Do you enjoy life

Autochange

bilbot79 wrote: »

In spite of some tough issues I'm enjoying life. I think to enjoy life is a choice, an attitude and a personal responsibility.

Do you think some one who has become a quadriplegic or has has been in a fire has a choice to enjoy life?

Pretzeluck

bluewolf wrote: »

I chose to study as well. clearly hate myself

don't worry, deadlifting is all in the legs. stay away from kickboxing me or something

Oh you're hard. I destroy the weighs as well but I don't go around saying I'm so awesome.

Yer Da sells Avon

I don't hate it, but it's been a long time since I 'enjoyed' life. I worry far too much and have never been able to properly enjoy myself for more than a few seconds without being plagued by a nagging feeling that it's all going to turn to shite.

I do whatever I can to keep myself amused and informed, and as 'involved with mankind' as an introvert can be, but I'd be quite pissed off if my death turned out not to be the end. I mean, fuck that, I'm looking forward to returning to a state of complete non-existence, no more thinking, no more worrying, just nothing. I feel guilty about wishing my very tolerable life away, but ceasing to exist would be... my idea of heaven, tbh.

mickrock

bluewolf wrote: »

I do except when i'm studying
or deadlifting

Deadlifting? So you're an undertaker.

I suppose it puts things into perspective. Too much f***ing perspective.

twowheelsonly

Generally speaking, nowadays I do, and I certainly value and appreciate it.

Back in '98/99 my pots all but went and I went through the worst period of my life. Eventually, thanks to some very good people (and some fine strong medication !!!!) I came out the other side. Got a much better job and drove on from there. I swore to myself that I wasn't going back there and despite some horrible experiences in my life I've always managed to keep it together. I also swore that I'd do whatever I wanted to do and I'd enjoy myself more in the present rather than worrying about the future - after all, ultimately we all have the exact same future ahead of us. Since 2000 I've travelled to 27 or 28 different countries, some of them 6 or 7 times. I've done things that were only a dream up to that. I've had 4 grandkids, one of whom sadly passed away, and my own kids have broken my balls and made me proud in fairly equal measures. I try to see the good in as much as I can and avoid the bad, the cynical, the mean and the plain cranky.

Lifes a bitch and then we die... Might as well try to enoy it as much as we can in the time that we have.

cantdecide

Over the summer I heard a principle of Buddhism that resonated. First you're a student. Then you build your house. Then you become a master. Then you retire and sit under a tree.

I have a lot of angst in life and I have done for quite a while because we hit the recession when I was getting to the point of building my house (setting roots). I have had nearly decade of being stuck at the student (immature/ formation) stage.

As above, you take the good with the bad and I have enough perspective that I can see the good things. I could really do with this period of uncertainty and reformation (student stage to end) so I can start making something of my life and building my future and becoming a master but at the same time, the benefit of all the flux I've had in life is that I heard that principle when I was in Nepal this summer which is something I could never have done if I'd 'built my house'...

bilbot79

Autochange wrote: »

Do you think some one who has become a quadriplegic or has has been in a fire has a choice to enjoy life?

Just....not.... entertaining....this...

Gimme A Pound

bilbot79 wrote: »

Just....not.... entertaining....this...

Well I think you're right in general - that people are better off soldiering on and accepting life can be hard at times, and focusing on the positives, having perspective etc (while difficult, it's worth it in the long run) but I suppose what that poster is saying is that sometimes - in extreme cases - there are those who have almost nothing to work with on that score. For some unfortunate people, life is just too awful and all they can do is exist... or worse.

Most of the time though, I think you're right.

bilbot79

Wesley Most Nerd wrote: »

Well I think you're right in general - that people are better off soldiering on and accepting life can be hard at times, and focusing on the positives, having perspective etc (while difficult, it's worth it in the long run) but I suppose what that poster is saying is that sometimes - in extreme cases - there are those who have almost nothing to work with on that score. For some unfortunate people, life is just too awful and all they can do is exist... or worse.

Most of the time though, I think you're right.

Spot on

Autochange

bilbot79 wrote: »

Just....not.... entertaining....this...

It's not for entertainment

Shenshen

Candyshell wrote: »

That tells me you don't actually enjoy it if you wouldn't choose to have another go.

So you've no concept of enjoying something, but not wanting to do it again?
Interesting.

Candyshell

Shenshen wrote: »

So you've no concept of enjoying something, but not wanting to do it again?
Interesting.

If you think life is worth living, it makes sense that you would want to do it again.

Read Wibbs' answer, there's someone that enjoys life, and as a result would want to live it again.

You must think that the pain/negatives outweighs the positives/enjoyment.

Shenshen

Autochange wrote: »

Do you think some one who has become a quadriplegic or has has been in a fire has a choice to enjoy life?

Study says "yes"

Shenshen

Candyshell wrote: »

If you think life is worth living, it makes sense that you would want to do it again.

Read Wibbs' answer, there's someone that enjoys life, and as a result would want to live it again.

You must think that the pain/negatives outweighs the positives/enjoyment.

So unless you enjoy it enough to want to do it again, you're by definition not enjoying it at all?
That's a really weird way of looking at it.

I went on a rollercoaster recently for the first time in my life. It was great fun, but I've done it now, I probably won't be doing it again. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

Wanderer78

Shenshen wrote:

I went on a rollercoaster recently for the first time in my life. It was great fun, but I've done it now, I probably won't be doing it again. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

Try more rollercoasters, they rock. Life rocks but it can be challenging

notsoyoungwan

Yeah, I enjoy life. I’ve a good quality of life, made easier by a steady and decent income. I’m in good health and have wonderful friends, along with some of my family who are great, others not so much! There are of course stresses and troubles but they’re outweighed by the positives thus far anyway. That could all change in a heartbeat, I’m well aware of that.

Having said all that, I don’t want to be reincarnated. Once is enough. I have no fear of death. I’m not religious and I believe all that awaits is a nothingness, which holds no fear for me.

Baby01032012

Ray Donovan wrote: »

Not really. Low self-esteem which has led to a semi-dependence on alcohol and a stressful job that often keeps me awake at night.

Talk to someone buddy, I’m not saying it will give you all the answers at once, but YOU deserve better, be kind to yourself

Candyshell

Shenshen wrote: »

So unless you enjoy it enough to want to do it again, you're by definition not enjoying it at all?
That's a really weird way of looking at it.

I went on a rollercoaster recently for the first time in my life. It was great fun, but I've done it now, I probably won't be doing it again. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

You obviously think it's not worth the effort to do it again, so the rollercoster itself was enjoyment but overall on net basis you wouldn't enjoy it when you include travel, cost and queuing.

Likewise I'd say in life you might enjoy aspects but overall on a net basis you don't enjoy it.

Also, with a rollercoster the element of the unknown is gone the 2nd time. That wouldn't be true of life a 2nd time, because you could live a completely different life.

Shenshen

Candyshell wrote: »

You obviously think it's not worth the effort to do it again, so the rollercoster itself was enjoyment but overall on net basis you wouldn't enjoy it when you include travel, cost and queuing.

Likewise I'd say in life you might enjoy aspects but overall on a net basis you don't enjoy it.

Also, with a rollercoster the element of the unknown is gone the 2nd time. That wouldn't be true of life a 2nd time, because you could live a completely different life.

I think you'll just have to take my word for it, I do, overall, enjoy it quite a lot.
But once it's over, it's over, and I won't regret not getting to do it again.

If, on a net basis, I didn't enjoy it, why would I still be around, after all?

Candyshell

Shenshen wrote: »

I think you'll just have to take my word for it, I do, overall, enjoy it quite a lot.
But once it's over, it's over, and I won't regret not getting to do it again.

If, on a net basis, I didn't enjoy it, why would I still be around, after all?

I'd say the same reason as most people who don't enjoy life, habit, maybe a vague feeling of "waiting to start living" which never actually starts.

sbsquarepants

Wibbs wrote: »

. My personal opinion is that so many of us need to get some perspective in our lives and realise how lucky most of us are.

Exactly.

I'm healthy, I've a nice house, i'll never go hungry, my kids sleep safe and sound at night - that's absolutely priceless. I'm doing much better than 99% of the worlds people.

Of course there are tons of things I'd change if I could and that nice house doesn't pay for itself so there's the constant grind of working, but i'll take that over a tin shack in Guatemala every single day of the week!

Taytoland wrote: »

If you don't have some struggle in life then it's not a life.

I completely disagree.

I'd be much happier to spend my time on a paradise beach in the Seychelles without so much as a struggle to keep me occupied!

I think I probably struck gold insofar as I'm easily amused, I'm not the sort of person who needs to be always doing something to be happy. I'm quite content to do absolutely nothing once I have a tune playing in the background! I could very easily spend the rest of my days on that beach watching the world pass by.....if I didn't have that fúcking house to pay for.......or those brats wrecking my head.....aaarghhhh

Great, now I'm in a bad mood:D

Trigger Happy

Like many have said on here - yes. I am a lucky fella in so many respects with a good family and good cohort of friends. Would love to see a lot more of them all. My job does not kill me either.

Life does kick me in the arse every now and again but sometimes you have to live with that and learn to dust myself off and carry on.

Candyshell

Just because you are "better off" than 99% of the population doesn't mean you must therefore enjoy life.

Wibbs

Candyshell wrote: »

Just because you are "better off" than 99% of the population doesn't mean you must therefore enjoy life.

It might not mean you must, but it would be my strong belief that if you have a life better off than 99% of the population, you have a duty to at least try to enjoy it. Anything else is self centred wallowing of the pretty obscene kind.

Skinhead Kane

Last time I enjoyed life, I wasn't conscious.

Pretzeluck

Pretzeluck wrote: »

Oh you're hard. I destroy the weighs as well but I don't go around saying I'm so awesome.

Maybe you should!

Wibbs

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I completely disagree.

I'd be much happier to spend my time on a paradise beach in the Seychelles without so much as a struggle to keep me occupied!

Funny enough there may be something to the struggle requirement. A fair number of studies out there have found people who don't have stresses in their lives are less "happy". Even some horrible stresses like war and civil unrest affect this. Mad things like in times of war the suicide rate drops off and people report as being more content. The theory is that such external stresses that are shared increase our happiness because we feel connected to a wider group and world that shares the same stresses. Third world folks often report higher levels of contentment compared to first world folks. One might conclude that general anxieties are luxuries more likely to be present when our lives are more luxurious.

Candyshell

I think oftentimes short time pain can bring about medium/long term happiness and short term pleasure can bring about medium/long term pain. It seems to be a common theme of humanity.

One of the greatest joys one can experience is mastering a skill or craft. Once you achieve it, there is great joy in experiencing the that flow state of instinctual expertise. But to get to that point is a huge grind and can be very slow, painful and frustrating, and this takes years.

Then therr is the opposite case, the person who wants instant pleasure, so they eat chocolate, sex, drink alcohol, take drugs etc. It brings diminishing returns, and in my opinion can serve as a distraction from the sometimes harsh realities of life. It can create a barrier to the joy of life which can then result in depression or apathy to life.

Your Face

Yes, I enjoy life.
I know how precious it is.

Wibbs

Wibbs wrote: »

Funny enough there may be something to the struggle requirement.

Depends on what you consider struggle to be.

I tend to live in China. A very different language and cultural base. My own Chinese is decent by western standards but not so much by Chinese standards. I've been there 8 years, so I understand the culture very well (as one not born there).

There is no "struggle" as such. I am outside my comfort zone regularly, and there are many challenges... but they're positives rather than negatives. They're obstacles I can move past with measurable success.

I'm not married. Perfectly happy to be single. No children. I have a mortgage but don't stress over it. No obligations/responsibilities except for those I choose to create. I'm not worried about my finances because my set of values regarding wealth is very 'hazy', and I'm very comfortable with having little. If I want money, I know I can make it.

Compared to others, there is no 'real' struggle in life. I know very few people with a similar outlook or situation to myself. Most are "struggling" with juggling the demands of kids, wife, career, finances etc. The focus is entirely different. But I know that my lifestyle is not for everyone. I've noticed that many people seek out that struggle, and it's only from that struggle, that they can appreciate what they have.

gargargar

Ronin Vast Platoon wrote: »

I love and enjoy every minute of life.

22k+ posts on an internet forum doesn't back up your assertion

sbsquarepants

Candyshell wrote: »

Just because you are "better off" than 99% of the population doesn't mean you must therefore enjoy life.

True.

It's down to outlook I suppose. I don't know how much of that you can learn as opposed to just being born with. I'd say I'm happier than most, but I've always been that way, I'm just not a worrier, I'm thick skinned and I don't dwell on things.
The way I look at it is I just don't have anything worth worrying about....but if I was a worrier I'd probably find something!

Like an awful lot in life - it comes down to just the luck of the draw! I don't have everything I'd like, but I have everything I need. And clichéd though it is, your health is your wealth, I've been very lucky to not have anything major go wrong with me or my immediate family.

Shenshen

Candyshell wrote: »

I'd say the same reason as most people who don't enjoy life, habit, maybe a vague feeling of "waiting to start living" which never actually starts.

*roflmao Honey, you honestly could not be further off the mark.

But you know what? If you've decided that I don't enjoy life, based on one forum remark, then who would I be to disagree with you?

Candyshell

Shenshen wrote: »

*roflmao Honey, you honestly could not be further off the mark.

But you know what? If you've decided that I don't enjoy life, based on one forum remark, then who would I be to disagree with you?

Glad we're agreed

ToddyDoody

Wibbs wrote: »

Candyshell wrote: »

Anything else is self centred wallowing of the pretty obscene kind.

What about meditation?

spotifiedman

Wibbs wrote: »

It might not mean you must, but it would be my strong belief that if you have a life better off than 99% of the population, you have a duty to at least try to enjoy it. Anything else is self centred wallowing of the pretty obscene kind.

Typical fallacy of relative privation. Why should I care if someone else has it worse? I'm here and have problems. I want to solve them but I'm not going to feel bad just because someone else is starving..

yourdeadwright

Its a very tuff question , I love life and certain things id love another shot at and try to improve on and go on another direction , but then if I change a few things maybe i would have to live a life without the Missus and kids and there the things that make me love this life , So its a very very tuff question ,

indioblack

An odd thought that has popped into my head occasionally over the years. I'm the original stick-in-the-mud. Unadventurous, I like my routines, I prefer things to stay the same. Then life throws a spanner in the works.
Sometimes during these bad, [sometimes quite bad], periods I've been able to perceive with a greater clarity, afterwards I've found it fascinating in an unemotional way. Sometimes I've even been able to manifest traces of courage.
It's as if I've bumped into the indifference of the experience, it's neither fair or unfair.
Maybe there is more behind it. I don't know.

Wibbs

ToddyDoody wrote: »

What about meditation?

Like anything it has positives and negatives.

spotifiedman wrote: »

Typical fallacy of relative privation. Why should I care if someone else has it worse? I'm here and have problems. I want to solve them but I'm not going to feel bad just because someone else is starving..

How is it a fallacy? If anything you reinforce my point about that being self centred thinking. You should care if someone has a worse life than you. While nobody is suggesting you feel bad because someone is starving and you are not, you should feel fortunate that you're not. It's pretty basic humans as empathetic social animals stuff. Apparently not, and that goes back to my original point that too many in the modern world have lost that in the Me Generation™. It's not specific to one generation of course. Some have described the 20th century as the century of the self, the 21st I reckon will be looked back upon as the century of the self involved. So far anyway.

Candyshell

Wibbs wrote: »

Like anything it has positives and negatives.

How is it a fallacy? If anything you reinforce my point about that being self centred thinking. You should care if someone has a worse life than you. While nobody is suggesting you feel bad because someone is starving and you are not, you should feel fortunate that you're not. It's pretty basic humans as empathetic social animals stuff. Apparently not, and that goes back to my original point that too many in the modern world have lost that in the Me Generation™. It's not specific to one generation of course. Some have described the 20th century as the century of the self, the 21st I reckon will be looked back upon as the century of the self involved. So far anyway.

One could extend this logic and say people should hope for more suffering and starvation in the world for other people, as this means they'll enjoy their life more.

Wibbs

Candyshell wrote: »

One could extend this logic and say people should hope for more suffering and starvation in the world for other people, as this means they'll enjoy their life more.

Eh... WTF? Only someone completely bloody mental would "extend logic" like that.

Candyshell

Wibbs wrote: »

Eh... WTF? Only someone completely bloody mental would "extend logic" like that.

Are you not saying people should be enjoying life because 99% of the world are worse off?

Shenshen

Candyshell wrote: »

One could extend this logic and say people should hope for more suffering and starvation in the world for other people, as this means they'll enjoy their life more.

Candyshell

A person either enjoys their life or they don't. The fact that someone around the corner is starving won't suddenly mean you enjoy life.

Feisar

I enjoy moments, however I'm not a naturally content person. I'd say no I do not as a whole enjoy my stint here.

Graces7

Life is a gift and a privilege. A treasure to be revelled in but not wasted. To be given to others too,, to share... even or maybe when filled with illness or pain. That gives it a new dimension, a greater value... every breath, every taste , every tiny pleasure. no one can enjoy every part of everything. But we can use that pain...

Getting near the end for me and every day is precious in some way, often in ways we did not expect. The smallest things delight. Take the breath away with their beauty. watching my sunflower buds swelling today....the taste of good food after days not being able to eat much.. picking pounds of blackberries and oh the jam!

the varied sky.. so many aspects of life here in this lovely place, even seen through pain or exhaustion. Precious and lovely life. and my Jesus at the end of it all... yes I love life ! ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! ( making no apologies for still floating after the Mass y'day here on the internet. That joyful singing at the end..OH MY!)

and for those feeling down about life? Someone famous used to bid to make the most of it as "You are a long time dead.."

Thank you for this thread. I needed it today. Bless you! and I intend to love this stage of my life and whatever follows....

Candyshell

Feisar wrote: »

I enjoy moments, however I'm not a naturally content person. I'd say no I do not as a whole enjoy my stint here.

I reckon this is how 40-50 percent of people feel, but they aren't honest about it or have never really admitted it to themselves.

Currache

Depends on the day of the week really

Wibbs

Candyshell wrote: »

Are you not saying people should be enjoying life because 99% of the world are worse off?

Not quite, but let's say I was, how in god's name would that would lead by any sort of logic into the idea that people should then hope for more suffering in the world, so they could be happier? No really, WT actual F?

Perspective. That's what I'm getting at. Having some. And in having some, being grateful for what one has rather than focusing all the time on what one doesn't have. Which is all too common. If some dirt poor bugger in [insert third world inequitous craphole here] can get on with life, then the paltry by comparison issues I have come into pretty strong perspective.

notsoyoungwan

Have to laugh at the “if you wouldn’t do it again it means you’re not enjoying it” train of thought. Maybe the reason I and others would not choose to be reincarnated is that we know what a good and contented life is, know how lucky we are to have that and we don’t want to risk coming back and having an awful life. Quit while you’re ahead etc.