The Meaning of Life

the person that used that phrase passive/aggressive in regards to a post misused that diagnosis as you have described gringal and as i have pointed out earlier. this afternoon i will light up a puro at the usual time.

gringal wrote:.  For people who are religious, they believe that their religion gives them an answer and they are probably much more comfortable than those of us who don't.

I agree 100 percent,as a devout agnostic I sometimes envy their faith and the idea of an eternal afterlife,but I just can't buy it.

If for some strange reason living things could no longer reproduce life as we know it would soon cease to exist. Perhaps the last living thing on earth would be the bristlecone pine tree. According to Wikipedia: The oldest bristlecone pine individual is more than 5,000 years old and is the oldest known individual of any species.

Overpopulation is already a problem which will probably be solved in the future by some worldwide famine or epidemic or an asteroid collision with the earth.

It seems obvious to me that for life to continue there has to be reproduction.

papa chango wrote:

It seems obvious to me that for life to continue there has to be reproduction.

You don't even have to be scientist to figure that one out.

I agree about reproduction, but as in all things, there needs to be balance and good sense.  The "quiver" group, for one, is among those who are way off the scale in terms of good sense, IMO. The world population needs to be in balance with the ability to feed it, not to mention affording a decent standard of living.  
Papa Chango:  I respect your desire to bring up a serious subject and have thoughtful responses.  Maybe this was a tricky place to do so.
It is, after all, one of the ultimate questions mankind has asked down through the ages.
I think we can handle a few more serious questions.  Why not?  We are a reasonably civilized group. Most of the time, anyway.
More interesting than discussing butter, si?

viajero wrote:

gringal wrote:.  For people who are religious, they believe that their religion gives them an answer and they are probably much more comfortable than those of us who don't.

I agree 100 percent,as a devout agnostic I sometimes envy their faith and the idea of an eternal afterlife,but I just can't buy it.

Eternal life is the hope and glue that keeps the faithful faithful. My problem is the packaging is so bronze age and the stories are simply unbelievable, and that I can't envy.

gringal wrote:More interesting than discussing butter, si?

Correcto!

oncesubtle wrote:

viajero wrote:

gringal wrote:.  For people who are religious, they believe that their religion gives them an answer and they are probably much more comfortable than those of us who don't.

I agree 100 percent,as a devout agnostic I sometimes envy their faith and the idea of an eternal afterlife,but I just can't buy it.

Eternal life is the hope and glue that keeps the faithful faithful. My problem is the packaging is so bronze age and the stories are simply unbelievable, and that I can't envy.

Well ... that for some... vestal virgins for others...  

A lot of the biblical stories were probably appreciated by those who found themselves about to be thrown to the lions...
then "the powers that be" found religion was also a great way to muster the masses to a cause, which kept them useful and powerful to the reigning Caesar, King, or Czar...

So glad we are so much more enlightened today!!    

And there you have it. Life has no meaning, but it does have a purpose; ultimately, death, at which point the purpose is simply to feed, fertilize or provide fuel for the next surviving generations pf life forms. That is the simple cycle of life, before and after death; the continuing cycle of birth, life and death.

meaning of life-i prefer to not have my life meaned so i don't. some people choose to mean every thing though-SNORK!

gringal wrote:From Wikipedia:
I'm with the notion that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and we should be hesitant to read too much into anyone's posts.

Indeed. In light of Lady's post and this one, it seems I owe you an apology. However, I'm not the only to come to the same conclusion I did, but just the same, I'll read twice before I post.

ltollefs wrote:

gringal wrote:From Wikipedia:
I'm with the notion that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and we should be hesitant to read too much into anyone's posts.

Indeed. In light of Lady's post and this one, it seems I owe you an apology. However, I'm not the only to come to the same conclusion I did, but just the same, I'll read twice before I post.  

I'm sure you were not alone in your thinking. People seldom are. So, let's call it a misunderstanding and be done.

I reread Gringal's "controversial" statement to see if I had missed something.
"Religion gives people the answer to that question. For those who are agnostics or atheists, it's most likely a mystery..........never to be answered."

Even if I did not know her leanings, what she wrote remains a statement of fact with (for me) no emotional charge or put down. Religious belief does give people comfort and security, a certainty that no one else can have. I say that as someone with no religious beliefs who accepts the mystery.

Lady Otter Latté wrote:I reread Gringal's "controversial" statement to see if I had missed something.
"Religion gives people the answer to that question.  For those who are agnostics or atheists, it's most likely a mystery..........never to be answered."

Even if I did not know her leanings, what she wrote remains a statement of fact with (for me) no emotional charge or put down. Religious belief does give people comfort and security, a certainty that no one else can have. I say that as someone with no religious beliefs who accepts the mystery.

Thanks for that, Lady O. When I wrote it, I didn't think it was "controversial", but I've found that a statement is not always a statement, like the case of the proverbial cigar.

Gringal, you need only take responsibility for what you wrote, not for how every individual chooses to interpret it.

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Gringal, you need only take responsibility for what you wrote, not for how every individual chooses to interpret it.  

Bang on!

There are some things we human being are not meant to know. Unfortunately, we don't know what they are.

So, there is this guy who sells everything that he has in order to travel to the top of the Himalayas, where he had heard that a wise man, who knows the meaning of life, lives in a cave. (In your retelling this story, you may stretch it out to last many more minutes.) When this exhausted, tattered guy reaches the cave of the wise man, he tells the guru about his arduous journey (stretch it) and search for truth, and the wise man nods his head in understanding.

"So," this guy says, "what is the meaning of life?"

"The meaning of life," saith the guru, "is that wet ducks do not fly at night."

So, the guy says (now, here is when you can really stretch it out by having this guy minutely describe his quest; but, I'll get right to the matter at hand), "After all that I have forsaken and endured, you have the unmitigated gall to tell me that the meaning of life is that wet ducks do not fly at night?"

To which the guru replies, "You mean they do?"

How many drinks would be about right before telling this tale?

Two friends are dining in a Chinese restaurant. One is trying to explain Tibetan Budhism to other who's having difficulty grasping the concepts. In frustration the first one looks around the room just as one of the Chinese cooks comes thru the kitchen door. "Here I'll demonstrate" he says and hollers to the cook, "Why did the Dalai Lama come from the East?" "What the hell I care?" shouts the cook. He looks at his friend and says, "Exactly, that's it in a nutshell."

David wrote:Two friends are dining in a Chinese restaurant.  One is trying to explain Tibetan Budhism to other who's having difficulty grasping the concepts.  In frustration the first one looks around the room just as one of the Chinese cooks comes thru the kitchen door.  "Here I'll demonstrate" he says and hollers to the cook, "Why did the Dalai Lama come from the East?"  "What the hell I care?" shouts the cook.  He looks at his friend and says, "Exactly, that's it in a nutshell."

I'd say around three good Margaritas before you tell that one.

I'd say three or one and you would be good to tell that joke. As long as the listeners had joined you.

gringal wrote:How many drinks would be about right before telling this tale?

Equivalent to the Tibetan Buddhism story should be adequate.

might i suggest that you find oscar brand's limericks which includes a little ditty about a hermit from belgrade who kept.......waltz me around again willy.

Bah humbug! The meaning of life is what YOU find in it. We humans are all searching for the meaning of life, and results may differ. Memo: I need to buy some Monty Python videos. Hope the nursing home has a DVD player. Vision: nursing home with Monty Python videos, all of us swaying to the tunes. Anyone know of a good nursing home here that plays Monty Python videos? No? Wanna start a new nursing home?

For simpletons like me, the meaning of life is all about grass.....
Whether I wake up and see green blades or brown roots and then see what the day brings.  I don't why, but everyday is an adventure for me.