45
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by wabafee@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

A common thought finally hit me today. The thought pop out in my end randomly, everything we do is really just an excuse to keep our minds busy for our inevitable end.

We create all this distraction from hobbies, jobs, family, technology, entertainment, science and religion to keep our minds occupied. We invented money to buy us more time to be occupied.

It is like the whole thing is just a fidget spinner.

Curious how you approach this?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I asked myself what was important in life over a decade ago, what is both fulfilling and pleasant (the former without the latter is not viable, the latter without the former is pure, empty hedonism, which wasn't an answer for me but it might be for the more beast-like among us) and my answer has been pretty much the same ever since: each other. Making meaningful connections with other people, the deepest and most unique ones being the ones made with your partner and children.

So, if you don't really believe in anything besides the "certainty" there's nothing after death and God has no plans for us after our short time here (or doesn't exist at all), I think you should focus on the practical aspect of life and just enjoy your lovely interpersonal relationships. If you want to go through the philosophically pointless effort of trying to give your life a deeper sense/meaning without an objective determinant that precedes the universe and existence itself and created it all for real but unclear/unknowable reasons, you're more than welcome to try but you'll end up in absurdism or hedonistic nihilism, neither providing a sufficient alternative (Nietzsche recognised this in his society about a century and a half ago and things have only gone worse since then...).

Finally, remember Solomon (and "Solomonic" means "very wise" for a reason) and his "Ecclesiastes". Everything being meaningless has been known for a looooong time, with a prophet dedicating a whole book to it. And it ends simply in "fear God and keep his commandments". God gives our existence context and meaning, being a good slave of God gives us peace and happiness (keeping good relationships with your peers and being generous and helpful is a big chunk of being a good slave of God, ofc). And, without accepting the possibility of God, you can't even hypothetically leave the realm of the subjective. This might sound bizarre if you think faith is just something you can put on and take off like a t-shirt, or compartmentalize while you think and behave however you want when it feels convenient, but if you understand it as simply the background to one's ideology, the framework everything rests on (Godlessness being the other alternative), you can better comprehend how and why its effects can be so large.

this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2026
45 points (95.9% liked)

Ask Lemmy

37642 readers
1780 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS