’ll show you there’s more.

p.s. The end of the rainbow as far as I can tell is that every moment is a choice between love and fear/hate and that is what creates reality, individually and collectively.

Well, I think @quantum has it right. I went through this same thing you’re going through a couple of years ago.

Try to realize it’s all within yourself, no one else can make you change. lurve to the first person to name the band and song Buying crap won’t make you a better person, as you are already figuring out. He who dies with the most toys does not win. Try focusing on yourself and the things about yourself that you love. When you find inner peace, the world won’t seem mundane anymore. It will seem beautiful and wonderful. I promise.

Beatles within you and without you
Give me some lurve!

@filmfann Lurve!

There are lots of people near you who wish they had a decent job that would allow them to be able to go to the mall every weekend and buy crap they don’t need. There are people near you who wish they were going to be healthy tomorrow. There are people near you who wish they were going to be alive next year. There are children near you who wish they had parents who loved them. There are elderly people near you who wish their children would come visit them. There are people near you who wish they had a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.

It’s nice to believe that “it’s all inside ourselves,” but that can lead to depression, selfishness. Start looking outside yourself and you will find the meaning you are seeking. You have something to offer this world. Don’t waste it.

Volunteer your time to people who can’t afford the things you take for granted.

Have you heard this poem? “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.”
Did this guy cheer up because he saw a cripple? Is that the kind of thing that makes this guy happy?
Maybe the cripple had shoes, and, hey, he didn’t need them.
Just sayin’.

@Poser I totally agree with you about the need to look outward – that’s where the gratitude comes in. But nothing on the outside will untimately make you happy – that can only come from within. You must do both at the same time. Sharing connection in a community is a good place to start.

I think there is something more to this life if you find a way to pass on your skills/knowledge somehow. Everytime I volunteer I feel wonderful. And I really believe that by helping others you are passing on your own legacy and making a difference in the world. You never know what act you perform will change a person’s life. That may sound sappy and cliche but it is very true.

@RedPowerLady – I think that is a great answer. Empowering others with your words and deeds is a noble goal.

@fireside Thank you :)

I know there are people worse off than me and realize people would love to be at my job and have my debt and live in my crappy apartment. What I’m asking is beyond all that. I’ve done plenty of volunteer work and I know it’s good to help others. What I’m asking is what else is there to live for? No one here even mentioned any of their passions. What drives you? How is something you “love doing” different from something you would die for? Helping people is great but no one here has quit their job to volunteer full time. I’m not just talking about making a difference in the world, I’m talking about changing the direction of the world altogether; a shift in the pattern. Everything just seems so meaningless. What is there beyond just being here? Come on people, think outside the box. Everyone just thinks I’m selfish and taking things for granted. That has nothing to do with it…I’m probably more poor than anyone on this site lol

I’ve never been one of those people who is driven with some passion that exceeds anything else in my life. I do have things that I love to do, but would not die for them. Connection to myself and to other people is my real passion and something that I am continually working to make better. It’s really what brings meaning to my life.

I’m talking about changing the direction of the world altogether; a shift in the pattern.

I think this happens through humanity (yes volunteering is part of that) and empathy. The more we help others the more the world shifts.

That is honestly what I think there is beyond just being here. Leaving a difference in the lives of others.

I doubt that is what you want to hear but there you have it.

I also think two other things would shift the pattern. The first being more people becoming spiritually aware and in-tune (not religiously but spiritually) . The second being more people becoming involved in their cultural roots. Just my opinion.

@qualitycontrol Now I think I understand what you are asking, and I can answer with a great big NO. Life is not about ‘passion’ and ‘changing the direction of the world’. You have been reading too many novels.

Life is about being happy every day, and helping other people to feel better too. It is about the everyday little things, like smiling at strangers, smelling the roses and playing with cats. What you are talking about is more like the lightning in the sky. It’s beautiful, but strikes very rarely. Like lightning, profound things happen very rarely. People who seek it and aren’t satisfied with the everyday life totally miss out on what it really is all about. It’s called chasing rainbows. Until you learn to be treasure the everyday pleasures, you are missing the most important part of life.

@YARNLADY Well said!

Sounds like you’re just bored. You have to make your own fun. Be exciting. Be spontaneous. Be quirky. Eccentric, even. Be one of those people that make others double-take. As in, “Did that just happen?”

Oh yeah. That happened.

Why do we ask questions like this, especially while young? I remember wondering a lot about this, and now, I kick myself for wasting so much time on it. On the face of it, the question doesn’t matter. We make meaning. That’s what humans do. We can either decide that what we do is meaningful, or it isn’t. If it isn’t, we can make a change, or not.

I think we ask these questions most when we are bored. When we have no passion. When we don’t know what we want to do. I think it is a sign of powerlessness. We don’t feel like we have a choice; that we have to follow this script we’ve been given.

Why don’t we feel we have a choice? Well, it’s no coincidence that we tend to think about these issues most when we’re adolescents. At this time, we feel ready to take control of our own lives, but our parents, teachers and community discourage this. They say we aren’t ready (and in truth we aren’t, but we don’t know that then).

Without an important place in society, adolescents get in trouble. Anything to create some excitement. Booze. Drugs. Fights. Parties. Sex.

I think the answer to this adolescent ennui is to work to include young people in doing the important things: work, political leadership, etc. We need to listen to them and include them. We shouldn’t be dismissing them. We need to always be thinking about ways that our children can participate in the doing and creation of things that matter to us. We shouldn’t be condemning them to malls, loneliness and ennui. That’s a recipe for depression. Far too many of them commit suicide in such conditions. We can do better!