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Religion/spirituality

Why are we here?

(234 Posts)
Galen Mon 01-Sept-14 12:18:08

What is the reason for our existence?

janerowena Fri 05-Sept-14 19:55:14

I like that tombstone, too.

rosesarered Fri 05-Sept-14 20:31:30

If you start thinking too much about the meaning of life the universe and everything, it becomes mind boggling.Then you need to go off and eat a cheese and ham toastie, watch 3 episodes of The West Wing [or Downton, or whatever pleases you]this is a nice way to fill the few years that you have left on this little planet.

jinglbellsfrocks Fri 05-Sept-14 20:36:45

Oh, I so agree with you roses! smile

rosequartz Fri 05-Sept-14 21:06:21

Mishap Whilst these guys are tying themselves in knots and vanishing up their own a****s addressing hypothetical questions, who is doing the washing up?!

These guys must be fairly well-off (family wealth?) to be able to spend so much time philosophising; if they were not they would be far too busy trying to scratch a living with no time to think about the meaning of life.

Agedp1953 Sat 06-Sept-14 00:21:29

Might be a woman rose quartz? Seems to have been an awful lot of conjecture previously to hypothetical question. Also a good mixing of metaphors being tied up in knots up your own a***e, whist someone else is washing up in a wealthy household with nothing better to do. A good scenario for pondering the meaning of life.

durhamjen Sat 06-Sept-14 12:56:15

Sorry, Hollydaze, I hadn't realised that I was only supposed to read a poem and not get out of it what I wanted to get out of it. Whoever wrote it and published it wanted others to read it, and see what they want in it.
I spent years teaching secondary English and asking kids to analyse poetry for exam purposes. I'd rather take a simpler route now, thanks.

HollyDaze Sat 06-Sept-14 15:23:35

Whatever

Aka Sat 06-Sept-14 16:13:32

Why are we here?

Why are we here?

Why are we here?

Why are we here ?

Think we're all arguing philosophising about four different questions.

Nelliemoser Sat 06-Sept-14 16:21:14

Aka I like that! A good point to muddy the water even further.

janerowena Sat 06-Sept-14 21:20:11

That's philosophy isn't it - clear as mud.

papaoscar Sun 07-Sept-14 06:35:26

What about what we are. Just a load of empty space spinning around in more space, transient and irrelevant. Science, quantum mechanics, string theory, relativity, philosophy, psychology and religion don't seem to be providing the answers. Perhaps there aren't any, and its back to the drawing board.

jinglbellsfrocks Sun 07-Sept-14 09:57:17

Cheer us up why don't you papaoscar?! grin

jinglbellsfrocks Sun 07-Sept-14 09:58:33

We're not irrelevant. Not to our friends and families. Best not to look at the greater scheme of things perhaps.

Elegran Sun 07-Sept-14 10:50:07

All those things you said are just the scaffolding, papaoscar The real building is the personality, the knowledge and emotions, the family and friendships, everything that the wiring in our wonderful brains have made it possible for us to create.

papaoscar Sun 07-Sept-14 13:03:35

Well done with the positive vibes, distinguished Gransnetter-philosophs. And having listened to the Omni-Archers this morning who can doubt the triumph of order over chaos in the universe?

celialillian Thu 12-Feb-15 18:10:41

this whole subject is far to complex for any human to answer. When you look up at the moon and stars and the expanse of the universe this is all beyond any amount of scientists, after all they are just human like the rest of us and are limited in knowledge. Think of anything on the planet from a human baby to a microbe, what human can create those from nothing. Just know there is something far far greater than us.

pompa Thu 12-Feb-15 18:39:46

I often think that life is pointless, the earth is eventually doomed whatever we do. The human race will probably be out lived by cockroaches. All we can do is try to make our existence as pleasant as possible for everyone.

Retiredguy Fri 13-Feb-15 15:31:14

We are here to eat chocolate.
Hence the chocolate.
smile

Grannyknot Fri 13-Feb-15 15:34:57

We are here for a good time, not for a long time.

Atqui Fri 13-Feb-15 15:43:12

If I didn't have children, I would make sure I wasn't here, as I see no point in it, but knowing how I missed my mother when she died 27 years ago ( of an illness) , I could not inflict the pain on them.

rockgran Sat 14-Feb-15 14:22:44

Perhaps we are some alien kid's holiday project. I think I agree with Pompa - be kind, enjoy the ride, do no harm.

Soutra Sat 14-Feb-15 14:36:33

Why am I here? Do I come here often? Don't(or Do) you know who I am?
Matron!!grin

dustyangel Sat 14-Feb-15 17:34:49

Atqui flowers

Faye Sat 14-Feb-15 20:55:08

If I thought about the reason for our existence in a spiritual way, I believe it would be to learn to love one another. I don't believe in religion and think it was a way to control the masses.

Other times I think since the earth is 4.54 billions years old, possibly humans have been here before, were wiped out and here are again.

Then I think well the universe has, we are told, 100 to 200 billion galaxies and 70 sextillion stars. In each galaxy there could be around 2 billion planets. We are most likely not alone, there must be life of some type out there and there was more than likely life out there at many stages of the universes' existence.

Sometimes I think we possibly are descendent from aliens and there are others like us inhabiting other planets in other galaxies?

The reason for our existence could be no reason at all!

Penstemmon Sat 14-Feb-15 21:16:32

To enjoy the adventure and enable as many others to enjoy it too?
I think we are the same as ants, bees etc. keeping the species going however many humans are lucky to have a bit of respite from the daily grind!