discussion Do you consider a meaningful life different than a happy life?

[naval23]

See title.

 

Which do you think is more important?

[Adir]

Life can be meaningful and happy at the same time.
That being said, life is a journey, a very complex and bumpy one, there can be times where you can feel your life are meaningful but you're unhappy and the opposite.
It's all about balance and staying true to yourself and what you believe in.

[Zeferino]

Life is what you make of it.

 

Literatim from a tiktok comment I saw the day before my brother died (my birthday):

 

"Maybe the purpose in life is to have a nice day"

Edited November 9 by Zeferino

[EnigmaticAndroid]

I feel like it's very hard to be truly "happy" in life without having your own sense of meaning in it. You can find joy in life without it, but I'm not sure if you'd ever be content overall. 

 

The entirety of human history has seen people trying to find meaning in existence. Family, religion, self growth, careers/jobs, goals, art, writing and storytelling, human connection, spirituality and higher powers, using substances, doing things for enjoyment, seeking new experiences or change, etc. is all (typically) rooted in trying to develop meaning in life, maintain it, or communicate it. 

Edited November 9 by EnigmaticAndroid

[CristianGarcia]

A "happy life" doesn't exist. In order to feel happy about something you have to feel the downfall of it. Life is a balancing act… Which is why we get sleepy, then energized, hungry and then full. Everything else in life is all the same.

Edited November 9 by CristianGarcia

[Princess Aurora]

Hannah Montana once said 'Life Is What You Make It'

[LadyDiana]

I don't know how to live without your love, I was born to make you happy!

We are here to make other happy

[BGKC]

Most cultures believe the meaning of life is to simply procreate. Babies are literally born into a life of poverty against their will in the name of purpose every day. This is not to say it can be a sad, lonely life not to procreate or have a family, but the way people are fear mongered by that concept literally ruins lives. You can be happy/miserable with your choice in either situation. Anyone can be happy without having to meet the expectations of their family/society is the ultimate truth. Having a meaningful life is to simply make the world a better place (Or to make it worse)… living a happy, authentic life (through inevitable suffering) is definitely more important. There's enough meaning in that alone. To be miserable with meaning is just… not as ideal. 

Edited November 9 by BGKC

[JoeAg]

this is such a good questionnnnn okay Kierkegaard of ATRL @naval23 

 

I could immediately be cynical and say that happiness is fleeting and profound meaning in life consists of all kinds of moments relating to all kinds of different emotions, but my god when you experience pure joy isn't it like damn near revelatory sometimes? like imagine you have the best day ever and every moment is golden. you have a hot hookup in the morning, you go out to brunch with your roommate and get tipsy and laugh the day away, you go to a movie, you come up with brilliant ideas for new music and record them

in your voice memos, your voice sounds better than it has in months… obviously I'm drawing from experiences in my own life, but you get the picture. it's hard to say and I almost wanna say that I won't be able to have a true answer until i'm way older, but for now I'm inclined to say that yes, I consider them inherently different. I had to accept very young that I wouldn't be happy at every moment, but I like to make the most of stuff, and I wanna be healthy and perpetually learning and growing. I know a "happy life" obviously would have its ups and downs, but I want to not fear the downs. I want to approach them with as much fortitude as possible. but don't most of us want that? I'd rather have a full life rich with experiences and challenges and stepping WAY the f*ck out of my comfort zone than find happiness in stagnancy or oblivious routine. I'm willing to cherish my happy moments but not let them define me or determine my future anymore than my darker moments will. I don't give a sh*t if I come off angsty as this point either lol, so what? let me be angsty! let me be a goofball! I love thinking about stuff like this. I miss my philosophy classes in undergrad so much sometimes. I love how some days I'd resonate so hard and other days I wouldn't understand ANYTHING! there's something fun in there I could analyze, accepting that you may not understand everything so quickly and affirming to yourself that patience is EVERYTHING! allowing that is what can really change one's life in the first decade or so of adulthood 

[Suilen]

I'd say that I'm leading a meaningful life because my job (teaching) helps people, and some of my hobbies may have a good impact on others, but it's far from a happy one. I'd rather have both, I suppose.

[JoeAg]

4 minutes ago, BGKC said:

the way people are fear mongered by that concept ruins lives

this is soooo real

 

I don't know if I could fully dedicate to calling myself an anti-natalist cause there's so much to unpack there, but I don't think I see myself having a kid ever. of course there's that lingering internal FOMO that's a part of human nature for a lot of people of what could've been if my genetics were to mix with someone else's and I were to have a child who I could raise to become an incredible, open-minded adult—thanks St. Vincent for putting those feelings into a song lmao—but I have so many things in my own life I want to accomplish and experience and learn from that a child would snatch the energy and time away from for me. the fact that my parents were able to have 5 kids and still accomplish their goals is crazy to me (my mother in particular, she used to work for the FDA after wanting to for years for crying out loud lol) but to be honest their goals and what drives them in life feels more compatible with having kids. I wanna travel, I wanna teach, I wanna teach abroad, I wanna tour with my music, I wanna go to grad school and take my sweet time with progressing back in academia, I wanna continue learning and growing ad infinitum basically and I don't want the responsibility of having to take care of a child hold me back tbh

[tost1]

3 hours ago, Zeferino said:

teratim from a tiktok comment I saw the day before my brother died (my birthday):

 

"Maybe the purpose in life is to have a nice day"

This is nice, i might make it my philosophy 

[grAntVRIL]

yes

 

 

[єѕℓαм]

6 hours ago, Adir said:

Life can be meaningful and happy at the same time.
That being said, life is a journey, a very complex and bumpy one, there can be times where you can feel your life are meaningful but you're unhappy and the opposite.
It's all about balance and staying true to yourself and what you believe in.

.

[Revolution]

life is neither happy nor meaningful i fear

[WaterDiamonds]

There's always meaning, even in the smallest things; but happiness is seldom found.

If I had to choose, I'd go with happiness, because I doubt I could ever make an impact big enough to justify a lack of enjoyment in my brief stay on Earth