h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out why the hell I should stay alive in the godforsaken world when it apparently sucks bigtime. This applies to everyone. What are your goals in life? Why the hell do you want to exist for? I always think things will get better so one day I will get why I was I given life, but in the meantime, is my life gonna be a vacuous waste of video games and work?

Only if you play the video games. Then, it'll just be work. There's other stuff, you know...

I want to exist because I *do* exist, and have known nothing else (kind of makes sense). I don't think there's an afterlife, so eternal existance isn't a viable option for me.

Goals? To protect my rights from those who would have them.

Hm.

-jb

Rat,

Though I could hardly claim ownership of the idea, one thing I've come to realise more and more the older I've grown is the importance of real friendship. Even when I've been working in a town where I don't really know or care much about anyone nearby, it's always made a massive difference to me that somewhere there are people who know most of my talents and most of my faults, and still seem to like me.

Finding those important people can take a long time, but it really is worth the effort, and the wait. Without wanting to sound patronising in any way, sixteen or eighteen is when people start to become adults - there's an enormous amount of growing and learning about yourself and other people to be done.
That does take a lot of time, and even though it's only obvious in hindsight, you'd be surprised how much time you spend finding out about how you and the world work every day. We may be programmed to learn, but we're not really programmed to notice learning happening.

P.

You really hit a nerve. Thats probably why I feel so depressed, I mean, I have come to realize that most of my friendships were a bunch of crap, but those one or two people that seem to actually know me make it worthwhile and actually give me hope. I am a pessimist through and through, but I do have faith that things will change for me.
And then theres the video games. I live through another life of this crap just to play em, I mean, you can kill stuff and not get arrested, its the coolest!!

rat
(p.s.-tetris is cool too)

True, true. Detatched free killing is very pleasureable.

As is tetris.

-jb

If you like tetris, have a look at this:

http://bastilleweb.techhouse.org/

And as to friends... well, can't say it better than _Wear Sunscreen_:

"Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on."

jd

Just cheer up rat, why dont ya

I am actually making a great attempt to. I think if I just keep smiling, eventually I will FEEL the smile and BE the smile. Thanks for the link =-)
Hmm, I am rather depressing, aren't I? Perhaps I need to rethink my outlook on life.


nah.

You might find this book useful:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380810336

jd

Hehehhee, have you actually read the book? Is it worth it? Its seems a bit too, well, feel good to me.

Yeah, I've read it. There's a lot of useful stuff in there. Most useful I find are the labels that he gives to irrational thoughts. Having a label for something makes it so much easier to identify it!

There are lots of exercises in the book. Some are more useful than others, but I think that's a personal preference.

Yeah, it is 'feel-good', but not unrealistically so. It gives practical methods for dealing with specific 'bad' emotions. Also, he takes the scientific approach of actually checking which techniques are having a genuine effect. This book does take some work; it's not something you can just skim and expect it to just 'sink in'. However, if you are prepared to work at it, I think the results will justify the effort. (In fact, I've wondered if the mere act of working on your moods is the major part of the therapy, regardless of what you are doing specifically; but I dunno, you'd need a proper experiment to determine that.)

But then again, if it wasn't at all 'feel-good', it'd be a pretty crappy 'feel-good' book, huh?

Having said all that, I've also built up a collection of books and films that I know from experience will tend to move me into particular moods. It's worth identifying these for yourself, so that you have a sort-of 'mood-media-medicine' cabinet.

jd

Thanks, i am actually going to try it. i am skeptical, but i won't bash it before i try it. i really do need help on dealing with emotions, and i am curious what others view as the right way of dealing with certain things. after all, you can't always listen to what the "voices" tell you, hehe.

rat

Now!! Only kidding.

You can actually find out your life expectancy from one of the links off www.northwesternmutual.com , I'm sorry - I forget which ones. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with video games. When you start getting desperate, just think of Half-Life 2

If you haven't - ahem.. - left us since you posted the original message, check out http://www.nanozine.com/ - it says we're all going to live for ever. Hoorah!

I exist because the options are ,at the very least, quite unsure. Suppose you sat thru a really bad movie, perhaps one of those Pee-wee Hurman movies, and decided that this was just to unbearable and left the theater only to find you were IN the movie. Forever. As in eternity. Perhaps the videogames are a better way to go.
Or perhaps taking an active role in your life would help. Try making something happen, don't wait for your GREAT INSPIRATION to tap your pointed little head. Perhaps the meaning for your life is to aid abused children in finding reasons to stay on this ball of a planet, or perhaps your just a hopeless video addict destined to be the inspiration of another , more worthy, person to design game controlers that fit comfortably in the human hand.