Is our entire life a scam?
Posted by Legal-Cry1270@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 219 comments
It never gets easier to just be/stay alive. It only gets more difficult. Peak physical condition cannot deny death. Even in death, the world asks for more. Once you die, the bill collectors will write more letters to you than any human ever did while you were alive. We need to be around other humans to survive and be healthy, but we can only see them while being under the eye of our employers. Is life itself a big scam or is it the belief that our lives mean something and matters that really burns us? There is no goal I can reach that will satisfy the ruling class’s need for their human capital to “do more with less”. Slightly more valuable than livestock.
Fair_Blood3176@reddit
More and more I'm leaning towards solipsism.
I know it seems self fish but it's based on how everyone in my life betrays/hurts me and the immense complexity of my dreams when I sleep.
Dimplefrom-YA@reddit
I feel like smacking you across the face with the original reading rainbow song--you know with the guy that plays Kunta Kinte in Roots--, just so you can get some damn positivity in you.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Okay, you win! This is the best comment lol I DID hear that song in my head and I’m currently trying not to laugh at my desk.
Dimplefrom-YA@reddit
butterfly in the skyyyyyyyyyyy
chronicnerv@reddit
Our parents grew up in the peak of the wests empire and now we are there age the it is declining. It gets harder for every generation no matter what anyone does due to multi polarity. Yes the rich treat us just like livestock, they are not interested in pets, as they do not make profit.
Forward_Damage4779@reddit
Get a life. Stop crying.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
You know, you’re right, except I don’t really cry.
I mean, I have a great life in all honesty. Sometimes I get in a funk.
Forward_Damage4779@reddit
Well snap out of it. Keep it moving.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
We keeping it moving!
forever_erratic@reddit
I have people around me who love me and whom I love. I move my body in ways that feel good. I create art with my hobbies. I am trying to make the world a better place.
Life fuckin sucks some time, no doubt. I deal with depression and anger that sometimes eats me right up. But on a good day? Hell yeah it's worth it.
gobnyd@reddit
It's worth it enough to stick around so as to not hurt the people around you further, and to wrest some fucking justice for yourself out of being alive (a few happy times) but not worth it enough to enflesh another poor consciousness here in this fucking scam.
No_Device9450@reddit
My heart was feeling this sentiment, somehow, my brain couldn’t make my mouth (or typing fingers) articulate it as inspiringly as you did.
You, sir or madam or person of your own identification, are good people.
I had a miserable day, work sucked, news was heavy, miserable.
But I sat with my kids, watched a favorite show, made my daughter laugh, snuggled, and am going to bed EASILY 8/10 if not higher because of that, and in spite of all else.
“I have people around me who love me, and whom I love.”
That’s it, right there. And when I’m grateful for that, I’m good.
miamelie@reddit
I agree with this. My life isn’t perfect, if I focus in on all the negatives and all the things I wish I had it ruins my day. But on the whole? I have people who love me, a roof over my head, a job that I like and food on the table. I have books to read, a garden to tend, a healthy body to move, i am surrounded by art and nature and all kinds of beautiful things. I am so incredibly blessed and try to pay these blessings forward whenever I can!
GlomBastic@reddit
I was in the chair with my psycyatrist.
"So what is your overall on 1-10?"
Me: 8
"But you have admitted severe depression, loneliness, incapable of social. Stay in bed for 48 hours?"
Me: but the good days..
neopod9000@reddit
"How would you rate the pain?"
"About an 8. It's not constant, but 8...on a good day"
GlomBastic@reddit
If my feelings were on a pain scale, 8 sounds more apt. When you put it like that.
theoriginalneel@reddit
Love this. Regardless of what life sends, you gotta find a way to keep pushing.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Stay in the fight!
dndhdhdjdjd382737383@reddit
Yea, I feel that everyday. Ever single time I think I've gotten a handle on something, either my autism gets me in trouble and now that I'm older I'm facing age discrimination in the job market too. Everything is designed to work against me and my funds are running low.
taskforceslacker@reddit
Read and internalize the works of Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. The world is what it is and you can’t control external factors. Learn to embrace what you can’t change and thrive.
join-the-line@reddit
I'd like to add an Albert Camus, and absurdism, to that mix. Awhile back I was staring into the depths of nihilism and Camus' Abusudist teachings brought me back
justsomeyeti@reddit
Nihilism gets a bad rap, and that's primarily because on the surface it's very appealing and comforting to someone in the depths of depression,looking for something to cling to and pull themselves out of the darkness.
It's also very appealing to young male edge lords.
parachute--account@reddit
Say what you will about the tenets of national socialism, dude, but at least it's an ethos
join-the-line@reddit
It's a slippery slope. I hit a funk in my early 30s, big picture WHY? I wasn't subscribing to Nihilism, but feeling it. Thankfully I discovered Absurdism and decided to embrace the pointless aspects of life.
LordSolrac@reddit
Absurdism was my first thought, too!
fatbuddha66@reddit
Il n’est pas de destin qui ne se surmonte par le mépris. There is no destiny that cannot be overcome with contempt.
ammonthenephite@reddit
Yes, absurdism is def recommended for anyone looking to, ironically, make sense of our crazy existence, lol.
nothingshort@reddit
Definitely. I teach the Myth of Sisyphus to my students within this same context.
Short-Step-5394@reddit
We must imagine Sisyphus happy.
taskforceslacker@reddit
Excellent recommendation as well.
soclydeza84@reddit
100%, I had the same experience and reading Camus really helped, I now have (almost) all his books
rmagere@reddit
I have only the very basics knowledge on Stoic philosophy and at an individual level I believe it does bring comfort. However wonder whether it could lead a person to accepting too much as external factors that cannot be changed. E.g. before/around time of the civil rights movement would this approach have lead to just the status quo rather than the concerted efforts to move towards a better world?
budgetcriticism@reddit
The serenity prayer has joined the discussion.
Cinderhazed15@reddit
You can accept that you can’t change things, but still try to drive/enact change. You just have to not be discouraged that things don’t change.
It just depends on if you are minimizing pain/unpleasantness or maximizing contentment, or minimizing variance.
If there is a chance things may be a lot better, but it may end worse, are you ok with not trying at all because it limits exposure to discomfort, or do you try the thing that could (but isn’t guaranteed to) have the best outcome, but you can handle it not happening that way?
taskforceslacker@reddit
It’s possible to lose empathy at some level, but that depends entirely on your understanding of yourself and how you relate to others. As with any facet of life, balance is key. There’s no perfect solution for what OP seeks, but lessons of the past can absolutely be added to our lives to serve as tools or even cautionary lessons. Perspective and wisdom can be derived from anything if you’re receptive. I found Stoicism was the best fit for my lifestyle, but I still care more for my family than myself. I still respect people based on their individuality and experience. I still strive to better myself. I absolutely agree that Stoicism alone can be a slippery slope for some.
Sporkatron@reddit
Don’t need a book to learn you just have to get the bitch out your blood and keep grinding
Stop_Already@reddit
Who is the bitch in this case?
maximian@reddit
I recognize the value of these attitudes, but I also find that they tend to tamp down empathy (or perhaps appeal most to people who aren’t particularly empathetic in the first place). Not for me.
join-the-line@reddit
I get that it's not for you, and more power to you for that. Different philosophies appeal to different individuals for various reasons. However, for some people this may be a life changing philosophy, and for some individuals life saving.
I understand why you think the way you do about these philosophies, but I disagree about your assessment on empathy. I believe these kinds of teachings HELP people who have too much of it, not lacking it. Nor do I believe that they tamp down empathy, but that it prevents such individuals from being consumed by their empathy. Empathy is great, but some individuals need to learn how to control how it affects them. I don't believe embracing the knowledge that the world is cruel leads to one turning their backs on helping others, but I do think it teaches people to compartmentalize those feelings. There are moments that people need to be able to shut the noise of the world out, and to embrace what beauty there is around us, the soul demands it, and accepting that we can't always be on every minute for the greater good doesn't prevent us from being an important part of pushing humanity forward, but it does insure that those that do so are able to for the long haul.
✌️
maximian@reddit
It’s not the compartmentalization I’m referring to. It’s the fact that “stoicism” as evangelized by the modern tech bro is just another flavor of libertarianism with some spicy will-to-power fascism thrown in.
What you’re saying makes sense, it’s just too tainted by association to me.
join-the-line@reddit
GOTHCA! Yeah, these tech bros bastardise everything they touch in order to justify their psychopathic tendances, they need to stick to Ayn Rand.
GlomBastic@reddit
The last seasons of Silicon Valley really touch on this. Capitalism will turn benevolent actors against themselves while their ideals are used to power their antagonist a way to use that message to obtain control of the masses.
taskforceslacker@reddit
I can’t fathom turning off philosophical lessons due to modern day individual interpretations. Surely you have the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. I’ve never been presented wisdom and turned down its validity because it’s been used somewhere by someone for political (or any other shallow) gain. Can you provide an example of any other philosophical school of thought that hasn’t been misused, misappropriated or misinterpreted in the past hundred years or so?
maximian@reddit
Most things written as philosophy come off somewhere between impenetrable and unbearably self-important to me. I prefer to derive my life lessons from life and from fiction.
taskforceslacker@reddit
If it’s worked for you, absolutely embrace it. That said, I like to pull from multiple sources and points of view. I’ve found the most growth utilizing knowledge and wisdom derived from the least applicable sources to me. Different strokes. I applaud anyone who’s found their footing and continues the climb.
taskforceslacker@reddit
I’m largely empathetic so the actual practice of Stoicism is tricky. The lessons however can be easily integrated into daily life. Whether it’s “C’est la vie” or “Memento mori”, the key is understanding that we have little to no control over what happens. People spend their entire lives toiling over what has happened or what will happen, rarely do they pay mind to what is happening. Perspective is key.
TBone232@reddit
In general our entire current existence is a scam. We were made to lay naked in bushes getting high eating berries and creating a society of hunters/gatherers living in small tribes yet we all have to get up to make money just to have the bare necessities in life.
TopRedacted@reddit
Have a beer and go fishing bro.
gnrlgumby@reddit
As long as you don’t buy into “hustle culture” or a “side gig” you’re fine.
n8ertheh8er@reddit
Human social functions used to be mediated through local institutions (churches, schools, unions, local businesses, clubs). Now they’ve been monetized through tech companies. You need to pay for all your social interactions now.
zuiu010@reddit
This isn’t a Nihilism sub.
ElleWinter@reddit
Hang on- we are more valuable than livestock to them?
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Slightly, while we’re alive.
ElleWinter@reddit
For now...
ElleWinter@reddit
😂
owenschu555@reddit
I think you're depressed
owenschu555@reddit
My life is great. I don't have extra money, I'm busy all the time, doctors suck, but I love my life
Milehighboots@reddit
Want to upvote the thread, but it’s 666 atm, which feels way too appropriate
-Ghost83-@reddit
I feel like as Xennials we are entering the mid life crises stage of life. I know I’ve been struggling with it off and on for the last couple of years.
Ok-Tale-7136@reddit
Yes. Govern yourself accordingly.
TYRwargod@reddit
We create our worth or die looking for it either way we die and only those we leave can measure us.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
Entire life? No. Is capitalism an exploitative scam that's been increasingly and deliberately indoctrinated into us as a pseudo moral code by the people whose interests it serves and their acolytes, to the extent that we've been separated from joy, nature, balance, wellness, interconnection, collaboration, and love, deliberately sequestered away from the true meaning of life in order to extract our labor and skills and energy and attention and resources from us more effectively?
p4rc0pr3s1s@reddit
Here we go with the capitalism is evil garbage. Tell you what, when we actually have capitalism and not this pseudo socialist oligarchy, let me know. A free market hasn't existed in this country since the turn of the 20th century. The government intervening in every market picking winners and losers, regulating small businesses out of existence and extorting money from the pocket of every worker isn't capitalism. Not even fucking close. Take your commie pinko crap elsewhere.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
By the way, I just want to point out that I was simply stating my beliefs based on my own education and experience. I didn't call anyone any names, or insult anyone. You came here and made it personal, for no clear reason. It's not a great way to win people over to your way of thinking, for future reference.
Zeverian@reddit
People like that are incapable of not making it personal.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
This is usually such a cool sub, it was disorienting to encounter this kind of response here. Feels like someone who finds ideas they disagree with so triggering should probably avoid the internet altogether for their own well-being. I hope they feel better soon.
Zeverian@reddit
They don't even know their history.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
💯💯💯
It's a really common trend with these types of comments: holding forth in a way that is clearly meant to sound intellectual or highly educated, but just regurgitates the same distorted and inaccurate talking points being mass distributed by conservative talking heads across various pseudo-intellectual platforms. Serving up propaganda and malice just isn't a winning argument, any day. No idea why this is so compulsive for them.
Zeverian@reddit
They are tools of the Devil.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
QueenSqueee42@reddit
Take it elsewhere than... the internet? Okay, boss. 🫡
MechanicalGodzilla@reddit
To paraphrase - Capitalism is the worst economic system ever to emerge, except for all the other ones.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
Guess we better just suck it up and accept it as the only possible way for humanity to function then, huh?
I feel like this kind of glib dismissal is usually offered by people who haven't actually studied or made any kind of authentic attempt to creatively problem solve beyond the generational limitations of outdated systems and paradigms.
And I'm sure you were just trying to be jokey and casual, and I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to point out that there are other solutions and pathways forward that are more collaborative, healthy, and egalitarian, that haven't yet been explored.
I agree with Cory Booker, that this is a time for creativity and collaboration, and working harder to rise to achieve our ideals rather than surrender to the sociopathy of the current status quo.
MechanicalGodzilla@reddit
The issue is that Capitalism isn't some system that was invented and implemented, it is an emergent order phenomenon that just reflects how markets work. Most proposed systems to replace it are socialism & communism, both of which still cannot operate long-term and at scale with markets. They require authoritarian governments.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
There is a model for democratic socialism that has never actually been put into effect, because authoritarians used socialism as the pretext for their own actual authoritarianism. That doesn't mean it wouldn't work if scaled properly.
The idea that there are only these three options and nothing is sustainable but our current oligarchical version of capitalism, which requires and creates the demand for unsustainable quarterly growth in service of shareholders and at the great expense of everyone and everything else, is exactly what I'm arguing against.
Cory Booker referenced and read from "Abundance" by Ezra Klein yesterday, and I plan to read it ASAP because it lays out some very viable alternative pathways forward. I hope many people will, and will feel similarly inspired to dream bigger about solutions and economic structures.
MirthRock@reddit
Unless there is a better system, I wouldn't want to burn down what we have just for the sake of change.
QueenSqueee42@reddit
Did I say anything about burning it down?
stonelark-@reddit
‘Murica
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Fugg yeah!
Bizzy-99@reddit
We waste our lives away working for places that just use us to get them more money 😑😖
I_make_switch_a_roos@reddit
I've been waiting to die the past 15 years or so and life is just getting harder to survive, more expensive and I'm getting older
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Maybe we’re waiting to live? I don’t want to die yet. I want to actually DO things
I_make_switch_a_roos@reddit
i hear you, at the moment though can't afford anything except the bare minimum
judasmitchell@reddit
Life is not a scam, but our current (if you’re in the USA) of capitalism is. Most of us are just a few bad weeks (or even days) from financial collapse. The rich will never have enough and will continue to demand more and give less. Most things are getting more expensive and made cheaper. Too many things are subscriptions now to keep leaching money from us.
But. Sunsets are beautiful. Human connection is magic. Home grown cherry tomatoes taste fantastic. Creating art awakens something powerful. Sex is pretty cool.
You have to find meaning outside of the system we’re stuck in. Some people escape it as much as possible. Others compartmentalize to keep the stress of money out of their social interactions. Religion works for some (but please don’t get one that makes you be an ass to everyone else). Minimalism works for some.
Find things that matter to you and make you feel something real. Again, just please find things that don’t make you treat other people poorly.
Jonestown_Juice@reddit
People shit on capitalism but like... what's the alternative? It's not communism- communism offers the same drudgery and work without the benefit of even owning property or having a say in your government.
Before we got to capitalism we were all literally serfs and slaves. We had no representation, no protection under the law, no ability to move to someplace better.
I get what you're actually saying- that we don't have universal healthcare or the ability to save enough to have a buffer for emergencies. But that's not actually capitalism's fault. That is apathy's fault.
Voter turnout in the US has been *dismal*. And engagement with our democracy just as bad. People have become complacent, lazy, and stopped paying attention. They just assumed things would run on autopilot without realizing they needed to remain vigilant to ensure our system was running the way it should.
We could have everything we want. We've got wealth, resources, and a healthy population. What we don't have is motivation. Everyone is so convinced that we're living in a shithole and that nothing can be done about it but they have no perspective on history. No context.
Things have been much worse before. And things can be better than they are now. Our system is designed in such a way that we can change almost anything we want. We have to do it.
hamsterballzz@reddit
I like the idea of restrained capitalism. You can earn up to X amount and own up to X amount, but no more than that. Anything extra that’s created above that amount goes back to the betterment of society. Of course, if you don’t put forth the effort you’ll never reach the cap so there’s incentive to apply oneself.
The issue with all economic systems, including the one I described, are they require a certain amount of empathy and altruism for them to succeed. Greed is always the biggest issue for humans. Eventually, someone wants more than they should have and is willing to result to violence to get it. Solve the greed and you solve half of humanity’s problems. I don’t see that happening though.
judasmitchell@reddit
That is why I said this stage of capitalism. We aren't using the same type of capitalism as our parents and grandparents had. Capitalism can work. This kind doesn't. It's not motivation. It's the few actively fleecing everyone else with no safeguards. You can't motivate people when working hard doesn't get you anywhere.
amayain@reddit
Heavily regulated capitalism via checks and balances, both in regard to (a) branches of government and (b) the state vs. industry vs. citizens, seems to be a pretty good way to run things.
judasmitchell@reddit
Agreed.
FamousAd9790@reddit
If the rich had any social conscience they would pay their fair share of taxes to enrich society as a whole. But they don't seem to care or believe in anything except their selfish compulsion to hoard wealth. And now the law allows them to buy elections. When individuals are incapable of doing right by their fellow citizens, a system is required to force them to do the right thing. Billionaires should not exist, period.
Jonestown_Juice@reddit
They don't. The rich are rich because they're lacking something. They have to be forced to do the right thing. We used to tax the fuck out of them. We can do so again.
farfromelite@reddit
This guy gets ~~capitalism~~ sex.
CaligoAccedito@reddit
We've been in an arranged marriage from birth with an abusive spouse. It keeps us shackled and broke, to try to keep us from changing anything. The only way to escape it, usually, is to squirrel away enough money in secret (before it figures out a way to take that from you, too) to escape--as in, be rich enough that capitalism can't exploit you directly--which is inaccessible to most of us.
But the mistake it has made is that it's taken on way too many of us. It thinks it can just keep adding more to its trap. If we stop fighting each other over the scraps, we can maybe work together to stop what's actually oppressing us.
ContactHonest2406@reddit
Our employers have way too much control over our lives. Not only when we have to be at work, what we have to do while we’re there, and when we can leave, but also, in a way, when we can sleep, when we can eat, in some cases what we can wear. It’s ridiculous. I wish there was some way we could make employment more flexible. Like, I can get as much work done in six hours as I can in 8, so why can’t I leave when I’m done and still get paid for the same amount of productivity? I can’t think of a different way though. Certainly a shorter work week and more vacation time could help, but those same issues would still be there. And no, starting a business or just finding a different job isn’t that easy, especially when the jobs are limited and pay varies so wildly.
kibfib@reddit
Didn't forget the control over our healthcare choices due to the plans they pick for us, since our healthcare is tied to our jobs.
Octowuss1@reddit
We’re all racing towards a slow death, me included, but I want a quick one 🤷♀️
wheresthebody@reddit
I think many of us are having a similar kind of existential crisis.
BrilliantTop5012@reddit
Yup, at 44 had major existential crisis that had me so depressed it put me in the hospital and intensive outpatient psych treatment.
ElderberryMany2507@reddit
Some of you did acid 30 years too late if you're just realizing this shit now.
Emjay1310@reddit
Yes
__Manifesto__@reddit
You sound depressed af, that is def a very miserable way to look at life and not the only one
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Yeah, adderall hadn’t kicked in until a few responses in. I do have depression and am having a down day. I feel better. A few people offered some helpful suggestions that I hadn’t thought of yet. I guess this was a pretty obvious cry for help when looking in the rear view. All of the comments helped though, even this one. Even if there are comments that call me a whiner or lazy; they cared enough to write a comment that might invoke a different emotion than sadness. It kind of rekindles the fight mode and gets me back to normal sometimes.
crlcan81@reddit
It's always been a lie, they just don't want to admit it.
Specialist-Fill24@reddit
As the founding member of the Salem Conceptual Arts Mafia. Yes, at least since around '99.
aprilshowers300@reddit
Yes. 100% a scam.
gypsyjacks453@reddit
I would also add Welcoming the Unwelcome and When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron. Buddhist philosophy. Her writing has really helped me with the low points.
Prudent-Lake1276@reddit
I decided a long time ago that my life was meaningless and doesn't matter in the larger scheme of the world, but I find that freeing. That means that I get to assign the value and meaning based on my own desires. I'm endlessly frustrated by the ways that late stage capitalism finds to continually grind us down to make a few people wealthier than any human needs to be. But I just do what I can to defend my financial stability, and focus ony loved ones and the things I enjoy. I work to live, and just try to have fun.
Benniehead@reddit
I often feel like this. I had no direction as a teenager but I knew I didn’t want the life I have now, part of the fn rat race.
hankeroni@reddit
With all due respect, you sound sort of like a whiny millenial here.
Please go outside, drink some hose water, and then come back with updated feelings.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Our president whines, why the f-ck can’t I? I did drink hose water as a kid, not as an adult unless camping.
Updated feelings to report: Get out of the restroom and get back to work, Hank! Work ain’t gonna do itself and daylight’s burning.
hankeroni@reddit
I did not mean to impugn your character. We live in one of the all time historical best times to be alive. Obviously that luxury is not evenly distributed and we should remedy that.
I'm glad the hose water helped a little.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
All good Hankeroni. I was just playing about that get back to work stuff. My Adderall was kicking in and…yeah.
Side note, a poor guy at work 💩in his office chair trying to stay on target to hit his productivity goal.
dreamyduskywing@reddit
It sounds like you’re feeling a little better. I was freaking out earlier in the week because of the mountain of work I have to do, so I explained everything to ChatGPT and that actually helped me chill out.
dreamyduskywing@reddit
I think it’s common—even normal—to feel overwhelmed like this sometimes, and that’s okay.
unbalancedcentrifuge@reddit
Damn buddy, your GenX is showing.
waynesangria@reddit
For Americans our age... Yes
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
We’ve been through some shit
veryblanduser@reddit
We work much less than most humans in history.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I actually like working. This isn’t about work.
AintNobody-@reddit
Once humans discovered currency, it's all been about scamming as much as possible from the marks. And you're either the scammer or the mark.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Well said!
turrican4@reddit
And yet people bring more kids into the world, forcing them to live the life.
againandagain22@reddit
You appear to be a candidate to start following Buddhism :)
The followers of the Buddha wrote down his answers to your questions 2,500 years ago.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I’ve thought about it. As a longtime Christian, I am a “spiritual person” and have always been curious about Buddhism. I’ll look up some beginner material.
againandagain22@reddit
That’s the way. There’s so many light introductions to Buddhism and stoicism.
Keep what you agree with and gently set aside what you disagree with.
Don’t discard what you don’t agree with because in 5 years or 10 years or after a MASSIVE life event then something that seemed ridiculous may all of a sudden make more sense.
conace21@reddit
I play it cool, and dig all jive. That’s the reason I stay alive.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Is that a quote?
RaphaelSolo@reddit
Well let's see, forced into existence without consent and charged to stay that way and not allowed to opt out voluntarily. Sounds like a scam to me
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Damn. So, are you guys going to Chili’s later? J/k, but if there were a Xennial support group, it could be a good spot. lol
PineappleZest@reddit
Personally, I don't believe there is a point to life. Everything is random and you either succeed or you don't. And I mean that on a daily, weekly, yearly, and lifetime basis. It's what you make of it. Sometimes we're incredibly lucky. Other times, not so much.
It's so goddamned easy to get bogged down in the bullshit of it all, but what's ridiculous is WE CREATED IT. Money? Made up. 9-5 jobs? Totally made up. Societal expectations? Absolutely made up. We've complicated things so much that our bodies and minds literally can't keep up.
So yes, to answer your one question, I believe that those who seek meaning and answers in everything are constantly chasing them and/or disappointed.
Rainn Wilson has a book out that I'd very much like to read, called Soul Boom. I'm not a religious person by any means, but I believe the point of the book is that we need a great spiritual reset. We've gotten to this point where it's every person for themselves, and humans are not meant for that. We're meant to live in families, communities, etc., and we're suffering because that's been left behind.
Anywho... yeah. I feel you.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Dude…
RoguePoet@reddit
It's not your imagination
SamRaimisOldsDelta88@reddit
Yo, I’m just here to talk about Ninja Turtles and Ecto-Cooler. I agree on a lot of this but we’re all going to die and none of it really matters. Just do your best to find happiness and be kind to others. The need to win is honestly a sign of mental illness. Leaving something behind for your kids and family, passing down memories, I get that, but once it goes black… It’s over.
I don’t think calling it a “scam” is appropriate terminology. We are all lucky to exist at all. You would never be able to experience anything, good or bad, without the chance of being born.
I don’t know your actual situation but there are ways to come to grips with your existential crisis.
Proof_Lengthiness185@reddit
Yes.
CryptographerPrior18@reddit
Have you seen the movie office space?
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
What do you think the inflation rate would be for Lawrence to do “two chicks at one time, man”? It was $1 million at the time
CryptographerPrior18@reddit
But to answer your question, it's $1,894,387.76
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
That maths
CryptographerPrior18@reddit
Lol. "Fuckin' A." I cant believe that movie came out in 1999.
HotTubSexVirgin22@reddit
"That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” the prophet, George Carlin
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I’m sorry I can’t stop laughing at Hot Tub Sex Virgin. That’s a badge of honor, or at least a good sign of being free of STIs.
George Carlin had some great ideas
So3Dimensional@reddit
It’s not necessarily a scam. But it is a game. Go ahead and play the game.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I like that perspective!
So3Dimensional@reddit
Find what makes you happy. Have fun. Do what you want. Don’t hurt anyone. These are good rules to follow.
CharmyLah@reddit
One of my favorite books of all-time is The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
It's most famous for the gross stuff in the meat processing industry, but really, the book is about how these immigrants are scammed and taken advantage of at every turn, at the expense of their health and lives.
America is a place of great freedom for those with means to take advantage of those too ignorant to know better and/or no ability to fight back.
Brilliant-Jaguar-784@reddit
"Struggle to get ahead and stay alive until you die" Is the way life works not just for people, but all animals on earth (with the exception of pets and zoos)
Its not a scam, its exactly as nature intended.
Abidarthegreat@reddit
You okay, bud?
I find you get out what you put in. I think so many people think if they just wait, everything will be handed to them. You want friends, go out and get some. Go to your local adult recreation center and sign up for a pottery class or a painting class, go volunteer at a local food bank and help the needy. Get off your ass, close your browser and go to the library or your local park. Get some vitamin D.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Am I okay? Sure. I mean, I’m alive and going. I’m in a rural area and I’m stuck here. We don’t have community rec centers yet. Soon though. I put in the f’ng work my dude. I go to church, volunteer, attend social events. I walk trails, canoe/kayak, workout, barely watch TV, play disc golf, etc. people in this community just don’t have anything to do together except sports bars and jeep runs. This is my only social media platform. I don’t play video games. Shit, how else can I try to be perfect.
Abidarthegreat@reddit
Then what are you complaining about then?
Perfect for what? Who are you trying to impress and why?
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Myself, perhaps. Trying to be good enough. Therapy helps. Idk
Abidarthegreat@reddit
It probably doesn't mean much but I think you're good enough.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
It means more, in this moment, than you might believe. Thanks again
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
And I actually take Rx vitamin D.
UniTrident@reddit
You need some professional help or life is going to get harder. My wife was saying the same thing and was worried about getting stuck on meds from a shrink, but she worked through it largely without meds. I guess there’s Jesus too, but a shrink will talk back quicker.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I have been seeing a therapist for 5 years. Telehealth, but better than nothing.
PetSoundsSucks@reddit
Pretty apt user name here. No one will figure any of this out for you. Either surmount life’s obstacles or get Artax’d into the mud.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Well, I didn’t pick it. I’m a goddam boss. I figure shit out for a living. I also hated that movie, but my wife loves it.
ContactHonest2406@reddit
I’d be fine with being Artaxed at this point.
mementomori_mg@reddit
I am Artax. Working on change.
usernames_suck_ok@reddit
Struggling to understand the word "scam" here? I mean, it's very true for many that a negative word makes sense to describe life, but I'm not sure "scam" is it.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I don’t know what scam means anymore.
pushdose@reddit
Bro get some hobbies. Volunteer?
I work with critically ill patients. I see death come for them at all ages and stages of life. Life is too fucking short to feel sorry for yourself. A stupid bacteria could come and end you tomorrow. Or a stroke, heart attack, trauma, whatever. Enrich your life in ways other than money. Learn a new skill, fight for a cause, create art or make stuff with your hands. Life is not a scam. We are just animals who think way too much. Now that we’re getting past baby making age, we’ve served our primary biological purpose, so go find a better one.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I get your points. I put in the work.
Coyote_Roadrunna@reddit
I agree in principle, but do the unemployed in crippling debt have much time to volunteer when rent and bills are a necessity?
And just to be clear what you do sounds heartbreaking. You likely have thick skin and a big heart. Honestly I couldn't handle it.
pushdose@reddit
I had a lovely conversation with an 80 year old yesterday. We were chatting about our old Main Street towns we lived in. Sharing comparisons between California and New York. She longed for the days of chatting with her friends at the beauty parlor, getting errands done on the same block, not having to drive everywhere, having friends close by. She missed the simple things. Life is too complicated now, too many barriers between people and real wholesome experiences.
I came in to work today and she’s unconscious and dying. She’s made her peace, she didn’t want heroic measures. I had to call her son who’s just a bit older than I am, and he is unable to be here until about 12 more hours. She won’t be here when he arrives. I feel like I had the last meaningful interaction with her before she lapsed into her coma. We have to stop the Adrenalin infusion now and let her go. I feel privileged to have had this moment, she was so happy to talk with me yesterday.
We have to find our own small place in the world. Something that makes us happy to wake up in the morning. For her, maybe it was that beauty parlor. For me, it’s my martial arts club. When I’m with my friends and living in the moment and nerding out over fighting techniques or swords or whatever, that’s what makes this life worth it for me.
Jonestown_Juice@reddit
This. Our world is too big and impersonal now. No one knows who their neighbors are anymore.
ammonthenephite@reddit
I think life can often feel like a scam because it was presented to us in an unrealistic way and we were given unrealistic ideas about it.
Agree with all you say though, life is precariously short, and while money is a very important part of it money should just be to live life, not life's purpose.
Everything is meaningless in the end, so far as we know. Embrace the freedom of an undefined life, since that means we can create whatever meaning we want, without any fear from unproven supernatural beings or what have you.
kiggitykbomb@reddit
Lighten up, Francis.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
lol shit I do kind of feel like Ajax from Deadpool right now.
DenialNode@reddit
Bonus points for outliving your loved ones and getting to attend all of their funerals.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I never thought I’d outlive them. I thought for sure I would do something dumb and die by accident. They definitely had no plans for death. I’m not alone. I’m married happily and have a 20 year old plus two dogs.
CaligoAccedito@reddit
I miss my parents, even as nuts as my mom always was.
Frosty_Cloud_2888@reddit
Existential crisis has entered the chat
SnooGoats7476@reddit
I do often think life has no meaning myself. I am very depressed about the state of the world and I don’t see much Hope there. Sometimes I think about the future hopeful worlds we were promised but in many ways it does feel like we are going backwards. That we are just making the same mistakes.
Right now to get me through day to day I focus on my cats and my interests. Sometimes it’s just the little things that make life worth it. I just try to live each day as it comes.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Hang in there. I’ll hang in there too.
PickleFlavordPopcorn@reddit
You either need to do some shrooms or stop doing shrooms, I can’t decide which
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I can’t do shrooms, but I wanted to. I take meds for depression, so I can’t partake. So, stop doing shrooms I CAN do!
PickleFlavordPopcorn@reddit
That is a bummer bcs a good trip in the backyard can clear this kinda thing right up!
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I have heard that. The neurological science makes sense. Neuro pathways become rigid like ski slopes on a snow covered mountain. If those paths converge to anxiety and depression, it can become repetitive and even more rigid. I’ve read that the psilocybin can help quiet the ego and allow for fresh snow to cover the mountain and allow for new pathways. I’m on too many Rx meds to feel a whole lot.
mementomori_mg@reddit
🤣
elevenatexi@reddit
Life is what you make of it, and you can start anytime. Seek out small moments of joy everyday and begin making decisions that add to your wellbeing.
soclydeza84@reddit
Not life, just our system (I'm assuming you're from the US). It really is tragic but it'll break you down thinking about it too much without action, so the best you can do is play the game and try to set yourself up to eventually escape or detach from it. On the plus side, people seem to be becoming more and more aware of how ridiculous it all is so there is hope that society will eventually move beyond it (hopefully to something better); will that happen in our lifetimes? Who knows.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I hear you. I’m in the US. Detach is what I do. Try not to feel.
soclydeza84@reddit
A key thing that works for me is working on mastery of something. Could be a musical instrument, painting, woodworking, running, whatever. Pick something(s) and really work at becoming as knowledgeable and skilled at that thing as possible, study the greats who have done it and try to do what they do. Do it for the sake of mastery; as temping as it may be, DO NOT let yourself start thinking you can monetize it (maybe you can, but do it mainly for the love, not the money), otherwise you'll find yourself right back in the same soulless hole you're trying to get out of.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
This is solid advice. Have to occupy the mind and chase the dopamine sometimes. Thank you!
Hagbard_Celine_1@reddit
When people start talking like OP it's time for them to get off Reddit. If you have depression or anxiety reddit is only going to make it worse. It's an echo chamber of people who have largely failed in life and are simply looking for confirmation that it isn't their own fault.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
You’re right. I am successful by any measure and I did work hard to get where I’m at. I’m proud of myself for making it this far. I can’t find a circle of people I fit in with and this is clearly not going to happen on here. You’re right. Thanks for your input. I’ll touch grass and keep moving along.
Hagbard_Celine_1@reddit
Good for you man. The niche interest subs can be a great resource for finding communities of hobbyists. Public commiserating like this is only going to make you feel hopeless.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I know you’re right. Thanks for responding on here!
windmill-tilting@reddit
It does get harder. Life does ask for more, and lots of people get gobbled up by the system. Ask yourself why you keep going. You have a reason, even if it eludes you now. Find your fire.
Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit
Hear hear!
Phronesis2000@reddit
A scam would imply we were promised anything different. I can't recall us ever being brought up to "believe that our lives mean something".
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Oh, I think that was the 90s hope and Christianity.
Phronesis2000@reddit
90s hope? Nah that's rose-tinted goggles. 90s was the era of dread-induced music (Grunge), existential angst (Fight Club, American Beauty), genocides (Rwanda), War (Congo, former Yugoslavia, Kosovo..).
And we knew all about it as it was pumped into the TV news that we all watched everyday.
"9/11 changed the world and ruined everything" is peak redditor conspiracy theorist nonsense.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Okay, so they made a big deal about our HS class being the class of 2000 and we knew computer code, we are the future leaders, blah blah blah go after your passions, etc. I guess we were primed to think we were going matter somehow. Definitely wasn’t helicopter parental support at home.
Additional-Local8721@reddit
What you are describing is societies demand on your life based on capitalist principles. These are not laws of nature, but laws of man (and women). As a person, you must adhere to the laws of man the majority of your life. During certain times, you break away from those and should only concern yourself with the laws of nature. Find hobbies you enjoy and do it they way you want to. Find TV or entertainment that you personally like. Be with someone who loves you for you. This is why everyone has a work/life balance.
alien-1001@reddit
Oh I'm going through the same thing. Pick something else, this gets pretty depressing.
SpicyBreakfastTomato@reddit
Yeah.
billyjack669@reddit
polygonalopportunist@reddit
I can dig what you’re saying for sure. That’s America for ya. Sink or swim. Income matters, there’s a base salary requirement to exist almost anywhere. My hope is with AI and automation we can graduate to a basic income for citizens. Of course that’s high end wish casting.
I make conscious decisions to avoid the materialism and gluttony and still fall in the hole, so i hear your frustrations.
ModiThorrson@reddit
IMO at least in western culture, it's not that our lives don't matter, it's that we live in a system that doesn't care, Money makes the world go round, and the best way to do that is to not care and make use of every asset(human or not) to it's fullest. People are encouraged to care only about themselves, and all but penalized for thinking of others.
Zuccherina@reddit
April Rain - Delain
Give it a listen
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
Will do
mcfetrja@reddit
Did you really think you were the one who was going to escape the entropic march that the entire universe is bopping along to? We know how the story ends- heat death of the universe. The mystery is how do we get there. Be like an ancient cult and focus on the mystery rather than the entropy.
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
No, I just find it difficult to keep going sometimes. I know I’m future fertilizer.
MydniteSon@reddit
r/antiwork is leaking...
the_kid1234@reddit
When thoughts like these appear I remind myself of how much better life is now than 200+ years ago. Other than the royalty life was miserable not that long ago. Even 100 years ago work was harder, medicine was worse and there were fewer pleasures.
You have to work to feed yourself, find a job you don’t hate. Surround yourself with people you love and want to spend time with and don’t let comparison to others be the thief of your joy!
Legal-Cry1270@reddit (OP)
I know you’re right. I can’t find those people. Where are they?
TheBr0fessor@reddit
Yes.
PL02550@reddit
The things that were told to us, promised to us, and what some of us worked toward was rendered moot the moment when the very same people slowly started to take little by little away as we aged. It has been one disappointment after another and I find myself wanting to deal with it all less and less. That's the thing we have been lied to pretty much all our lives, and then conditioned to lie to ourselves. It's not working anymore, and some of us are realizing it.
DBE113301@reddit
While I often share your sentiment and grow tired of the ever-increasing challenges life throws at us, I have worked in a career for the last twenty years that gives me a great sense of fulfillment. I'm a college professor (ESL mostly, but also regular English), and in that career, I feel like I am truly making a difference in the world. Even though very few of us do this job for recognition (and none of us do it for the money), all of us take great satisfaction from seeing our students go out and achieve their dreams, no matter how big or small they may be. I remember, in my very first year of teaching in '05, one of my students told me that, after she took my class, she was inspired to change her major to English. That was so impactful for me. Over the years, I have seen my students go on to become doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, engineers, graphic designers...a couple even became operations officers for the state department performing espionage (mostly translation, but still), and another became a diplomat. Many others started their own businesses.
There's a line from Robert Duvall's character in the movie Days of Thunder (interesting choice, I know). He says, "I look at guys like Buddy...I've seen him do things in my racecar that's absolutely unbelievable. That really showed me what I had done." That's my driving force when life seems like it keeps getting shittier and shittier. When it feels like it's so frickin hard to make ends meet. While I'm not the only reason these students eventually find success, I'm a cog in that wheel. Knowing that helps me feel less insignificant.
YogurtclosetDull2380@reddit
Cattle, we are.
Far-Cardiologist6196@reddit
🌎👩🚀🔫👩🚀
CaligoAccedito@reddit
You see the hand of the ruling class crushing you, but life isn't this joyless everywhere. It is always challenging, and it doesn't have any one specific point.
Things are reaching a critical juncture. The pressure being put on the working class has been near-unbearable, and they're actively making it worse now. So now is the time to find a purpose and make it count.
Find your local immigrant rights group and see if there are ways you can (within the slave-wage hellscape) help them with their mission. Or pick a different one: You get to decide what matters, but right now, standing with others who are resisting matters a lot for all of us.
You may have to work on April 5th, but even if you can't get to a protest yourself, maybe make a few signs at home and give them to someone who is going. Maybe you can't march, but maybe you can help drop some groceries off with an immigrant family who are too scared to go to the grocery store right now. Try fitting one or two little changes in, things that help others, because once the rights of those others have been stripped, we're all next on the list.
I'm really fond of the sub r/outside, because I'm a nerd who loves games. But it's also pretty wholesome in its goofy way. It's common for people (usually a bit younger than we here are) to show up and ask, "I've been playing this game [existing] for x levels [years], but I cannot figure out what the main quest is." A common message in response there is that it's a sandbox game and you decide what you're going to craft, seek, fight, or love.
And, it may seem kinda cliché, but finding things that help others often helps make our own lives happier and better. It's work, and I get it--we are all so tired. But, achey and old as I feel some days, I've been having to get up, lace up my Docs, and put myself out there, because we can't wait for Link to show up in our village and take down the Big Bad--we gotta be Link, because there isn't anyone else.
Do your best. Try--and maybe fail, but try again when you recover. Decide on what you care about, and either come up with ideas to protect/improve that or team up with others who have ideas you like. Loneliness is a killer; stress is a killer. We gotta find our bliss and now, more than any other time in our "unprecedented" lifetimes, we gotta fight for that shit.
CaptinEmergency@reddit
Ok Doomer.
analogthought@reddit
https://youtu.be/_jexWBP5Jt4?si=PfPE0lDbB3TTCFW2
SirStocksAlott@reddit
Life is what you make it. Ever moment is a miracle, if you allow it. We shape our our reality. The only thing we have is this moment, right now, not the past, not the future, but this moment. Continuity is an illusion. We exist in the moment and our mind stitches these moments together. Our perception of our past changes over time, as does our perception of our future. Be thankful for what this moment brings you, what is around you. Be here now.
Last-Evening9033@reddit
I hear you; and yes it is.
ProfessionalCoat8512@reddit
Watch minority mindset it is a financial channel and free yourself.