[TW]: why are you still alive?

[J. van Deijck]

okay. I have people to live for & lots of music to listen to before I die.

is that okay?

[FaerieFate]

This conversation as a Philosophical discussion is perfectly fine. However, I wish to remind members that any thoughts of contemplating suicide will be taken very seriously and may be removed from public view.

 

FaerieFate, PPS moderator

[arekathevampyre]

I don't know . Maybe cause my heart is still beating and I am still breathing ?

[malickathetato]

Just the thought of having a brighter and happier future keeps me going.

[Member4445]

Because I've currently got a drive to see a particular event through. My doctors refuse to treat my anxiety because they believe diazepam would get rid of that drive. 

 

Right now, I'm back to normal. The world has colour and the birds are signing again. I'm able to think for myself rather than run on autopilot and become a walking bubble.

 

I worry about coming off these pills because I don't want to go back to how I was. Therapy doesn't work so I conclude this is a neurochemical problem. 

[Evren]

Suicide is diffcult and painful and I've lived with crappy thoughts for 9 years now. Also i am going to a cool museum this week so I can't miss that. And my plants need to be watered. Mostly I'm alive because I made a promise to myself to not become part of the trans suicide statistic. I also tend to think that suicide isn't really a good fix for my situation. I would never get to see how it all turned out. I'm better now than I used to be, but it's still hard somtimes, especially during panic attacks.

[Peachyy]

I eat vegetables and drink water. I've also had all my vaccinations.

 

Life is parasitic by nature. We like to think a lot about these things and ask a bunch of "why" questions all the time but the truth is that we're here so that when we die our corpses will nourish the ground so that a tree can grow and drop seeds so that more trees can grow. And for the grass so that the cows can eat and then shit on the grass, to grow more grass, to produce more cow shit. It's an ecosystem of the simplest kind. And if you take suicide? That works in, too. It's all good. Because the flies still need to eat, and they would have put larvae in you whether you overdosed on coke or slit your wrists. Nature uses you, that's how it works. It's not depressing or cold or mean. It's a thoughtless ball hitting a pattern of dominoes over and over and over again and if something got in the way, the process would change. Life doesn't care if you enjoy it because you will have a "purpose" no matter what you do. I view life as something that says, "I'm going to be the best at it" whether it be building things up or tearing things down. Plagues or the over breeding of rabbits, forest fires that will keep going as long as there's dry shrub, vines that will grow until it comes in contact with the fire. The spiral balances itself because there's always another spiral running into it. There wasn't a committee who decided to create bugs that specifically burrow into the eyes of children, but maybe your purpose will be to host those bugs or to destroy them almost completely so that they can evolve into something else in the nick of time.  Life becomes unsuccessful as soon as it stops, but only when all of it stops, and it doesn't need any of us to continue. If I chose to end my life, I'd still benefit Life. But I like the ride because I know that i can change it whenever I want. 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Shelter, modern medicine, the advancement of civil rights, a small dose of luck, extreme metal music and a somewhat healthy lifestyle. My core essence will continue to live on as long as the concept of positive liberty exists.

[Skycaptain]

The chemical reactions which we equate to life are more active than the chemical reactions reactions which we equate to death 

[shockkkk]

Because I derive a significant amount of enjoyment from being alive - even if it is nothing more than a meaningless freak coincidence.

[gisiebob]

if you go to a sandy beach and pick up a single grain of sand and took a good long look at it, could you figure out what kind of rock you are holding? how much of it's story can you find from it being a grain of sand on the beach? where it came from, what it has lost and what it has gained, the hero of it's own tale can't be found when you look at it as just another face in just another car driving past on a road that has too many people on it. do all those people even have a useful thing to do or is being miserable in a miserable world something they do for the hell of it?

 

but the thing is you are going to lose track of the little piece of sand. was it even important? something so easily lost in a sea of the indistinguishable cannot be important. something whose existence has been one and countless unstrait lines leading to your single tangential encounter has to be important, because without it's story and every story like it there is no beach for you to go to. no person for you to, say, one day look intently into the ridges and valleys of the iris of their eye. both those things are true.

.

me? I'd panic, having dropped a grain of freaking stardust, but later in the day I wouldn't remember while looking up at a cloud with eyes that understand the width of a photon's dance. eyes that have a whole mountain range on them dyed just the way someone like you thought that kind of photonic dance was beautiful a long long time ago.

[AVEN #1 fan]

6 minutes ago, gisiebob said:

if you go to a sandy beach and pick up a single grain of sand and took a good long look at it, could you figure out what kind of rock you are holding? how much of it's story can you find from it being a grain of sand on the beach? where it came from, what it has lost and what it has gained, the hero of it's own tale can't be found when you look at it as just another face in just another car driving past on a road that has too many people on it. do all those people even have a useful thing to do or is being miserable in a miserable world something they do for the hell of it?

 

but the thing is you are going to lose track of the little piece of sand. was it even important? something so easily lost in a sea of the indistinguishable cannot be important. something whose existence has been one and countless unstrait lines leading to your single tangential encounter has to be important, because without it's story and every story like it there is no beach for you to go to. no person for you to, say, one day look intently into the ridges and valleys of the iris of their eye. both those things are true.

.

me? I'd panic, having dropped a grain of freaking stardust, but later in the day I wouldn't remember while looking up at a cloud with eyes that understand the width of a photon's dance. eyes that have a whole mountain range on them dyed just the way someone like you thought that kind of photonic dance was beautiful a long long time ago.

This is beautiful.

[Kelpie]

Most importantly I'm still alive because the right people got me into a hospital before I could die. But after struggling with depression and finally finding a way to cope with my mental illnesses well enough to live a good life I tried to reflect why I'm alive and my answer is simply: because I am. There is no real reason to it but I find that freeing actually. Because I just AM alive and I don't want to change that right now, I just try to live life in a way I enjoy right now. This sometimes means doing things other people find weird, but I try not to care because my goal is to make my stay on earth as comfortable as possible. It doesn't always work, but it is a good guideline for me. 

[Guest]

Because I never died

[PHOENIX97]

A little voice in my head so keep moving forward

[IvyZero]

Because God ain't done with me yet. 

[Framework_zero]

Well, even if you let alone religion still have many reasons to think there could be an afterlife. Remember that, all we know about the brain and the biological mechanisms of consciousness doesn't explain the actual experience that such process are related to. That's what philosophers call 'the hard problem of consciousness' the evident existence of a qualia associated with the biological functions of in the brain. You can describe the process of perceiving colors but not the feel of actually see the color. I don't know if can explain myself, from a physical perspective, sensations are not matter nor energy, but something that arises from it. The evident conclusion here, is that there must be some kind of component, a fundamental qualia associated with universe, something that can't be destroyed, because we know matter and energy can't be destroyed neither. Of course, death may be the end of your identity and experience of memories, but the actual capacity of still being in some other forms of consciousness process is still there. If you found this idea at least compelling, try reading something from David Chalmers, that guy has pretty good insight about this issue from a purely secular perspective.

[Framework_zero]

The laws of physics allow life to exist. Through the ages, evolution has pushed the complexity of biosphere to the level of consciousness. If this complexity trend to the infinity, there is no reason to deny that at some point the whole universe could reach a state of consciousness, a super intelligence capable of everything, the ultimate goal of evolution. Of course, I know it sounds nuts, and in the limited time of a human life, such expectations seems just too far away from your immediate domain of reality, but always help to keep it mind if you ever think existence is worthless.

[Guest]

Luck, to be honest. I've had a couple near death experiences.

 

I honestly am one of those: "If its my time, its my time" kind of people.

 

Also, I don't believe in taking my own life, so am stuck here until a higher force feels they need me.

 

I feel I have an unfulfilled purpose here. Once its fully fulfilled, will I be gone. I believe everything happens for a reason. Proof being, I'm still alive, and people with slightly less luck than me, have died before they hit 30 years of age.

[njosnavelin]

I never imagined myself to live this long.

 

I said that when I was 10. I have said that at different points in my life. I am now 37 and still surprised. 

[RK800]

A combination of medication and a nauseatingly strong sense of empathy.

Without my meds I bounce between just lacking the desire to live and actively wanting to die, and that strong sense of empathy (though inconvenient at times) keeps me living for others at my low points.

This empathy isn't just limited to my human relatives though. My pets, mechanical companions, hell even thought-forms, I feel empathy for all.

[God of the Forest]

1 minute ago, ~Syl~ said:

A combination of medication and a nauseatingly strong sense of empathy.

Without my meds I bounce between just lacking the desire to live and actively wanting to die, and that strong sense of empathy (though inconvenient at times) keeps me living for others at my low points.

This empathy isn't just limited to my human relatives though. My pets, mechanical companions, hell even thought-forms, I feel empathy for.

I feel you on the empathy. My various objects I own I try to keep all together so they wont be lonely ( I make sure the lamp on my night stand has candles to keep it company)

[GabbyMess]

I don't think there is a larger point or reason for being, and the sooner people can embrace this the sooner they can learn to live as well as possible in the moment. The only thing we know for certain is the time and place we occupy in the present. The idea that I could die at any moment is part of my motivation for living well right now, if that makes sense. Living with the mindset that death is lurking just around the bend makes you realize that you should enjoy whatever time you do have left. I've had family members die very suddenly, and that is indeed scary. The idea that a person could be healthy one day and then gone the next is terrifying. I think that accepting this is a part of the human condition. To me the inevitability of death is a reminder that I should make sure to love and appreciate everyone around me and not a sad thing. I think you can find some kind of beauty in the world and latch onto that. There is no overall meaning of life or any reason to live, but is there really any more reason to die? I don't think so, may as well stick it out and see what happens. Hopefully that made sense, I'm an existential nihilist. 

[Guest]

Sounds crazy I guess, but I think found my purpose in life a few years ago. I think I am alive to inspire others to live. I'm very compassionate and have come close to death myself a few times, both intentionally and unintentionally. I believe in God, I think God put me here to help others find a reason to keep living.

 

I want to do something significant. I want to change how society views mental illness. I believe I was born for this as well. I considered many paths in a career in psychology, mainly clinical. I wanted to work with adults, then criminals, and now I'm beginning to lean towards children. I'd just like to make life better for the people around me, in any way I can. I want to make the world a more tolerant place. That's why I'm still alive.