Re: What is the point of life?
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:53 am
Well, as I would say in a later quote, I spent most of my time philosophizing. I considered my journey more like a self-employed voluntary job, not a vacation per se. I've always had very clear goals in my life, many of them in philosophy, and as such I spent time trying to ponder myself into a clarity about the issues at hand, but I also spent time dealing with life traumas and sorting my life out. I didn't have revelations every day, but they happened occasionally, and they happened because I had the peace of mind to focus on them. It was also an exercise in growing up, I was looking for role models on my journey, because I reasoned that I hadn't had a proper upbringing and needed to know from people how to deal with life... basically I was taking learning from people, putting it in a container, and then sorting inside the container, until I found a good match, and then I took it out of the container, and applied it to my life later bit by bit x)Matt24 wrote:Yes, I guess it depends on each person: I'm not altogether convinced I'd like to have that experience. For me, doing that kind of thing is nothing more than purposely occupying your time searching for means of survival so as not to give a fig about your goal in life. How do you find meaning in spending your days trying to get by? I think I'd end up committing suicide if that happened to me - I don't think I would be able to handle it.
What I did, was taking the term "to get to know yourself" to the very extreme in a philosophical sense, I'd say.
Unless you travel to a place without phone, that shouldn't be a problem. Always somebody willing to lend you a call, and people will take care of you if you get sick, at least in western Europe, people are generally kind and good-hearted.Matt24 wrote:True, true. But it's somewhat more comforting to know that in the case of a misfortune I can count on financial and family support in my country. If I'm in the other half of the world, how would my relatives/friends even know when something serious happened to me?
You could ask your relatives to lend you money in case you want to go back home, and give them a sum of money to have a prepaid at least a part of the total fees that a flight ticket would accumulate. If you have enough to cover any ticket, you could just give them that and say to them to keep it for when you need to get back. I didn't really think that far ahead though. I just stepped out of the door x) Spontaneous.
You usually don't walk along country-roads without cars. I walked along main roads, and so there would always be someone coming within some minutes or at most an hour. The countryside is beautiful, and you usually don't have to worry about not finding people there, unless you travel to remote areas, but remote areas are usually boring, so I wouldn't recommend them. Except if there's a special sight there.Matt24 wrote:Yeah, it's difficult not to find help in populated urban countries. What I referred to was mainly in the case of finding yourself in a more vast region. What if you are left stranded in the middle of the countryside where there's no one to help you? That is a bleak and scary outcome in my opinion. But maybe I'm just a pussy (lol).
I'm Norwegian, my aunt lives in the capital of Norway, Oslo. She wasn't exactly close by x)Matt24 wrote:Unfortunately, I have no relations in the rest of the world
A bedsit is what I got translating "hybel" from Norwegian. "Hybel" is when you live in a part of a house and share it with other people, it usually consists only of a bedroom (usually big enough to decorate and make it feel like your own), with shared facilities for cooking, toilet, shower, cleaning clothes, etc. A "hybel" is nothing like a day-rent thing, it's a permanent living solution. I live with an Afghanistan war veteran, an electrician (and music-maker) and a guy who works for the Red Cross, plus studying to become a nurse. I'm currently living on the Norwegian welfare system, I don't travel any more, instead I'm trying to complete high school (only finished 1 year), and my goal is to study to become a game designer and then a game director which is my big dream x) And owning and operating an empire of game development studiosMatt24 wrote:A bedsit sounds cool, though it is probably more expensive than a hostel, right? Oh, so you are not done travelling then? How cool.
Just be smart. Figure out which trash cans usually consist of good food, and then each morning you just walk a route visiting each of the best trash cans in turn until you find something yummy. Usually some woman who only ate half her baguette, still fresh, because she's trying to stay fit x) It's actually quite quality food. But sometimes you come to towns where there's just medium quality or bad food, but you can't always have luck.Matt24 wrote:It must have been a great benefit to be insured, just in case something bad happens! I can't believe you never had to visit a doctor. After eating from the trash, I would've definitely had come down with something.
Nope. Except language issues and that sometimes people would let me off at totally stupid places, like I once hitch-hiked to one of the world's most beautiful examples of a fjord... likely THE most beautiful, it is actually on UNESCO's list of natural wonders, and I saw the most amazing thing there (hint: rainbow trapped in a fog), anyway, the road is like far up on the mountainside, and there are these tunnels everywhere (Norway is the world's most tunnelled country, we have tunnels everywhere because the country goes up and down and left and right all the time), and they left me in the middle of a roundabout, with nowhere for cars to stop, and the village far away down, and i didn't even want to stay in the village, and a tunnel blocking the path in front of me... it was totally stupid, an elderly couple, but if they hadn't stopped I wouldn't had seen the world's most beautiful fjord in the manner I did, so I guess it wasn't totally bad.Matt24 wrote:And you never had a bad experience hitch-hiking?
I've always said, I'm big and strong and don't really worry about meeting bad people x) And Norway and Western Europe is very safe, with a possible very few exceptions perhaps in the worst of the worst areas, but those are small and generally insignificant when you have so many other good places to travel.Matt24 wrote:It does sound a bit scary to get into a stranger's car. But again, maybe that's just a common misconception I have.
I'd agree. But in US for instance, it probably depends upon state. Some states are better off than others, and those would likely be safer and better to travel in.Matt24 wrote:Still, there must obviously be big differences between hitch-hiking in Europe and hitch-hiking in Asia, Africa or Latin America.
Haha, it's not a job x) Many families does it, not because of the money, as the money is insignificant to the salaries in Norway, but because of a eco-friendly personal philosophy. Norway is a very ecosophical country, our "national philosopher" is in fact a hardcore environmentalist who recently died of old age. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_N%C3%A6ssMatt24 wrote:That job in Norway would've sound good to me! You probably would've got enough to pay the stay at a hostel or bedsit if you had worked the whole week.
I didn't, but I mostly got enough sleep, and if I didn't get enough food I'd have enough food by the evening, and then I could philosophize into the night... I also drank a lot of energy drinks and cola x) So I did eat more than just the absolutely necessary stuff.Matt24 wrote:Oh, and how did you do to philosophize with an empty stomach and/or sleep deprivation (assuming that was the case)?
I didn't read. I pondered x) Although I did have with me some books, and acquired some books while I was there. It consisted of the latest book of Songs of Ice and Fire, as well as other books, including "A Very Short Book about Mathematics", which walked through the fundamentals of mathematics, and another book on mathematics, about the Riemann Hypothesis (the greatest unsolved mathematical puzzle in modern history).Matt24 wrote:I can't concentrate on what I'm reading if I haven't eaten/slept well recently, even less when I'm reading philosophy.
Depends upon the intensity of course, but I did say "not deep friends", it's only surface stuff. You don't get to know them properly no, but you can develop positive relations, that if you'd have enough time, might had developed into full relations. I've met people who have shared time with me sleeping in the same tent, and getting drunk together, and that was in fact a girl, a biologist, and she looked nice. Other times I've been invited to a concert (free, in which in fact featured Bob Marley's son, and the cool french dubstep group C2C which so few non-French people know), and that was with a friend group in which I was kind of initiated into, and I stayed with two of the people in the group for a few days each.Matt24 wrote:Well, it's not that I dislike meeting new people. I agree with you they can add diversity to life. But not when they're only up for chitchatting. And moreover, in my opinion, it's impossible to really befriend someone in a day/night. At most you can get acquainted with him/her, that's all.
Well if a person is boring then don't socialize with the person! Simple as that I encountered almost only interesting people, to the extent I've had to give them nicknames as I don't recall their names... like the French Pirate, or the Rogue Grandma. Both names are characteristic of the people, btw x)Matt24 wrote:Maybe I'm weird, but I hate making superficial social relationships. Especially because 99% of the time people do not come off to me as really sincere in those cases. Obviously I can't make a broad generalization because people are different, and it may be that some believe (just like I do) in possibly making fruitful relations.
They do if they engage you, but you must not use that sub-sentence "value my company", in a generalized manner. You must remember that what fits them today, might not fit them tomorrow, and you should expect as such. They might value your company now, because they need it now, but tomorrow they might have had all they need, so they don't need you then, and you should adjust as such... all part of managing your expectations.Matt24 wrote:It's not like I want to stick to people all the time and constantly demand their attention. But I just like to know they value my company, you know?
Weeeeell... I'm not among them x) And I usually don't inspire smalltalk in people, with a few exceptions, which I guess is a blessing.Matt24 wrote:People generally try to avoid being alone, even if that means having to chat up with people they wouldn't like to be with.
You might not be needed then, so you should adjust. This way of thinking hints at obsessiveness, you should avoid overthinking people's relations with you, it doesn't always matter if people wants to be with you or not, because people simply have varied lives with lots of things happening and sometimes you are a fitting addition and sometimes not, and when you are not, you must be able to accept and see that and look for greener fields.Matt24 wrote:Countless of times I made "small" friends who seemed happy to be with me, but then when they had better things to do I was totally ignored. I don't think of myself as a possessive person, on the contrary, I understand everyone may have their own troubles and concerns. However, I don't like it when they don't even make an effort to ever want to see you.
People ignoring you doesn't have to dislike you. You just don't matter, and that's fine, that's how things are. I don't matter to most people on Earth, and I don't really find that troublesome, because when I do matter to people, I can focus on that, and then the rest doesn't matter to me either. Think of it like a business, you can only sell things that people want, so don't feel down because nobody buys stuff they don't need. Focus on selling something else then, which might require a new market of people.Matt24 wrote:Heck, if they don't like my company then why did they pay me attention in the first place? I'd rather they'd be cross and cold from the start than being ovewhelmingly nice concealing their dislike for me.
True that not everyone is fit for everything, that's why when I want to talk big, I try to dumb things down, or take it to their level, and their immediate lives. But again, expectations. Don't expect the local blonde whore to know Nietzsche if you bed her, expect her to know brands of perfume instead, and engage with her on that topic, and see if you can turn it into something that matters to you... like: "would you buy this perfume if you knew it was made by a group of starving children in Nepal?"... don't tell me you can't get intelligent answers from that, you'd be surprised how much intelligent thinking can come from down-to-Earth talks. She might not have the terminology, but she should have the imagination to imagine those kids, and should be able to give you an answer, and if the answer is that she doesn't care, you just had a bit of experience of human nature, so don't be disappointed just because the person isn't blowing your mind (with something else than a blowjob), because the situation might still hold valuable knowledge. You might alternatively also find out that fucking a dumb chick isn't worth all the pretty nipples in the world x)Matt24 wrote:I'm not sure if I agree with your claim. Sure, in a philosophy forum you may get big talk, but that's not always the case in real life. Most people I know can barely talk about "deeper" and "controversial" topics. Hell, the "biggest" talk I've come upon is about politics, and that with people basically repeating the exact same opinions they heard on the media.
In fact, you can. You shouldn't have to "build up", that seems kind of... cowardly, sorry for saying that. But seriously, if they can't answer it then, don't expect them to answer it later. Most people I think actually do have an idea about God anyways, it's a question asked too often and most people in the Western World I guess faces at some time the question of their position on religion.Matt24 wrote:It's not like I want to get onto big talk rightaway, you know? Obviously, you can't come up to someone and say "Hey, so what is your idea of God?".
Hmm, I do, but I come from a family where nobody ever asked each other anything x) So I guess I'm "undernourished" in that regard and constantly open for stuff like it now. That said, I can get annoyed if I'm overwhelmed by smalltalk of course.Matt24 wrote:But I dislike making smalltalk with people I won't ever see again, because I honestly could not care less about their job, their family or their opinion on the last Hangover movie.
Hmm, yes. Well, on a philosophy forum that shouldn't be too much of a problem x)Matt24 wrote:I wouldn't mind making big talk even with people I hardly know, because at least that way I get to meet an interesting part about them. I think that time is not wasted when you discuss something worth discussing. But that almost never happens anyway.
The hint is in being tired of you ^^ Kind of unreasonable to ask them much more then, unless you have a serious problem.Matt24 wrote:But I'm not looking for a clone! I just want someone willing to care about me, willing to give me his/her time even when their tired of me.
Imagine if both parties did that... the conversation would never end ^^ The ultimate curse of friendliness.Matt24 wrote:At least that's how I try to be with people. I never leave a message unanswered.
Why can't you just say "I don't want to do it?"... why should you have to make an excuse at all?Matt24 wrote:If they invite me for something even though I don't want to do it, I do it anyway without making up an excuse.
Yes and no. Somethings you can expect, somethings not. To have somebody constantly adapt towards your wishes, and you adapt to that person, seems like a doomed cause, and I can't really imagine why you would want such a situation, as it's not very flexible and could in the long term significantly affect your sense of personal freedom and make you feel "trapped". I'd say a more economized way of maintaining relations would be preferable to most people.Matt24 wrote:And if I genuinely can't, I try to arrange something soon to make up for it. Am I asking for too much?
It's not supposed to, it's supposed to help you find a better more rich life basing itself on what you already have instead of sending you on quests to acquire all sorts of things.Matt24 wrote:It's difficult to see how it could help me find meaning.
Well, along with Yoga, I think it's generally a misunderstood concept. While I may have used the word "meditation" a bit wrong, as that usually does involve activity, I'll like to do a comparison with the word "yoga", which virtually everyone considers to be physical exercises. This is completely wrong, yoga instead is a mindset, crucial to Indian philosophy. And as such I think about meditation, meditation is a mindset you carry with you, and it's basically carrying a kind of routine thinking with you that seeks to turn your everyday life into one big meditative experience. You do so by among things, getting your priorities straight. Knowing what can be obtained and what can't, and pursuing the best of the obtainable. You also influence your way of thinking about things, making your thinking more efficient, but setting it on a course to give you pleasure. That's where steering your life comes in, you steer into calmness, pleasure, and an ability to experience beauty and value in things that you are not used to viewing in this manner. This kind of meditative lifestyle is attained by philosophizing yourself into it, you must ask one question a million times, and it will feel as important every time you do it, because it's so central to you: "how can this situation become better for me?". How can you increase the chance of feeling happy, mitigating bad feelings, feeling satisfied with what you see, and so forth...Matt24 wrote:I'm sure it's a pleasing activity, though I imagine it would bore me after some repetitions.
I'm also strongly goal-oriented, but I also realize that goals are obtained by sinking the ship of my happiness and well-being x)Matt24 wrote:meant that being happy with what you have is not something bad, but whether that can give you meaning is something different to me. I'm a goal-centered person, if not I wouldn't care about where my life is going.
If you've experienced months or years without satisfaction, that should be a big clue.Matt24 wrote:I understand you talked about unobtainable desires, but how can you know what can be unobtainable and what cannot?