A Question About LIFE!!!

That's a whole big load of questions. You could start several threads based on that. I'll try to tackle it adequately.

Quote from Servo

Well You know I have been searching answer for this question for a long time its not like I don't have an answer to it I do ... the thing is everyone has their own answer to this question ... their own version

Why are we born ... many will answer it in few lines or may in length

"Why are we here?" The answer is disappointingly simple. "Because our parents fucked."

That's really it. The only reason this question feels like a mystery is because we want to believe that our existence has some deeper meaning, but it doesn't. There is no hidden purpose out there for us to find. Life is exactly what you see in the day-to-day. Anything more that people imagine is just an attempt to feel more cosmically important than we really are.

I dunno about you, but I prefer it this way. How awful would it be if there was some kind of pre-determined plan or purpose for our existence? Some hidden agenda that our entire species was working towards without our knowledge? We'd be pawns.

The truth is that life has whatever purpose we give to it. Nothing more, and nothing less. And I find that beautiful and uplifting.

Quote

but this question can not be answered without answering some other question...

What you wanna do in your life?

That's a question with a lot of answers. My life, after all, is everything I will ever know or experience. I suppose it is important to me that through all of the things I do and experience, I always act in an ethical and considerate manner. I also want to focus my energies on self-directed creative work. That's paramount to me. I want to play games and watch movies and eat good food. I want to connect with other people, be enriched by them and hopefully be a positive impact on their lives as well.

Quote

And why you wanna do it?

Because those are the things that make me happy.

Quote

What would you do If you reach there?

Probably come up with some more things to strive for. Life is struggle. If you're not struggling towards something, you're not living. You're stagnant.

Quote

What is your philosophy of life ?

I don't really understand this question. If we're talking about "what is the philosophy that governs your life," then there are about 10,000 of those. I once wrote an essay entitled "The Philosophy of Gift Giving," and briefly worked on drafting an entire series of articles called "The Philosophy of World of Warcraft." There's really no single philosophy which governs my entire life, save perhaps the fact that life isn't as important as we want it to be.

Life is metaphysically meaningless. Metaphysical meaning is for suckers. Create meaning for yourself, and don't be a douchebag about it.

Quote

What would you do If you become rich?

If we're talking "fabulously wealthy, wish-fulfillment" kind or rich, then I've always wanted to stage elaborate productions of reality-bending weirdness. Like flash mobs, but with a bottomless pit of money.

Like, I dunno, build a giant Majora's Mask moon and have some helicopters take it into the sky in the dead of night, so everybody wakes up with it hovering 300' above their town. Or some shit like that.

Of course if we're talking about a more feasible sort of wealth, I would like to have my needs securely taken care of. I've always wanted to really fix up my 1994 Ford Escort real nice. Make it look like it was fresh off the production line, and add in a bunch of odd little features to make it super comfortable. I'd love to pay to take classes in all sorts of professions, like carpentry and plumbing. I'd love to buy a small house in the city somewhere, get really creative with how I decorate it. Build a D&D room in the basement, a sex room in the attic, that sorta thing. It'd be great to support all the artists and creatives that I love, help them to do more of their work. And I'd love to have a fully decked out workshop where I could make things. Mmmmm. Good times.

Quote

In these question you will see a bigger picture your true answer to the question Why are we born?

Because our parents fucked each other.

Quote

Now many people give this answer life is for enjoyment ... and that They have a right to live happily so they shud live life to fullest and honestly I don't disagree people have full right to live they want to...

But I just fail to understand one thing .... How can I enjoy and live life to fullest when I know that So many innocent little children sleep hungry everyday and many die every year ... How Do I enjoy when I know women have to sell their chastity to feed them ... How Do I enjoy when I know young girls are kidnapped and how they fear for their safety ... How Do I enjoy when I know out there that in this world children are enslaved into slavery .....

Life isn't for enjoyment. Life isn't 'for' anything. As stated above, life has no metaphysical meaning. The world can be a horrific place, there's no denying that. We must do what we can, but we are individuals. We can't take the whole weight of all the world's evils onto our shoulders.

Personally, I just try to do what I can in my immediate vicinity. When I think I can help, I try to help. I think about my responsibility to make the world a better place within my means. Nobody can end homelessness, but anybody can keep a few spare rolls of socks in their car to hand out to homeless folks they meet. (Socks are really good, by the way. One of the most needed, and under-donated items).

I'm far from perfect. But I try, and I struggle to do better. Nobody is required to forgo their own wants and desires for the sake of curing the world of evil. Just do what you can within your means.

It is a big topic. *deep breath* Ok then:

Quote from Servo

In these question you will see a bigger picture your true answer to the question Why are we born?
Now many people give this answer life is for enjoyment ... and that They have a right to live happily so they shud live life to fullest and honestly I don't disagree people have full right to live they want to...

Essentially, yes. When you think about the people you love, what do you want for them? People being happy and enjoying life is better than the opposite, right? It seems immediately obvious. And yet when we wonder what our own lives are about, a mysterious confusion descends. But surely it's logical to view our own lives in the same way we view the lives of those around us - as aiming for happiness. The only difference is that we have an authority over our own lives which we do not have over others. That adds the possibility of self-sacrifice, and that leads into a whole long conversation about morality. But yes, it's all about enjoyment/fulfilment/happiness.

To go vague and academic about it, consider subjectivism as described by Descartes. What if everything we see and hear is an hallucination? How do we know what is real? Descartes concluded he could only be sure of his own existence, because he was able to ponder about it (I think therefore I am). However, modern neuroscience suggests that even thought is an illusion - thought may just be an experience, not something that is self-guided. If that's possible, then we can't even be sure that 'I think therefore I am'. So I take a different approach - for me, it's "I feel, therefore I am". That much is self-evident. And it goes further. We know some feelings are good and some feelings are bad. That's also self-evident. When we break a bone, or get tooth-ache, we don't need to prove that it's a bad feeling, it becomes obvious. The pain is badness itself. So we have 'good' and 'bad' sensations, and good is by definition better than bad. Seeing as happiness is the overall effect of good sensations, then happiness must be the only motive that we can know.

Quote

But I just fail to understand one thing .... How can I enjoy and live life to fullest when I know that So many innocent little children sleep hungry everyday and many die every year ... How Do I enjoy when I know women have to sell their chastity to feed them ... How Do I enjoy when I know young girls are kidnapped and how they fear for their safety ... How Do I enjoy when I know out there that in this world children are enslaved into slavery .....

Some of you may think I'm criticizing they way people think But this is not my intent it really is a question in my mind ... as is said everyone has a right to live and its not their fault if people suffer so they have every right to enjoy their lives and live it to fullest but for me question is HOW ?

Misery, I believe, (and happiness, for that matter) is a reaction between your situation and your brain. In your case, the situation is 'the state of the world', and your brain means how you perceive that. If you cannot change the situation, your only remaining strategy is to alter your perception, and decide if that will bring more happiness. The brain is always filtering information to support a particular viewpoint, and vigilance is needed to keep it in check. To that end, some things to consider:

My own life is very happy. I live in a stable and supportive marriage with a beautiful daughter. We have plenty of food, we enjoy travelling, eating out, reading books, I take Kung Fu classes every Tuesday. My life is, dare I say it, pretty good. How do you factor my life, and the millions like me, into your model of the world? It's also worth noting that the future seems better than the past. As an atheist, had I lived five hundred years ago, happiness would be impossible for me. The same is true about my social status (the bottom of the ladder). And with increasing pace, these improvements are spreading across the globe. Sooner or later, happiness in the world will outweigh misery, if it doesn't already.

As I say, it's a matter of perception.
As for "Why are we here?" This question has two meanings: 1) How did we get here? or 2) Why are we here? I'll deal with 1) first.

Quote from LinkSkywalker

"Why are we here?" The answer is disappointingly simple. "Because our parents fucked."

This goes to the heart of the problem of perception.
On a factual level, yes, this is true. But there is no objective way of describing the act of sex. I could describe it as making love. I'm here because my parents shared a moment of love. I believe LinkSkywalker's choice of description attempts to cut through illusion and bias and describe the act for what it is. However, 'because our parents fucked' falls into the same language trap - it is clearly designed to cause a particular effect, and is therefore biased like any other description, and my description of making love would therefore be no more subjective than his. There is no way to describe anything for what it is. Such is the weakness of language, and the importance of perception. To move onto 2).

Quote

That's really it. The only reason this question feels like a mystery is because we want to believe that our existence has some deeper meaning, but it doesn't. There is no hidden purpose out there for us to find. Life is exactly what you see in the day-to-day. Anything more that people imagine is just an attempt to feel more cosmically important than we really are.

Agreed. To keep banging the same drum, perception once again plays a part. The problem of trying to find an objective importance for your life is that importance itself is a human concept. What exactly is 'importance'? Is it rank and position? Is it the power to affect things? When you step outside your own priorities, why would anything be more important than anything else? Importance is nothing more than a perception.
But that doesn't cheapen it. Perception is precisely what does give meaning to life (meaning is another type of perception). Meaning and importance exist in your heart. To prove that point, consider this. If you did have some objective importance, but were unaware of it, would it make you any more happy? Conversely, if there was no such thing as objective importance, but you were unaware of that fact and you felt and experienced that you WERE important, do you think that would make you happier? If the answers to these questions are the same as mine, it proves that meaning is generated within. And as I tried to express earlier with the whole 'feel therefore I am' thing, your inner experiences are no illusion - they are the only thing you can be sure is real. Thus, the experience of meaning is meaning itself.

Quote

The truth is that life has whatever purpose we give to it. Nothing more, and nothing less. And I find that beautiful and uplifting.

This. Exactly this.

So, in my way that covers suffering in the world, why are we born, what is life for, and my philosophy of life.
The other questions, such as what would I do if I were rich and what am I striving for, are a completely different topic. Happiness, perception and all that plays a part, of course, but now we get into the closer-to-earth matters of my personal tastes and preferences. For me, I take a lot of inspiration from Buddhism, Daoism and my Kung Fu instruction. For the type of person I am, there's a lot in there about relaxing and not getting worked up about things that go wrong, about compassion, about letting things go that works for me and my tastes. If I were rich, I'd probably travel more. Buy a house so that my family can be more comfortable and my daughter can have her own room. I love reading, if there were more hours in the day I would read everything going. I love music, and I miss performing on stage. I would love to be a composer. I work so that the label I co-own takes off in a big way. If I wasn't looking after the kid, I'd like to volunteer for a homeless shelter, because I've benefitted from it in the past.

... I think that's about it.

Quote

This goes to the heart of the problem of perception.
On a factual level, yes, this is true. But there is no objective way of describing the act of sex. I could describe it as making love. I'm here because my parents shared a moment of love. I believe LinkSkywalker's choice of description attempts to cut through illusion and bias and describe the act for what it is. However, 'because our parents fucked' falls into the same language trap - it is clearly designed to cause a particular effect, and is therefore biased like any other description, and my description of making love would therefore be no more subjective than his. There is no way to describe anything for what it is. Such is the weakness of language, and the importance of perception.

My point is that a mechanical act took place. Human semen fertilized a human egg. Any emotional or moral or spiritual trappings that surrounded this occurrence are irrelevant when answering the question "why are we here?" I suppose such additional specificity might be relevant if we were discussing why an individual person is 'here,' but we're talking about humanity as a whole here. Or, at least, the audience of this post as a whole. Specifics have no place.

Also, are you actually advancing a cartesian subjectivist view of reality? It's true that perception plays a larger role in human communication than we commonly like to acknowledge. If I write a sentence and ten people read it, then there will be 11 different thoughts and feelings about that sentence. But if we refuse to even attempt to find a consensus on basic facts because "such is the weakness of language," then discussions are going to be really boring and difficult.

Quote from LinkSkywalker

Also, are you actually advancing a cartesian subjectivist view of reality? It's true that perception plays a larger role in human communication than we commonly like to acknowledge. If I write a sentence and ten people read it, then there will be 11 different thoughts and feelings about that sentence. But if we refuse to even attempt to find a consensus on basic facts because "such is the weakness of language," then discussions are going to be really boring and difficult.

No, I'm actually not , but I can see why you would think I was. To clarify, without digressing too much into the nature of knowledge, I think that the subjectivist viewpoint is appropriate within this conversation, that is, talking exclusively about meaning. As you said yourself, the only meaning life has is the meaning you give it. Therefore meaning is subjective. Therefore subjectivism is relevant. What I'm trying to get across is that meaning, as an experience, is real and valid (because 'I feel, therefore I am'). Yes, it is something that exists only inside your own brain. But all too often the assumption is made that self-generated meaning is 'lower' or 'cosmically less' than objective meaning (if it existed). I disagree with that, which is my point in a nutshell. Subjectivism backs me up. People like Descartes have logically 'proved' the existence of our own sensations, and while subjectivists claim that is all we know and I don't claim that, they are at least right in asserting the validity of my own subjective experiences (such as meaning). After all my waffling, I believe our positions are probably closer than you think.

Quote from LinkSkywalker

My point is that a mechanical act took place. Human semen fertilized a human egg. Any emotional or moral or spiritual trappings that surrounded this occurrence are irrelevant when answering the question "why are we here?" I suppose such additional specificity might be relevant if we were discussing why an individual person is 'here,' but we're talking about humanity as a whole here. Or, at least, the audience of this post as a whole. Specifics have no place.

The problem for me is how you interpret the question 'why are we born?'. 'Why' can refer to the process, or the intent. If you ask me 'why are your shoelaces tied', I can answer 'because I tied them' or 'so my shoes stay on', depending on what I assume the question to mean - both are valid and correct. There's also no denying that the latter has a place in causing the former to happen (I don't want my shoes to fall off, which caused me to tie them, which caused them to be tied).
So, 'why were we born?' - taking the first meaning, then yes, a mechanical, biological event caused my conception and latterly my birth. But there is also the other question - 'what was the intention of my being born?' and this is where moral (and psychological) trappings become wholly relevant. My parents chose that I be born when they had sex. Even if someone is unplanned, the mother then choses to keep the baby and give birth. Everything that relates to those decisions is relevant to the question 'why were we born?', if you consider 'why' to refer to intent. My birth was very much intended by someone. And that, I imagine, is true for the vast majority of people.

While you are of course entitled to your own opinion (we're not really trying to reach a consensus here I think, just voice opinions), I disagree.

I assert that there is no intent behind the mechanical act on a species-wide level, which is what we're talking about. Individual choices are irrelevant. If we insist on pursuing a cause, "the biological imperative," or "the force of the evolutionary process" might serve. But there a whole lot less pithy than "because our parents fucked," so I'll stick with that.

Perhaps a minor difference. But given that your initial post was written with a sort of "I agree, and..." phrasing, I feel compelled to point out that I don't really agree with the "and" part that you posted. =P

Whoa there.....thinking that sort of stuff is depressing according to me.
Just enjoy what you have, at the moment.

If there are stuff that you want to do for the time being, just do them :D

Avoiding a subject because it's depressing isn't very healthy.

Well, fair enough. I do tend to fly face-first into a good debate

Quote from Servo

Well perceptions are highly subjective and can be wrong

Meaning is a perception. So your perception of meaning can't be wrong, because whatever you perceive your meaning to be, that's what your meaning becomes, right? Aren't they synonymous?

Quote

and well I said in start I already have found my answer just wanna know yours I'll post mine later

Pff! Such a tease!

Quote from Servo

Hahahah well I'll post my answer but I want to see what other have to say !! only few replied ** sigh**

@Kaynil ?

Quote from Silent Lion

@Kaynil ?

I know, I know. I have been trying to reply but I just type way too damn much.
I have enjoyed the read. It is always interesting to find different perspectives. I will give a proper answer soon.

I would still like to see your reply to this, @Kaynil

I don't know if it is because I am tired of typing and having it disappear or become outdated with all the great insight you guys have already given but I want to answer this anyway. Hopefully reading this again will bring me back some of the enthusiasm. I loved this thread when it was first published because I just love seeing what people's outlooks are and I find it an opportunity to learn about it. I guess I could just go straight to the short answer reading between the lines and explain why I think is my purpose in this world, or I could give my walls of text and quote every little thing like I usually do. Guess which one is coming. :lengua:

Quote from Servo

What you wanna do in your life?

I am not sure if you mean what are my life goals or just in general what makes my life worth being lived.
A) I want to act according my moral compass. I believe this is what will make me feel at peace with myself today and tomorrow.
B) I want to finish my Cendres Fiction.

Quote from Servo

And why you wanna do it?

A. I want to be genuine, acting according my moral compass because in my younger days I didn't not give myself enough credit or an opportunity to question things and reach my own conclusions.

B. I want to let my Cendres fiction out because it is there and if I don't do it. They will all die with me. They won't have a chance to be out. I thought by this age they would be forgotten but instead they keep nagging me to be written down.

Quote from Servo

What would you do If you reach there?

A) Being genuine is a never ending thing. It is a day by day so in a way I am there.
B) Regarding my fiction I haven't thought what would be next but I suspect that the rest of my fiction and invented creatures would like to be out. probably the twins would be the next naggers. perhaps in the end no matter how much fiction I write I will die regretting a tale I had no time to pen down, hahah.

Quote from Servo

What is your philosophy of life ?

There are a few quotes and thoughts that I would like to guide my life around.

1. Bob Dylan's quote "What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do".
2. Fail Faster. Whatever you plan to do stop waiting for inspiration or the right tools or gaining the skill. Just get on with it and fail. So you can get experience and improve.
3. Life's a buffet: There are so many things around this life that cater our attention yet we tend to be quick to either procrastinate to the future to try them or convince ourselves that we can't commit or it is not worth it. I am trying to fight those thoughts and get involved with whatever gets my attention.

Quote from Servo

What would you do If you become rich ?

I'd buy a house before anything else. I'll save half of my riches for retirement and emergencies.
I'd travel and help my parents fulfill what i know where their travel wishes.
As for frivolous things probably make sure our place has a pool because I love swimming but I am shy in public. I'd get a good PC and a good Laptop. I'd have multi monitors and two big Tvs for gaming. I'd even buy duplicate latest gen consoles so even if we play online we can still have fun the same room (I used to play Splatoon like this with my past friend and housemate and I miss it greatly).
That said. I don't have an urge to get this amount of money. I'd be cool but I already have a nice lifestyle. All I need is steady income to support it. The only real material possession I crave right now is to having my own place.

Quote from Servo

In these question you will see a bigger picture your true answer to the question Why are we born?

You don't need to know why were you born. It doesn't matter how you came to be. There is not a defined answer. There is not a set meaning of of life. There is not even a defined you. You create yourself every day with your actions, with how you rationalise your experiences. What is what you want? What for? What do you think could help you achieve it? What you answer today will not be the same in five years and that is fine because we keep changing. So do what makes you feel good and goes accordingly with your moral compass.

Quote from LinkSkywalker

The truth is that life has whatever purpose we give to it. Nothing more, and nothing less. And I find that beautiful and uplifting.

I pretty much agree with this.

Quote from Servo

Now many people give this answer life is for enjoyment ... and that They have a right to live happily so they should live life to fullest and honestly I don't disagree people have full right to live they want to... But I just fail to understand one thing .... How can I enjoy and live life to fullest when I know that So many innocent little children sleep hungry every day and many die every year ... How Do I enjoy when I know women have to sell their chastity to feed them ... How Do I enjoy when I know young girls are kidnapped and how they fear for their safety ... How Do I enjoy when I know out there that in this world children are enslaved into slavery ....

Some of you may think I'm criticizing they way people think But this is not my intent it really is a question in my mind ... as is said everyone has a right to live and it's not their fault if people suffer so they have every right to enjoy their lives and live it to fullest but for me question is HOW ?

So in short the question is how can you enjoy life to its fullest when you know other people have it really bad compared to you? Well, that varies from person to person. The best you can do is to accept that it happens. That the world is full of happenings that are not related to how good or bad a person is. Also be open for the possibility that not every situation is the same and the same people might be seeing their own situation differently.

Just like SL said:

Quote from Silent Lion

The only difference is that we have an authority over our own lives which we do not have over others

This is something else we have to accept. It is up to them to accept your help or make the call. There is people who does not want to be help or will not repay your kindness the way you expect it.

If there is something really upsetting you can try to give, you can volunteer and help out some people. You can bring more awareness of their situation. Enjoying life is more to do with our attitude than the life we have been dealt. We feed ourselves lies about our own limits and feel content and no contending them just so we don't exit our comfortable bubble. People that we could think have it way worse than us shut our traps by doing things even better than what most of us ever think of trying to do.

Quote from Claraviolet

Whoa there.....thinking that sort of stuff is depressing according to me.

I think that if we actually start having thoughts about it we shouldn't avoid them. Confronting your doubts and your own beliefs is actually good to keep your self esteem. I avoided this during my teenage years and things just piled up inside of me until they externalised with depression. Go figure.

Quote from Servo

Well perceptions are highly subjective and can be wrong, We sadly we do have a course of life pre determined , we are born in similar way, we live in similar way and day like everybody

The points we have in common doesn't matter. I can't turn my hair green at will. I can't be immortal. Like some said we start to die from the moment we're born. You are correct. In the big scheme our lives are minuscule. Compared to the universe our daily problems are nothing and our lives are just a quick spark. You said it before taht it was a matter of perspective. This is your only life and the way you live it makes your experiences define you. You might be too similar with someone else but never exactly the same. Not even twins live the exact same life. Cherishing these differences is not, in my opinion, a mistaken perspective.

Quote from Servo

live the way I wanna live but how? Can you lift you both feet and stay in air? can you put ur hand in fire and not expect it to burn , how can I can't fly like birds . our design and our live is pre defined but not yet

Can you lift you both feet and stay in air? Yes. Going to space. Entering a chamber that lifts you with air, etc.

Can you put ur hand in fire and not expect it to burn. Yes. With special globes.

How can I can't fly like birds. We have planes, helicopters, gliders, etc.

There are things that we share as a species and through the culture we have developed. However a lot of what we have today is thanks to people who challenged those limitations. You can fly, you can stay underwater without gills. Before that I am sure people thought those things were outside the scope and humans were predetermined to stay on the ground.

Quote from Servo

l I'm not done yet, we are still given some freedom within the boundaries of life and that is where my question comes in you, within that boundary you find an answer for yourself why are you born?

So you mean to answer you outside the "our parents had intercourse" and just focusing in the differences we can make not taking in account nature and other laws that pre-define aspects of your lives?

You say "To live your life the way you want to live...". I think yo enjoy life is important to be aware of those boundaries; no to use them as an excuse to not try to do what you want, but in order to find a way to achieve your goals. You have to use what you have at your disposal. You can choose to ignore all the marvellous creations and progress that our ancestors have come up with and slowly been perfected and instead complain how you don't have feathery wings or cannot race a cheetah using only your feet.

Lastly, supposing that "why am I born" is supposed to be a personal question for introspection and not a general answer. I don't think anything big will happen when I die. The world we keep on moving. When I moved to Australia things changed slowly for my family. Their neighbourhood. I wouldn't have felt the pass of years and I wouldn't have trouble remembering things taht actually took place if I still was living there. I removed myself from the only place I've ever known. My family and the whole country kept on moving. I never was that important. When I die it will be the same. This means that when I was born there was 'nothing' about it. I happened to make the choices I did and develop the tastes I have and even though things could have been very different through a string of events My parents met each other and conceived me, they moved to the city I grew and stayed there for as long as they did. I acquired an N64 and got obsessed with OoT. This obsession made me find HCA on my first online travels. A member from there linked me to TSR. A random MSN chat with zelda admins led me to TGDT. A random guy decided to PM me. We became friends. We ended up falling in love and decided to pursue it. I moved to Australia and I am admin of two beautiful zelda Forums. I don't think this is why I was born. I am not here to do this. This is what I am choosing to do. Things could have been very different but what-ifs are pointless when done in retrospect. I am grateful for the experiences I have gained and I am passionate about certain things. They might change, who knows? I am living mostly one day at the time.

I like this video of Nicholas James Vujicic:

- - - - - - - - - - -

Quote from LinkSkywalker

Nobody can end homelessness, but anybody can keep a few spare rolls of socks in their car to hand out to homeless folks they meet. (Socks are really good, by the way. One of the most needed, and under-donated items).

That is an excellent tip.

Quote from LinkSkywalker

If we're talking "fabulously wealthy, wish-fulfillment" kind or rich, then I've always wanted to stage elaborate productions of reality-bending weirdness. Like flash mobs, but with a bottomless pit of money.

Like, I dunno, build a giant Majora's Mask moon and have some helicopters take it into the sky in the dead of night, so everybody wakes up with it hovering 300' above their town. Or some shit like that.

ROFLOL! :X'D:

Quote

"our parents had intercourse"

STOP CENSORING ME!!! =P

Seriously though, that was interesting to read, thank you Kaynil.

I don't have much to say in response, but there is one passage here I'd like to comment on.

Quote

I don't think anything big will happen when I die. The world we keep on moving. When I moved to Australia things changed slowly for my family. Their neighbourhood. I wouldn't have felt the pass of years and I wouldn't have trouble remembering things taht actually took place if I still was living there. I removed myself from the only place I've ever known. My family and the whole country kept on moving. I never was that important. When I die it will be the same.

In a sense, you're right. In the grand scheme of things, few people really matter as individuals. I guess if a world leader or a celebrity dies, it can have widespread impact, but for most of us, our deaths will go unnoticed on the grand scale.

But 'important on the grand scale' really just means 'important to people who've never met or really cared about you.' We are, each of us, a mental universe unto ourselves. For me, Nick Whelan, my own experiences, and thoughts, and perspective, are MY entire universe. Your death would affect me deeply, because even if we lose touch again you'll still have played an important role in my life. And I'm sure there are a LOT of people whom you've affected more deeply than I. We don't even know one another all that well.

We DO impact our environments, but we do it slowly. Bit by bit. For example, you're probably the only Mexican that a lot of people on the Internet or in Australia have ever known. And when those people hear about something shitty happening in Mexico, I imagine they're more likely to feel a greater degree of compassion because of you. Perhaps that compassion translates to positive action, like voting for more Mexico-friendly politicians. And so on, and so forth.

I feel like I'm not articulating myself well. It sounds like I'm trying to talk you out of suicide or something. My point is really just that we DO have a much bigger impact than is apparent to us. And even if it's not obvious, The world is different for us being here.

Just go watch 'It's A Wonderful Life.'