Life

[XeEmO]

For some reason I'm under the impression that a lot of people take for granted how amazing it is to be a living creature. I don't know about other people, but I'm in constant amazement of my consciousness, and my perception of reality.

I basically go through my day pondering reality, keeping in mind that the world is only as my brain perceives it to be. So basically if I were built another way the same world could seem completely different.

I also think about death a lot. Not in a way that's depressing, I?m just very fascinated with it. Generally people like to assume that something happens after death, but really no one knows anything for sure (obviously). I'm agnostic (not to be confused with atheist), so while I don't deny the existence of a god, I don't believe there is one either.

There is a chance that there is nothing whatsoever after death. If this is the case, there are a lot of things I can't imagine losing. Businesses among another things weird me out when I think about death. This will probably sound silly, but it just really weirds me out to think of things like McDonalds and death and the same time. I just can't put myself in a place mentally where everything I've ever known is gone.

I didn't really start questioning everything in the way I do now until I got older and my views changed. It's interesting to look back on my childhood, and remember learning things in this world for the first time.

I have these vague memories of learning to read. While it didn't seem as significant at the time, I think the process is pretty amazing now. When you simplify it, it involves looking at symbols and associating them with sounds. While I'm sure no one can remember learning how to talk, but nevertheless when it's simplified it's a very similar process to learning to read. Basically you're just associating objects with sounds. So through all this eventually these things get imbedded in your head and you start using them to communicate with other people. You also use these skills to analyze yourself and the world. It's very hard to imagine a world without language.

So I'm just curious what everyone else?s thoughts are on this subject. The topic itself is pretty broad, so I expect some mixed responses, but I?d like to know your thoughts about life in general. I hope this all makes sense, I?m kinda tired.

[visualkei]

I wonder why you suddenly wrote a relatively long paragraph on learning to read? Yeah, it IS an amazing process. You say that it?s basically associating objects with sounds. Don?t forget that much of it is associating symbol with both sound AND most importantly realizing that this creates Meaning.

?For some reason I'm under the impression that a lot of people take for granted how amazing it is to be a living creature.? Under the impression? Haha. A lot of people DO take life for granted. All I can say is, well, it?s their life. I?m not saying that I don?t care; I think a lot of ?taking life for granted? is an attitude people adopt from how they?ve interpreted their experiences. Yea, Reality is a strange thing. Everyone has a different reality and perception of it. I don?t try to think about it, just recognize it, and I?m in awe. And this is just one aspect of life.

It freaks me out sometimes when I think about a reality where there?s nothing. Even a reality where there?s nothing, and I?m not ?existing? to note that there?s nothing. Lol. There?s nothing I can do about it. I?m not a part of any religious group, either. My parents are Buddhist, I respect the religion, but I?m not much of a follower.

You know, it?s hard for me to imagine completely disappearing, or going to a heaven or hell. Reincarnation makes sense. Where does all that ?energy? go? Perhaps it gets ?recycled.? Hehe. Well, that?s just a little thought on the subject.

The first time the seriousness of Death occurred to me was when I was about 8 years old, sleeping on the floor of my parents? bed. I thought about how frightening it is, the unknown, and, well, I cried while everyone was sleeping. Then I climbed on the bed, and kissed my little sister who I usually hated (at that age). You know, just in case I disappeared from this world. Lol. Then I grow. The thought of Death has always frightened me, but not so much anymore. Probably because I?m in my ?prime? and thinking about the possibilities life has to offer.


:animesigh

[Retribution]

[size=1]Yeah, I probably do take living for granted. But you probably can't fully appreciate it until you've come closer to death. I think [i]The Things They Carried[/i] did a good job of explaining this when saying (roughly) "...and after the firefight, the whole world seems so damn alive."

Of course there's a chance there's nothing after death, and it's extremely hard to imagine what it would be like to just cease existing. I remember trying to do that when I was about ten, and I still try with no result. I imagine just black -- but then I wonder "Would I get bored with just blackness and nothing to do?" Then I have to remember, I don't exist anymore, so I don't get bored. The whole process is confusing, frightening, and mind-numbing, personally.[/size]

[Hanabishi Recca]

First off to tell you, I am a Christian.

I think life is ment to make a relationship with God. So, I would believe in life after death.
Life after death for some is Heaven, and others (Not is a cussing way) Hell. But, of course things will happen, like some can't see, some can't hear, but I think that is a place that God can move. If there were no blind people, where could God move?
So, basicly I think life is all about love. Love is something that really can never be taken away. I am not talking about emotional love, but of the God kind of love.
The God kind of love is called Agape in greek. Agape is a love that no matter what happends, you will forgive and forget.

I remember someone said to me, "You don't act like God in your life! So why should I?"
I didn't know the answer back then. But today I do. Today, I might not be like him, act like him, but who does? I mean, who hasn't sinned in there life? Basicly learning more on the subject, I found out what a answer was.

(The meaning of ^that is coming)
See, I learn something, but I might just remember it. Not acually learn it. So, I guess I just think that there are different ways of learning.
Someone could have to have something told to them again, again, and again.
But some could pick it up quick.
And others could learn it, not just remember it.

So, I want to say this real quick.
I say I am a Christian, some of you might not think so. But please don't comment on it. You can ask me about it, but please don't start a flame war about it. It has happend so many times. So, I just want to ask of you please don't.

I think that I have said enough to get my point across. Thank you for your time,

~ David

[Fasteriskhead]

Attempting to save this thread from an undeserved early death. Well, here I go, although there's almost too much to discuss here.

HR - I don't really understand what you say about God having a place to move or the part about remembering. It's interesting that you mention [i]agape[/i], though, since Ratzinger/Benedict recently did an encyclical on the subject (which is worth reading, although it's unfortunately thin in many areas). The text usually cited for the term is 1 John 4:8, roughly, "One who does not love ([i]agapon[/i]) does not know God, for God is love ([i]agape[/i])." Now admittedly I am not a Christian, but [i]holy ****[/i] what a thing to say. Even after being used for nearly 2000 years this little statement remains overwhelmingly powerful; it seems to me to poetically name something at the fundament of human life. Now, this is not to say that I actually UNDERSTAND what the hell it's saying in anything more than a completely vague sense, and I can't believe I'm alone in this. The usual thoughtless translation of [i]agape[/i] as "God's love" (as opposed to "romantic love" or "civil love") seems to me just a convenient way of glossing over the fact that no one (or only very few) actually knows what that [i]means[/i]. Certainly this word [i]agape[/i] frequently appears next to discussions of the death of Jesus as a way of transforming humanity into what is "new" (cf especially II Corinthians 5). [i]Agape[/i], then, is clearly bound up with this transformation. But I have no clear sight of how; John and Paul lived in a world just too alien to me for the moment. Christians may have a better chance of understanding of this than me, although I worry a little that they might too easily fall back into thoughtless cliches without the question of [i]agape[/i] leading them to actually learn anything (which is the whole point).

Retri/VK/Xeemo - You're all right to bring up the death question. It's an interesting question, because dying is the one thing every single one of us is going to do and yet almost everyone goes through most of their lives without being worried about it. Retri, you say: "...it's extremely hard to imagine what it would be like to just cease existing." That's because death, as this kind of just "stopping," is the one thing out there that no one can [i]ever experience[/i], in imagination or otherwise, because experience of any kind requires that we be alive. Of course, there's the obvious possibility of an afterlife, of reincarnation etc.... but this isn't really death, it's the continuation of life somewhere else (we can conceive of our uprooting, even if we have no idea what cessation would be) and, usually, the continuation of life indefinitely. In that case, thinking about death only means thinking about [i]where[/i] we're going to go after our body craps out, which is a very different kind of question. It's possible that it's the right question too (I'm not going to say that we might not all be immortal), but death as cessation seems to get completely shafted as far as topics for discussion go. Anyways, I don't even know if I have a point here, so let's move on.

Xeemo - man, I don't even know where to start here. Well, begin with: "...a lot of people take for granted how amazing it is to be a living creature. I don't know about other people, but I'm in constant amazement of my consciousness, and my perception of reality." I think I understand what you mean, but I would actually flip this around on its head. My being a living being, my being here now [i]in[/i] this situation, my perceptual field collecting everything that I experience - isn't this exactly what [i]can't[/i] be amazing? I can be amazed at particular things, at my body, at the circumstances leading up to my being here, even at my feelings or my actions, but [I]not[/I] at my actual being and experiencing. My "consciousness" (if you want to call it that) is, rather, the [i]place where things gather[/i] in a way that may (or may not) be amazing. I'm not sure how to put this more clearly - anyways, this isn't anything like saying that my brain or my subconscious somehow "causes" something to seem amazing, because that's to completely step outside of the simple naive perception of the world (just try - in a real situation - to think of your joy, sadness, amazement, or whatever as being the way they are because of neurochemical reactions in your nervous system. It's possible to do, but it doesn't remotely keep those things from being joyful, sad, or amazing). Things gather themselves before me in a meaningful way; "perception" is a name for this kind of gathering. Perception is what allows a bringing-together of amazing things - in order for perception to allow such a unifying to happen, it itself has to be literally [i]beyond[/i] amazing. Does that make sense? It'd be like calling the ground we walk on "heavy," when the idea of heaviness itself [i]relies[/i] on having that ground as something pushing up on us. Perception, consciousness etc. can't be amazing because they are what [I]allow[/I] anything amazing to approach us in the first place.

The language question... god, I'd never finish if I started on that. I'll just plug Wittgenstein and move on.

Okay, I'll quit there, although the "I... [keep] in mind that the world is only as my brain perceives it to be" thing is bugging me for some reason. Hopefully someone else has something to add to this now that I've gone and totally drowned out the topic. :D

[Guest darkcop]

@XeMeo: I have many of these moments, starting from when I was 13.
Though I like to ponder over these philosophies or marvel at the amazing universe, I find that in this hectic and fast paced, sharing these experiences is actually very alienating for the others as they would gasp at you and mumble something about "[I]mad[/I]".
Seriously, thank god for people like you who don't take everything they have for granted.
I believe it is important for one to reflect on life so we can make better and morally wise decisions.

-darkcop

[Hanabishi Recca]

[COLOR=Indigo][I]Fasteriskhead -

Wow, I can tell you put some thought into your post!
You are right about Agape meaning Gods love. [B]But what I am trying to say, is that Gods love will never fail.[/B] Yet we are kinda moving the subject in a different way that it wasn't intended for.

On topic-

So, am I takeing life for granted?

I really don't think so. Trying to do everything in my will to change the earth isn't what a greedy person would do.
I think that if you are trying to change the world, then you are taking life for granted.
I mean, some people that are doing drugs, alcohol, cigs, etc. are the people taking life for granted. I mean, if you are doing those things, then basicly you are doing them for your own self.
So really, I think it matters what you are doing. If you are doing any thing that is addicting for your own self, you are taking life for granted.[/I][/COLOR]

[Guest Gun Preacher]

Retribution is right i toke life for granit what person doesen't every day i was also a criminal it was in the hospital while i was an inch away from death that i changed my way's i may still make mastales but as man we were not born to be perfect.