think about this...

I look around today and I ask what happened, where did things go wrong? It seems painfully obvious to me that we have lost seomthing somewhere; somewhere we wandered off the beaten path and lost sight of things; lost sight of what's really important. Life is so short and yet we rush through it; we are all rats in a rat race, ants marching down crowded city sidewalks. Each one off to his cubicle, his designated station where he pumps out information for a nameless corporation like the worker bee in the grand scheme of the hive, meaningless, expendable; all that's missing is the bar code on his forehead. In today's society we have forgotten what's important in life. I fear that now we drone through each day as creatures of routine, carrying out the menial tasks of our every day lives, and I wonder....was it always like this?
I wake up every day at the same time. I drive down the same black roads that we tie our Earth with. I go to school where I am told where to be and when to be there. I am essentially forced to learn things that I may ever use or never take interest in, yet I am limited to 40-minute windows of the classics, the history of the world, and arts that stimulate the mind. Sometimes I am forced to associate with, rather than tolerate, people that seem to ooze ignorance, confined in a cold geometric brick building. Yet, ironically, we are all expected to be contented with this. Are we supposed to develop into great thinkers through this routine; what kind of life is that? Did Thoreau and Socrates and Locke expose themselves to this way of life or would they be appalled by it? I think that we all must ask ourselves: why do we live like this, who says it has to be this way? Why cant I sit and hear a lecture on this sciences or philosophy in some remote field with others who share my interst and learn more there in an afternoon than in four years of high school. Once this was realitiy.
When was the last time you went into nature and sat in a spot where you knew nobody had been in ages? When was the last time you lay in the grass and watched the clouds? When was the last time you stopped and enjoyed a moment of something special? Now when was the last time you sat in endless traffic or the last time you spent a whole day running from point a to point b doing errands? And when was the last time you sat indoors watching Judge Judy on a beautiful day? The point is we get so caught up in things that dont matter in the bigger picture, who's gonna care in 20 years if you did your homework...its petty. People are killing themselves with the lifestyles they lead - stress, pressure, anxiety; these are caused by stupid things. This go, go, go life is taking its tole on all of us; we ned to get back to simpler times.
One question has baffled mankind since the begining of time; great philosophers argue it, poets dream of it, writers try to grasp it but still no one knows the answer to the meaning of life. Well, heres my 2 cents : I may not know the meaning of life, but I know what it isn't. Its not pushing paper all day in an office; its not stressing over a trig test, and its not sitting in a gas station watching the numbers on the pump change. You have to look for the answer; that's the fun of life. You wont find it on a billboard, or in a shopping mall. It might be in a sunset or in a long forgotten book; maybe it's in the reflection of a puddle or hidden in the lyrics of a song, or in the flicker of a candle in a dark room. Honestly, I don't waNt to find the answer.....I have more fun looking for it.
To tell the truth, the thing that got me thinking about life today in this fast-paced world was a movie. The other day I watched American Beauty; it was a really good movie and it got me thinking: What if one day I woke up and realized I was 40 and my life had lost something a long time ago, what would i do? Well, I'd rather not let that happen to me, especailly when I think how many people that has already happened to. In retrospect, what I'm trying to say is that when you find yourself overwhelmed by the day, stop and smell the roses, the lie down, relax and think about how beautiful the day is.

Wow, that was really and very truthful. WOW, it is a beautiful day:)

I'm at school, so I can't really tell. There is an overcast, but I like these kind of days! Cool air! Yeah, it pretty much is a great day!

Those thoughts have been in my head for the longest time. I did'nt know a way to express tehm, reading that was like lookin at a dyno chart while knowing your car was fast all along. :)

Ive often asked myself some of those same questions. If I had money enough to live the rest of my life. Id call my school and tell them I was dead, and then Backpack around the world, seeing all I could. Life is what you make it, so make it good.

That was one of the best things I've EVER read!:eek: My life for the most part is pitiful after reading that!:grey:

wow its been a while scince i read that.
not complaining though, its always good to have things put into perspective every once in a while. if for no other reason than to smack you in the head and show you just how out of focus your life has become while you werent looking

Godd points and rather poetic- but I just can't get what you have written to flow :(

The last part "of stop and smell the roses" is how I live my life. Wasn't always that way, but one day I realized that sweating the small shit wasn't doing any good.

Life is suffering. Relinquish all attatchment, desire, aversion, etc.. Then life will be "not suffering". Relinquish some attatchment, desire, aversion, etc.. Then life will be "less suffering".

I go for less.

Well put paragraph. American Beauty is a classic. So is Dazed and Confused.

I know this is old and some wont want it to come back from the dead but It kinda helps me to read it again. I know you don't want to listen to me but did you ever just have a period of time, a day, week, month... that its just so stressful that you don't think things are gonna get better? When you're about to just give up on the whole idea of life? That's how it is for me...it's been a few months now, as you can tell i havent been around. I read this now and I think, has all of this stress been worth it? Is there a reason for all of this....I know none of this makes sense, but I just thought that some should read this because while i get that it doesnt flow to some people, to me, just writing it helped and well...I don't know but maybe we all need to just "stop and smell the roses" because tomorrow, you might be dead.....

Thank you for this reminder. Worthwhile threads are just that because of their content, not because they are new.

There are times when I will ponder over much the same things........so many lives today are spent working for......what?.......to provide stuff, (goods or services) for other people that they don't really need.
Work seems to be for money to survive, for me, but not for fulfilment....The best parts of life are not work, not scholastic achievement; not recognition.

The best parts of life are when one is....somewhere or doing something that just seems so right; where all the forces of nature conspire to provide a moment of great beauty and ones soul just gets an overwhelming feeling of peace and contentment.

My country is cold and the summers are precious. In about May or June, when all the plants have recovered, one can have a perfect day, the perfect breeze, bright sunshine, fluffy clouds, complete peace and quiet in the countryside; an escape from it all. This is happiness and contentment, in a novel and perfect setting, after a long and tough winter.

Sometimes, a perfect moment occurs because of it reminds us of a previous, better time. Memories have a habit of polishing a moment, removing the pain or grief from our past ands just bringing out the best of all the events we have felt in the past.

Memories of summertimes past do this for me, beside a freshwater lake in the Muskokas, running across a warm beack sand and diving into the fresh cool clear waters of Georgian Bay.
Or getting out of the warm morning sun, into a cool barn, to be greeted with the aroma of freshly dried hay, the sharp whinny of my favourite horse in a morning greeting, in anticipation of the days ride. I am 14 again, the problems of adulthood have disappeared and the world is perfect.

Social moments, good times whth friends and family can do the same. Sometimes, there are evenings or parties that are perfect; everyone is happy, there is witty perceptive conversation at every turn and the warmth of fellowship and the strengthening or social bonds.

So, building moments like these are important. Sometimes I wish I had the time (and funds) to pursue such events and times. I know, as the years go by, my having to spend time working is a time thief, it steals the opportunities for me to find beauty in this world. I know, eventually, I will be on my deathbed, regretting the lost opportunities.
Perhaps, this forshadowing of regret can help be to make the leisure time I need, so better fulfil my life.

All there is to life is the experiences and for the lucky few, the people to share them with. People find their different paths in different ways, you just have to go where the experiences are good.

There is pudding too but thats temporary.

without the suffering of everyday life, you wouldn't have looked for something better. I think the same thing about our world sometimes, and wonder how this came to be... an unsatisfied monster of progress and vanity. But somehow this world works, and if your looking for it, every minute of your life can be learned from. If someone laughs at u, just remember they're full of shit. :loser:


i recommend watching Donnie Darko


ps.. death is only an end for those who want it to be.

This is my favorite sentence;

Honestly, I don't waNt to find the answer.....I have more fun looking for it.


Let your spirits free.

Society will only change when the people decide to change it. If you are truely unhappy with the way things are then change your life. Do what it is you want to do, even if this means never having a lot of money. If you are unhappy do what you makes you happy. Your life can only ever be what you make it to be. Also whenever you go buy a new electronic gadget or spend money on the newest "trendy" item then you are just supporting the way our society is.

When was the last time you went into nature and sat in a spot where you knew nobody had been in ages? When was the last time you lay in the grass and watched the clouds? When was the last time you stopped and enjoyed a moment of something special?

Yes. Thats what life is all about (IMO). Ok, a little while ago i was very upset with my life and the way things were going. Busted my ass at my job- got fired. Tried to do good in school- started failing. Tried to make every opportunity to help people yet get disrespected and taken advantage of in return. The people i thought were my friends really weren't. Then one day (beautiful day) walking out of the library on my college campus (extremely stressed and depressed) i drop my bag, lay across the grass, and just gaze at the clowds. I could just feel the looks of disgust at the impolitically correct action i have just displayed but i didn't care. For those few moments i felt happiness; happiness i haven't felt since my young childhood days. When i got up i realized that life is much more than you see and that you cannot be blind to the big picture. Now im doing great. Good grades. Don't have a job yet but i am currently searching hard. And life couldnt be better. Couldnt agree with you more Angel.

SeXy AnGeL .... Beautiful writing ..... a lot of people just don't get it, they rush through life, get to the end and go wtf?? Is that all ..... never relizing the journey is what life is all about ..... smell the roses, watch the ants, give your neighbor a hand, be nice to people you meet in public, don't be selfish .... etc, etc ....... personally, if I wake in the morning, it IS a good day