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Permalink Reply by Gary C. on July 12, 2010 at 1:37am

What do I live for? I never really ask myself that, which is probably a good thing. Thinking about it, I really have nothing in my life at the moment worth living for now besides my handful of close friends. What keeps me going in school and life in general is just to get far away from here and basically start my whole life over. This is pretty sad to me. I wish I had a great life with a family and a lot of friends that I love to be with but I don't.

I am absolutely disgusted with our species in general. Sometimes I just wish we would have gone extinct tens of thousands of years ago. It seems that we cause much more trouble in this world then good. There is probably tens of thousands of species to have gone extinct because of us.

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Permalink Reply by Roy The Infidel on July 12, 2010 at 11:48am

what keeps you going? What do you wake up for?

More knowledge. Each day is a new opportunity to improve and better myself. Main reason why I am here on A|N is to learn and I have found some very interesting minds so that for me is a treat.

Simple things. Daily doses of laughter and the company of good friends although I lost two in recent years to cancer so this for me is a big adjustment.

Help somebody. When I lost my mother in mid-2008 it devastated me. I dreaded the day but it came so suddenly and I wasn't prepared for it as I was with my dad's death in 2005. One day in late 2008, I agreed to take a sickly 78 year old man to the hospital. His last medical check-up was still in 2007. His kids (one of whom is a friend) are all grown up and are scattered all over the globe. The old man lives alone with a caregiver who tends to his daily needs. It has been almost two years now that I've been juggling my schedule just so I can squeeze his routine hospital visits into my planner. He is being treated for Myelodysplastic syndrome or formerly known as "preleukemia", stage 1 Parkinson's disease, and psychosis. Yes, lots of specialist M.D.s to see. Though the old man is a devout Catholic, we never discussed religion. It's all science. He has since successfully regained his mental health and his latest blood count is all good. It's been quite a ride frankly for both of us but I gave him my word that I will see him through until it's time. I still miss my mother but I was able to convert my grief into something pure and good.

Travel light. I know it's a crazy world we live in. It wears us down seeing all the madness and stupidity mankind is capable of. But it's all up to you to find or make sense of it. And I am prepared to go should my stop is near.

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Permalink Reply by Roy The Infidel on July 13, 2010 at 4:56am

If I may add:

A beautiful song keeps me going.


If you didn't care what happened to me,
And I didn't care for you,
We would zig zag our way through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain.
Wondering which of the buggars to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing.

You know that I care what happens to you,
And I know that you care for me.
So I don't feel alone,
Or the weight of the stone,
Now that I've found somewhere safe
To bury my bone.
And any fool knows a dog needs a home,
A shelter from pigs on the wing.

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Permalink Reply by Fabio on July 12, 2010 at 1:05pm

Why do I wake up each morning? Well, I have set goals for myself and that's far from being a cliché. Life as a godless individual can indeed be a frustrating experience. Humanity as a whole does seem to be somewhat stuck in an eternal cycle of crap and nonsense. That's why I've promised myself I'd live my life with the objective of changing that to the best of my capabilities, little by little. That's why I'm setting out to become a researcher, it struck me as a really exciting way to do my part. Sure, all in all we're a sad lot, but looking at what we've accomplished despite that, one can't deny that we're a sad lot with a lot of potential. A chance to put that potential to good use is all it takes for me to get up in the morning and just do my best.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Rogers on July 12, 2010 at 1:12pm

If you spend your whole life worrying about the "big picture" all the time, you'll miss living your part in it. Sounds selfish, but since I have zero control over the big picture, I'd rather spend this brief flash between eternities living this life as best I can for me and my family. For me, this one life I have, is plenty to live for.

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Permalink Reply by Andrey on July 12, 2010 at 2:22pm

I wake up to see the future. I have a taste in a beautiful genre of music and it's incredible at how good it sounds.

Ignore all the bad and look at the good side, our progression, and if we destroy our planet, then it just happens, we can't help it. But if it stops, and doesn't occur, think of what's next. The prosperity of people, advancement, exploration of the universe. Try to imagine of how much of the universe is hidden from us, imagine of how much we know in comparison to the magnitude of this universe. Imagine if there is life beyond our own little world, what that could mean, how i would change everything.

Don't you want to see what happens next?

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne P. Sharp on July 12, 2010 at 6:25pm

Scary question and if not careful an Achilles heel for an atheist. You know it is only a dellusion for the god followers and don't think for a second they bounce out of bed vibrating with jesus love. You are asking as if we are missing something. Please don't misunderstand. Through natural selection the strongest meanest, biggest, nastiest generally were the ones to procreate. Here we are today. We don't need those traits anymore. I RELATE TO YOU!!! i am 47,slapped around by life a lot, and fight pessimism daily because most people I meet are vile and repugnant and our society is in decline. What do I do to cope? I look for it. All around you. You aren't looking. ADD THE LETTER "O" TO god. A plant I thought had died but through care now blooms, the older lady at the grocery struggling to unload her cart but you help, the feral cat behind your work eating the last bite of your sandwich you tossed her, a sincere greeting with eye contact and a smile at the convenience store clerk whether it is returned or not. Stupid corny crap but it works. When was the last time you took a blanket in the backyard and just stared at the sky at dusk and into the evening. Corny, again I know, but it works for me. You must have three things: someone/something to love.......someone/something to love you.......something to look forward to...........(doesn't have to be dramatic just something to look forward to even if it's nothing but checking the replies to your post.....)

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Permalink Reply by Adia Lynette on July 12, 2010 at 9:39pm

I'm bipolar and an atheist, and I have openly admitted that sometimes it sucks. The bipolar causes me to want to kill myself at least once a week, and often I don't have any reason not to other than the fact it'd probably cause my mom to go crazy. I lost faith in humanity ages ago and the trio of atheism, bipolar, and nihilism can be rough.

What keeps me going are the small experiences I guess. Sometimes it a passage in a book that makes my flesh go all pimply. Sometimes it's going to school and learning something that keeps me reflecting for days. I went to Florence and all the art made me cry from sheer joy. My cat got into my room last week and when I woke up and she was positioned in a way that was so cute that I had to laugh. Before I became celibate, a good orgasm (the kind that makes you twitch, lol) could do it.

Now, bipolars are notorious for feeling things deeper and longer than the average person. But I don't see why my model couldn't work for you too. I don't bother with people because they are horrible and they always disappoint. I just find little things throughout the day that help me. You have to train yourself to do it, but once you get going it's fun. Stop looking outside yourself and your personal experience for happiness. The world is shit - doesn't mean your life has to be. Be selfish. Drop the "we" and be a "me".

Cheers,

Adia

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Permalink Reply by Dale on July 13, 2010 at 8:36pm

Always a good question, luckily my last name gives me a great advantage... damn, that joke fell flat. My last name is Cope.

Anyway, what makes it all worth it in a godless society and one with no afterlife. Well, honestly, I spent enough time thinking about it and if any of the Abrahamic religions is right, I don't think there would be hope. But, without God that means there is no eternal plan which means that I have a chance to do something for this world. Without an afterlife means that I only have one chance to get it right. Ultimately I have made my list of goals and they keep me going very well. On that list I chose two things that I can only resolve completed at the end of my time on this planet. To Inspire others and to change the world for the better. I have chosen to live my life for the future of humanity, because as long as I know some people who can keep me inspired I hope to inspire as many as possible myself. And to say the least, I have met many to keep me going until my light burns out. I hope that is a long way off.

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Permalink Reply by Tracie Scheiding on July 14, 2010 at 12:11am

I wake up for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, my family. My husband, my two children, they're everything to me and seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter... it can make just about anything okay.

I wake up for coffee. The smell, the taste... I wake up for music. For discovering a new band or hearing a great song that makes you want to cry or dance or both.

I wake up to learn, to see and do new things, to try a new hobby or learn a new skill.

But mostly I wake up because if I don't, my kids will just jump on my spine until I do. ;)

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Permalink Reply by Charles on July 14, 2010 at 5:25pm

There is a lot to live for.There is time to be spend with family and friends.There is beauty in the natural world.I'm glad to be an atheist.Where is there hope in religion?Even if there was a heaven I don't think I'd want to go.Seems to much like a hell being around all Christians.

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Clare Dotson on July 14, 2010 at 8:14pm

Good question, I don't know, other than the fact that I like this thing called living seems to do just fine for me right now. You know the definition of life is the absence of death and the definition of death is the absence of life. I avoid people that I don't like and hang with those that I do. Other than that, I make my own purpose for living and enjoy every moment of it.

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