Dkrad1935 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Isn't this a Monty Python movie? I have never really struggled with this question so I can't totally relate. I placed my faith in Christ a long time ago and all my answers about purpose and worth etc are rooted in that faith. I still have days where I am frustrated or unsatisfied or fill in the emotion. But it all comes down to focused and usually those are times when I am focused on self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enroute Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 My wife posed the question "is this all there is to life" after she got home from work. Is work,eat, hobbies, love, and sleep... Life ? Can I help her find a better balance, or show her that none of it matters. Would she be happy lying on a beach, or would she ask me yet again "is this all there is to life". Sometimes it is, when I have not checked my gratitude, and it feels like I am in a rut. For me that is a warning sign on my path, my ever flowing route, which indicates I have become somewhat complacent and am taking things for granted. Long story short: I am not being mindful of my living, my breath. When I pray, I start with expressing gratitude for another day of joy/sobriety/healing/health, and what I ask for is to be relieved of the difficulties of my self in the day to follow. I may be struggling with any number of things, which I asked to be relieved of (greed/envy/lust/sloth/ego) the next day, so that I may better know thy will, walk thy way, and help those of our children who still suffer. My attitude = my gratitude ; the more i am consciously and mindfully grateful for, the more I start to appreciate and see some of the most wondrous items.( Which I tend to be blind of, when caught up in something else.) Please thank your wife for me as I was wandering recently into my rut, and my vision was blurring as well. Gratitude. Namaste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bongo Boy Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) Deleted for being just plain dumb. Edited June 26, 2014 by Bongo Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) My wife posed the question "is this all there is to life" after she got home from work. Is work,eat, hobbies, love, and sleep... Life ? Can I help her find a better balance, or show her that none of it matters. Would she be happy lying on a beach, or would she ask me yet again "is this all there is to life". Brian Enos asked "what is the most important thing" on another topic. It may be the same question ,or at least what is important. Would selling everything, and traveling the world make her happy...can I give her happiness? Should you be content with what you have? If I'm content can I want more ? Don't feel you have to stay on topic... I'm not even sure what the topic really is! Is this all there is to life ? Every person has to decide what makes them happy. I'm old and I do know some things are absolutely true: 1) Nobody can make you happy. If you ain't happy, look in the mirror. 2) Stay away from people who expect you to make them happy. You are signing up for a life of misery. 3) Nobody knows the meaning of life. Stay away from fools who claim to. 4) Wake up each day and try to do something fun before the end of the day so it won't feel like a wasted day. Always remember: Guess which one was NEVER said on someone's deathbed: 1) I wish I had petted my dog when he was still alive. 2) I should have been nicer to my family when they were still alive. 3) If only I had come in to work on Saturdays and Sundays we could have gotten it released a week earlier. Edited June 26, 2014 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooke Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 "Every person has to decide what makes them happy. I'm old and I do know some things are absolutely true:1) Nobody can make you happy. If you ain't happy, look in the mirror.2) Stay away from people who expect you to make them happy. You are signing up for a life of misery.3) Nobody knows the meaning of life. Stay away from fools who claim to.4) Wake up each day and try to do something fun before the end of the day so it won't feel like a wasted day." Right on BountyHunter! I'm old too, and my observation is that if you are not happy with the status quo nobody else is responsible. You are. I have no debate with those who find sanity in religion. I'm not one of them. I believe in me. I believe in taking care of yourself because if you refuse to do that no one can do it for you. I also believe that if you can't do that then you are a danger to everyone around you because your aim is drag them down your rathole. Suck it up, take charge of yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart1 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 "Is this all there is?" Reminds me of an old Zen saying, "Things are not what they seem to be, nor can they be otherwise." Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 "Is this all there is?" Reminds me of an old Zen saying, "Things are not what they seem to be, nor can they be otherwise." Nice one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosher Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Interesting stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robport Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Shoot your own match and shoot it in the moment. Don't worry about what everyone else has or thinks or what you could be doing that you might enjoy better. Enjoy where you are now. I was raised as a glass half full type of guy. When Friday night came, rather than enjoy the weekend, I spent time dreading Monday. I'll take that vacation next year, or wait to compete at shooting till I'm better at it. We create our own neurosis and one day, look back at all we missed. It's difficult to break that after nurturing it for all those years, but I'm still trying. I just can't believe that shooting IDPA matches has triggered these thoughts in me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 My wife posed the question "is this all there is to life" after she got home from work. Is work,eat, hobbies, love, and sleep... Life ? Can I help her find a better balance, or show her that none of it matters. Would she be happy lying on a beach, or would she ask me yet again "is this all there is to life". Brian Enos asked "what is the most important thing" on another topic. It may be the same question ,or at least what is important. Would selling everything, and traveling the world make her happy...can I give her happiness? Should you be content with what you have? If I'm content can I want more ? Don't feel you have to stay on topic... I'm not even sure what the topic really is! Is this all there is to life ? Here's the thing about 'life', no one gets a second chance. This is not a warm up or dry run. At the end you don't get to evaluate how you did and then start over. There are no right or wrong ways to be happy and enjoy life. And what others think or do couldn't be more irrevelant. By definition if something makes you happy then it is the right thing to do. Having a 'happy' life is defined by you and no one else. Are there things in your life that you want to do but are not? Why are you not doing these things? Most people spend their entire lives rationalizing why they don't do things .... I don't have the money, I don't have the time, I have to take care of my kids, I'm too old, I'm too young, I'm too fat, I'm not good looking enough, I'm too good looking .... Whatever ... Well I call Bovine Scatology on all of that!! Those are just excuses. If you truely want to do something that makes you happy you simply need to decide to do it and then you'll figure out a way to do it .... Less talking and more doing is always a good place to start ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcg Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Best Tee Shirt I ever saw said, "It doesn't get any better than this", on the front. On the back it said, "So you might as well get used to it."Goes well with my general feeling that the secret to happiness is low expectations. Didn't get hit by a drunk driver on the way home from the range? So much win!" Hey honey the key to happiness is having low expectations". Wow ! I'm not joking ! I bet men have been trying to convince their wives of this since the cave man days. Be happy with "now " in the moment ...ect. "This is as good as it gets".When I was 13 I had an epiphany. I was going through the normal teenage years and hating every moment. It got to the point I was depressed and didn't even want to get out of bed. While laying there I let my mind wander, and it came to me that I coud be happy or sad. Everything is meaningless ,so I have been happy ever sense . I do get mad, frustrated, whatever, but in the end I remember I can see anything as happy or sad , good or bad , it's all perception and I have a choice as to how I experience life. Now sharing that simple truth has alway eluded me. It seems like you either see it or you don't. I choose happy. " This is as good as it gets ", "This is all there is to life ", " low expectations " , "at home on a single branch" every one a pearl of wisdom ,or curse. "no expectations" These are the wisest words, of many wise words, in this thread. Life is always what you make of it. You can chose to be bored, or to be on fire. But always you chose. I personally need 5 lifetimes to begin to scratch the surface of what I want to accomplish. I've never been bored. Never. And it's safe to say that "boredom" is a modern phenomena, borne of routine and sameness. We always have the power to alter whatever routine we may have fallen into. Perhaps the key is recognizing routine, and the negative vibes it spins out. Awareness. Awareness of what is occurring moment to moment. Living there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-shot Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 If one has a perfect routine, there is nothing negative about it. Ritual is necessary. Hence ten minute LAMRs and four minute sight pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openclassterror Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind....... (quote from ecclesiastes ). I have been thinking a lot recently about the subject at hand. I have some pretty serious chronic health issues. it is very difficult being formerly athletic, and some days barely being able to walk. Enjoying the discussion here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-shot Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Chasing the wind is a sin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gondo Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 the happiest ppl i know, including my self have a few things in common.... a job they enjoy or at least feel like is fair for the money, a spouse and immediate family that is close, a relationship with god, and are passionate about at least one hobby.... so for me im a christian that is self employed, with a great wife and 2 great kids and i shoot or hunt any free chance i get... no one thing is dependent on my happiness but i like having all these things in my life and it makes me feel complete and satisfied and that is something i looked for for many years... i got rid of things that held me back like bad friends, booze, bad jobs, and unhealthy life styles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoops! Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) This is the first topic that has ever gotten me into the ZEN forum. It hits me pretty hard on a daily basis. First, to answer the OP's question - Swingers' Party Then, to the poster who said those that are miserable about life tend to think about themselves, I agree for the most part. That being said, I disagree in my case. My job is about service, and I do it exceedingly well. I enjoy doing it. I help a lot of people to a more major extent than most will ever understand. However, people, in general, through experience, through life, disappoint me. They are petty, selfish, ignorant, and have so much wasted potential that it makes me sick on a regular basis. I don't look for service toward others to prove me otherwise on this. I look at the way people drive. I look at the way people act. I understand the way people think. I understand that courtesy requires a simple thought process. I understand most people don't have that thought process. I understand that many people are too dumb to ever be able to handle that thought process. There are so many more important things than courtesy and most of them require even more thought. On the inverse side, many people take offense to the stupidest, most harmless things imaginable. Question asking immediately comes to mind on this front; or even, words. Unfortunately, bad parenting, bad decisions, bad genes have forced these people into our lives and our actions have to constantly compensate for theirs. Further of consequence, they are too ignorant to realize they shouldn't have children and intelligent people are then dissuaded from doing so themselves. As has been proven time and again throughout history, people are their own end. No thought can stop that, future generations can only hope to accomplish more than the previous generations when it finally happens, and only smart people are able to rebuild. To those who say life is meaningless so you may as well be happy . . . We set the foundation for future generations. There is no way humans can have any substantial meaning in our life. However, our life has meaning for the lives of those who come after us. Perhaps we can lay a good enough foundation for humans to someday have real meaning. There's no telling what our animal's unusual thought process may be able to accomplish in the Universe, if only these freaking people would work together better and not be ignorant. Edited September 30, 2014 by Whoops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-shot Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 You gotta get out of LA bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 However, people, in general, through experience, through life, disappoint me. They are petty, selfish, ignorant, and have so much wasted potential that it makes me sick on a regular basis. You are doing it wrong. I am constantly amazed by how nice and considerate most people are. Sure, there are many that aren't, but I find them easy to ignore. The key to happiness for me is continued learning, progress and development, but It's clear that different people have different keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatsauce Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I believe its a matter of perspective moto. I'm remembering working on the bad side of town in a bigger city. Being around junkies, winos, pimps, and whores everyday had a very negative impact on m outlook. I became so down on everything and everybody. It took awhile to stop seeing everyone as dirt bags after moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 yhow... my guess is that most people do not think. my guess is that most people don't want to think I am guessing that we have made a world where most people are not pushed into thinking. When some one awakes to the thought (thinking...) is this all there is to life? They have set themselves on a path few around them have ever seen. As this thread points out, who you ask that question makes a great deal of difference in where the conversation goes. On at least one occasion when asked that very same question, my answer was "dunno, shall we try a new restaurant?" most people do not give much thought to what they ask. When I get that question out of the blue sky, I often ask "what brings you to ask?" miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatsauce Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I think the question must be answered more carefully than "should we try a new restaurant?". It's m experience that most persons arriving at the question "is this all there is to life" are feeling depressed and that their life isn't mattering. One of three things will then happen...the person will make changes in an attempt to validate their life; suppress the question and ignore the feelings and thoughts that caused the question; or allow the question to control their thoughts and fall into a depression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 k meatsauce, you quoted what I said so I am thinking you want my attention. This is very hard to say.... I am not sure why I feel obliged to try. Your post is clear to me in what you meant and why you said what you said. I agree with you. Here is the heart part. Take my word for it. I know you did not understand my post. is ok. I find it happens a lot. I ask you to consider how people learn to think. what questions do they attempt to answer. what answers do they attempt to question. "Is this all there is to life ?" is a question. It can indicate many possible modes of thinking. And do not mistake depression as outside of a mode of thinking. Boredom and revisiting which school to attend are also valid. I have seen that question appear from a car mechanic. I think he found computer programming a little more satisfying. I doubt he was depressed, just considering how to change offices. cheers miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatsauce Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I do understand and appreciate your post. My post was an attempt to expand on your post. My personal answer to the OP's question would be "this moment is all there is". My point is that it's a personal question and your average person arriving upon this question does not do so lightly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaggerJoe Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 "Things are not what they seem to be, nor can they be otherwise." Reminds me of... "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 "Things are not what they seem to be, nor can they be otherwise." Reminds me of... "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Good one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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