Meaning of life Options

[*mipadi*]

Lately I've felt myself in a nihilistic quandary, a Nietzchean void of chaos and uncertainty, if you will. I feel like this insecurity is due to the fact that my life seems almost complete devoid of meaning. I wake up most mornings around 7 AM. I take a shower. I have a cup of yogurt or a bow of Cracklin' Oat Bran for breakfast. I go to class at 8 AM. I have calculus most mornings, except Thursday, which is a comp sci lab. I diligently take notes in calculus. I come back to my room by 9 AM. I dally around on the computer for a while. Then I go to more class. Then I come back and waste more time on the computer, or napping. I go to my final class. Then I go to work, where I hammer out a few dozen lines of code, fix some bugs, whatever. Go back to my room, mess around on the computer, not really producing anything worthwhile. Maybe I play a video game. Maybe I nap. Probably I nap. Maybe I study later in the evening. I might even eat somewhere in there. Then I scramble to finish up some homework, and head to bed for another day of the same.

And little of what I do during the day seems to have any meaning whatsoever. Everything I do seems to be an attempt to expend the least amount of effort possible, as though I am so completely sapped of energy that the slightest effort is impossible.

I feel like I used to spend much more time giving my life meaning. I used to write extensively, which forced me to really think about the world around me, and my experiences. I used to interact with people more regularly. I used to at least read and synthesize information.

This is disappointing, because I strongly feel in making each day worthwhile. I am a strong atheist. My atheism has led me to realize that it is important to make everyday count, because we only get one shot at life. Yet, I feel that I rarely make everyday count. I make very few days count, in fact.

But this post is not about me. The above anecdote was just a lead-in to the real question: Do you make each day count? Do you live so as to give your life meaning? If so, how? How do you feel that your life, or any person's life, can be given meaning? In short, what do you do to make living worthwhile, to use your mental and physical faculties in the most productive way? I'm not asking what the general meaning of life is; I don't intend for the usual answers. I'm interesting in seeing what you as an individual does to give your life meaning each day.

[*mipadi*]

It's certainly not off-topic. In fact, you make a wonderful point--I believe life is all about doing that which brings you joy. If joy is playing guitar in a band, or watching cartoons every morning, or ready trashy romance novels, then by all means go for it. Like I said, you only get one shot at life--might as well make the most of it while it lasts. However, my anecdote was meant to show that I'm not really spending my time doing what I'd like to do; my life is mostly a dull monotony that I am feeling, more and more, is wasted.

Not that I think my life is bad, of course; it's just boring. I have the opportunity to make it more interesting, but I haven't been doing that as of late.

Which brings me round to my earlier point of questioning everyone else on what they do to bring meaning to their lives.

[lKVNiiKINKYl]

Which brings me round to my earlier point of questioning everyone else on what they do to bring meaning to their lives.

For me, as corny as it may sound, is my sport - Crew (rowing). I loathe school and I have the type of parents who never let there kid out because they are freakishly over protective, but when I'm at practice, I always feel so much happier. Yes, there are days that I am like "OH MY GOSH WHY THE EFF AM I STILL DOING THIS", but as soon as my eyes catch a glimpse of the river and I see people who have become family to me, all of that goes away and I am happy. Although season is offically only from March - June, I am involved with all of the "Crew" related practices throughout the year and I always look forward to that. It is my second year doing it and we have practice 3 days a week during the summer (June - End of August), Tuesday and Thursday practices during fall conditioning (September - Winter Break), every day during pre-season (January & Febuary), and then we start the cycle again. It seems so repetitive, but I can honestly say that I love it and that is what brings meaning to my life.