LIFE: your opinions in general and in detail are requested!

Knowing whose thread it is before opening - classic or dud?

Sure.

a.) If you are a cynical prick, what makes you think you're happy to be alive? (Just a question, not an accusation.)

Certainly sounds like an accusation. I'm cynical, but I'd like to think I'm not a prick (though I'm sure many will beg to disagree on that point). What makes me happy to be alive? My life, my wife, my friends, etc. For the most part, life is good.

a1.) As a cynical prick, do you get off on being "right" and "smart"?

Even those who claim to be free of cynicism enjoy being "right".

b2.) Does the definition of cynical really sound like someone who is happy to be alive? If you are a "cynical prick" who is "happy to be alive", maybe you are just reasonably distrustful?

Sounds to me like the question-master has a bit of a hang-up re: cynicism. I'm going to pass on this one.

b.) Do you have a healthy outlook on life?

More or less. Probably not for me to say, though.

c.) Would you want to live forever?

No.

c1.) If not, why? Why would someone who is "happy to be alive" want to die?

Not wanting to live forever does not necessarily mean wanting to die. I don't think I'd want to outlive all my loved ones and never "rest," nor find out the answer to "the big question," etc. I don't believe we were meant to live forever.

2.) Are you glad that you are alive? (Question 2 is not the same as question 1.)

Certainly.

a.) Would you want to live forever, since you are "glad that you're alive"?

Stupid question.

a1.) If not, doesn't death make you feel "ripped off", having now a taste of life?

Another stupid question.

a2.) If yes, why? Is it related to a fear of nonexistence or do you genuinely enjoy your unhappy life enough to want to live forever.

Yawn.

3.) Is your concept of life something much greater than being happy to be alive or simply glad to have lived?

I don't think it's that black'n'white.

a.) God's plan is life and you are a joyful servent of his master plan. ("My soul shall be joyful in my God." --Is. lxi. 10.; "Sad for their loss, but joyful of our life". --Pope.)

The Bible doesn't really speak for me. It makes an excellent doorstop, though.

b.) Life may or may not be "enjoyable", but I am fascinate by it. There is so much to consider and experience that being a whiny wuss about it is just narrowminded (unless, of course, life's been really bad to you, in which case I don't consider you a wuss)

Whatever. This is a stupid questionaire.

4.) Do you believe in God?

I'm somewhere between agnosticism and deism. I think there might be a God, but I'm not necessarily inclined to believe he/she/it is a beneficent force, nor do I believe he/she/it gets involved with proceedings "down here on Earth" at all. I also don't care too much about it.

5.) Do you think God would have to be a cruel and imperfect God to exist at all?

See above.

a.) Do you plan on having children?

That's an awfully personal question, but yes.

6.) Do you believe your opinions on life should be shared by everyone?

No. Life would be very dull if so.

7.) Do you believe your opinions on these matters will change before you die?

They might. Who knows what lies ahead?

8.) How do you feel about death?

I wouldn't say I'm particularly looking forward to it.

I mean, if the thread said, "LIFE: What do you think of it?" the thread might be more fun or funny, but it would almost certainly avoid existentialism, philosophy, religion, science, emotions, feelings and belief and go straight into "the usual" here at ILx. Don't you think?

Hell yes. If you would've asked me this ten years ago, I would've absolutely said no, but in the last several years I've grown to really appreciate life.

a.) If you are a cynical prick, what makes you think you're happy to be alive? (Just a question, not an accusation.)

I'm not cynical. I can't afford to be.

a1.) As a cynical prick, do you get off on being "right" and "smart"?

(I'm not a "cynical prick".)

I think that in most instances when one person might consider something "right" or "wrong", that there isn't really a "right" or "wrong", just differing opinions. My faith tells me there are indeed "right things" in this world, and I do sometimes think there are people who are in the "wrong", but that has more to do with actions and ways of living instead of opinions or anything cerebral. I wish also to be thought of as "smart"; in fact, my weakness involves being considered an "idiot" or even just thinking someone considers me as such.

b2.) Does the definition of cynical really sound like someone who is happy to be alive? If you are a "cynical prick" who is "happy to be alive", maybe you are just reasonably distrustful?

I read the definition and I do not think this person is going to be happy to be alive. I feel sad for this person. As I said before, I'm not a "cynical prick", so it isn't a contradiction. There are some times when I am distrustful of the human condition, but those are mainly to do with issues of security and personal protection and don't really come up that often.

b.) Do you have a healthy outlook on life?

I'd like to think that I do.

c.) Would you want to live forever?

Hell no. I look forward to what my faith teaches me is the afterlife.

c1.) If not, why? Why would someone who is "happy to be alive" want to die?

Because of what I said up above about looking forward to what I feel is the "afterlife". I'm a Christian and I want someday to join my God up in Heaven. I still am happy to be alive, and I would not willingly choose to end my life nor would I want my life ended before I've lived a long time, but that still has nothing to do with my looking forward to going to Heaven someday. It's just that I hope that someday ends up being many decades from now.

2.) Are you glad that you are alive? (Question 2 is not the same as question 1.)

I am this, too.

Example 1: You're not exactly happy to be alive, but having lived, you would somehow feel "ripped off" if you never had a chance to live -- realize, of course, this makes no sense; one who has never lived has never felt "ripped off" in its nonexistant life-- but is this how you feel?)

No. That doesn't describe me at all.

a.) Would you want to live forever, since you are "glad that you're alive"?

a1.) If not, doesn't death make you feel "ripped off", having now a taste of life?

a2.) If yes, why? Is it related to a fear of nonexistence or do you
genuinely enjoy your unhappy life enough to want to live forever.

These does not apply to me.

Example 2: It's not that you'd feel "ripped off" at all, you just are enjoying this opportunity at something and you'll ride it out to the end without much complaint.

I think this somewhat explains my point of view. A little.

Example 3: "I'd like to use my own words, thank you very much..."

Ok, well let me confess a few things here -- my dad is suffering from not one but two diseases that are very likely to cause his early death. Three years ago (ON MY BIRTHDAY, OF ALL DAYS), the doctors gave him six months to live. A couple of years before this, I was just getting over a suicidal point in my life. I tried to take my own life about five or six times. I was really serious, too. I swallowed bleach, hydrogen peroxide, a cocktail of pills mixed with booze, rubbing alcohol, whatever. Then I started getting into my faith, which I was before not involved with that much. The faith started giving me strength, started giving me a backbone to fend off all the negative energies I was experiencing at the time. (I explained this in detail in the "high school reunions" thread.) I think this is the reason why I didn't go off on the deep end when I found out about my dad's illnesses. Anyway, I've seen him fight to keep himself alive and vital through these last three years, and in witnessing this I've become a lot more appreciative of life in general, to the point where even when I feel like the world is crumbling around me I just could not even entertain thoughts of killing myself now.

3.) Is your concept of life something much greater than being happy to be alive or simply glad to have lived?

I suppose so. I have all these ideas rooted in faith, including my own particular belief that we each exist for a particular purpose, which we must fulfill in our lives before we can go on to the afterlife. And I'm one of these people who believes in the circle of life. (I'm grateful to my high school for providing me with those world religions lessons that enabled me to see things more clearly in regards to life in general and to my own faith.)

a.) God's plan is life and you are a joyful servent of his master plan. ("My soul shall be joyful in my God." --Is. lxi. 10.; "Sad for their loss, but joyful of our life". --Pope.)

I suppose this will probably be the one that fits me the most.

b.) Life may or may not be "enjoyable", but I am fascinated by it. There is so much to consider and experience that being a whiny wuss
about it is just narrowminded (unless, of course, life's been really
bad to you, in which case I don't consider you a wuss)

This makes sense to me too.

4.) Do you believe in God?

Yes I do. I do intensely and devoutly.

5.) Do you think God would have to be a cruel and imperfect God to exist at all?

No I don't. God is benevolent and perfect to me. I am close enough to God to consider God a parental figure, the Great Mother/Father Combination (I believe God is of both genders because that is the only way we all could be created in God's likeness) who watches over us and has a purpose for what happens to us in life. Haven't you ever noticed how after a particularly trying time, you feel humbled? Maybe you needed to be humbled.

a.) Do you plan on having children?

Not really, but I do plan on being a mother someday, whether or not I'm married. I'm still unsure as to whether I will get married someday, because I'm pessimistic about my chances with the opposite sex, but I do believe strongly in adoption and I desperately want to become a mother through adoption when the time comes. I guess God knew what my opinions on this subject would be, because I'm basically infertile at this time. If I wanted to become pregnant at this time, I'd have to move Heaven and Earth. I'd kinda like it to stay that way.

6.) Do you believe your opinions on life should be shared by everyone?

I don't, really. I recognize that people have differing opinions and I'm more than willing to agree to disagree on a great deal of things. (Good deal, because if I wasn't like that I wouldn't be here anymore, and I would then miss out on a great many wonderful and lovely people. You guys are the most intelligent, witty, and accomplished bunch I've ever seen online, and I am spoiled by this experience.)

7.) Do you believe your opinions on these matters will change before you die?

On which matters? Matters of life? I seriously doubt it. Maybe about the little minutia of life, the ones people get hung up on all the time, sure. But in regards to the above statements -- I'm fairly rigid on them.

8.) How do you feel about death?

I hope it comes when I'm somewhere in my nineties and that I'm still able to be active and independent when I pass on, because I never want to be a burden on anyone, but if God has a plan for me to pass on in another way, I will not try to fight it. I don't exactly look forward to death at the present moment because I feel I have so much more to accomplish in life, but death doesn't freak me out tremendously. It's one of those stages in the circle of life and to deny its existence would be folly.

Wow. This was an insightful exercise. Thank you for it.

Just wondering how different people feel about life, god, death, sex, etc. place in the universe kind of way, but I wanted to introduce less vague topics.

Also, the bit about cynicism is no form of attack at all, but I think people who are happy and social classify themselves as "cynics" incorrectly. I really don't think people who are truly cynical could possibly be happy... more like "glad to have been born", unless they get off on being "right" (Dennis Miller), but I don't know. That's why the questions were posed.

Just a train of thought. Obviously you can get on or off at any stop you like.

I think undue optimism or excessive idealism would be equally "sick". Why not strive for a healthy balance of both?

What if you're neither a cynic nor an idealist but rather a "realist"? You know, someone who consciously or unconsciously believes that any "elegant solutions" to life's complex issues cannot, will not possibly work, but is not so inclined against humanity as to automatically indict the lot? Maybe my own personal views on "cynicism" and being "cynical" about things revolve around my own personal realist-centered views on most life issues. Although I will admit to cynicism in terms of war and peace -- I truly do not believe that humanity is capable of effecting a world of peace without disastrous consequences. That feels like a slightly cynical point of view.

Scaredy Cat, I once again thank you for the questions. All I've done is answer them to the best of my abilities. I have so many thoughts and ideas about various things in life that it's sometimes hard to translate them verbally. And yes, I do feel much better about life in general. Funny how things happen like that.

b.) Do you have a healthy outlook on life?
Probably not, no. I suspect that one should be overflowing with love and joy and happiness - or at least some kind of strong emotions one way or another. Increasingly, I find myself apathetic and ambivalent about most things.

c.) Would you want to live forever?
No, because eventually everyone and everything is going to die out, and being alone would be pretty damned depressing (and probably uncomfortable, given the ways man would be exterminated).

c1.) If not, why?
Why would someone who is "happy to be alive" want to die? Because said "someone" might realize that life might not make them happy at some point in the future.

2.) Are you glad that you are alive? (Question 2 is not the same as question 1.)
I guess, yeah. Again, kind of ambivalent, but leaning toward glad on this one.

a.) Would you want to live forever, since you are "glad that you're alive"?
No, as explained above. Situations change, and too much of a thing that makes you happy/glad can go bad. I really like(d) drugs, but that doesn't mean I want to be high/coked-out-of-my-gourd/tripping forever.

3.) Is your concept of life something much greater than being happy to be alive or simply glad to have lived?

Not those specific concepts necessarily, but nothing that could be described as "greater."

4.) Do you believe in God?
No. I don't reject the possibility, but I consider it highly unlikely, not worth worrying about and ultimately it wouldn't change my life/personality/beliefs whatsoever.

5.) Do you think God would have to be a cruel and imperfect God to exist at all?
No. If there existed an omniscient and omnipotent deity, then said deity could (if it chose) make everyone's life happy and perfect.

a.) Do you plan on having children?
Doubtful, but always possible.

6.) Do you believe your opinions on life should be shared by everyone?
I don't really care either way.

7.) Do you believe your opinions on these matters will change before you die?
Doubtful.

8.) How do you feel about death?
Not much at all. A good reason to have fun and "live" while you're here, but (as a character on some TV show said), I didn't have any problem not existing for 10 billion years, I don't think 10 billion more will bother me.

1.) Are you happy to
be alive?
Yes. Even when I'm not happy it's better than the other option.

a.) If you are a
cynical prick, what makes you think you're happy to be alive? (Just a question,
not an accusation.)
I'm not cynical. I'm resigned to some stuff and I sound cynical sometimes. I'll answer anyway, though: there are things that make me happy. I like that I just had a bowl of ice cream. I hate boredom more than almost anything, so the idea of being dead is like being eternally bored and that sounds AWFUL, so I'll be bored with distractions at least.

a1.) As a cynical
prick, do you get off on being "right" and "smart"?
yes.

b2.) Does the definition of cynical
really sound like someone who is happy to be alive? If you are a "cynical
prick" who is "happy to be alive", maybe you are just reasonably
distrustful?
cynical prick sounds like someone who always expects the worst-case scenario. that doesn't mean that person couldn't still enjoy aspects of life that make it worthwhile.

b.) Do you have a
healthy outlook on life?
I try not to think about it much, it can be unpleasant.

c.) Would you want to live forever?
No., but I want to live for a long time.

c1.) If not, why?
Because I might get tired of it and feel like I've outlived my purpose and want to see what's next someday.

Why would someone who is "happy to be alive" want to die?
To move onto the next thing? I don't want to die, though.

2.) Are you glad that
you are alive? (Question 2 is not the same as question 1.)
Example 1: You're
not exactly happy to be alive, but having lived, you would somehow
feel "ripped off" if you never had a chance to live -- realize,
of course, this makes no sense; one who has never lived has never felt "ripped
off" in its nonexistant life-- but is this how you feel?)
That isn't at all how I feel. In fact it doesn't even make sense to me.

a.) Would you want
to live forever, since you are "glad that you're alive"?
No, immortality might suck.

a1.) If not, doesn't
death make you feel "ripped off", having now a taste of life?
Yes, yes. It's not fair.

a2.) If yes, why? Is it related to a fear of nonexistence or do you
genuinely enjoy your unhappy life enough to want to live forever.
If I were to die now, I would miss SO MUCH that I haven't experienced or still enjoy. Also, I dread nonexistence. So both, but more the first, because it makes me more angry than afraid.

Example 2: It's not
that you'd feel "ripped off" at all, you just are enjoying this opportunity
at something and you'll ride it out to the end without much complaint.
That expresses my attitude towards the "glad to be alive" question, actually.

3.) Is your concept of
life something much greater than being happy to be alive or simply glad to have
lived?
Not much greater, but I think I need to figure out how to stop focusing on myself so much.

a.) God's plan
is life and you are a joyful servent of his master plan. ("My soul shall
be joyful in my God." --Is. lxi. 10.; "Sad for their loss, but joyful
of our life". --Pope.)
No.

b.) Life may or may not be "enjoyable", but I am fascinated
by it. There is so much to consider and experience that being a whiny wuss
about it is just narrowminded (unless, of course, life's been really
bad to you, in which case I don't consider you a wuss)
Excuse me, I want to be a whiny wuss AND fascinated AND enjoy it.

4.) Do you believe in
God?
No, but I think sometimes there must be something in the role of, well, being beyond my self, and that's what I'd think of as God.

5.) Do you think God
would have to be a cruel and imperfect God to exist at all?
No. I think we're cruel and imperfect.

a.) Do you plan on having
children?
I'm only seventeen!

6.) Do you believe your
opinions on life should be shared by everyone?
Absolutely NOT. I don't know a thing and if everyone shared my opinions (or total lack of such) we'd be in a sad, sad spot.

7.) Do you believe your
opinions on these matters will change before you die?
I hope so, what's the point if they don't?

8.) How do you feel about
death?
I'm scared of it, both the pain aspect and the nonexistence aspect (or hell, but I'm less likely to believe in that). also i'm angry that it comes before people are ready. and i'm a bit - what's the word here? shocked, but a more static version - at how little i know about it.

if anyone actually reads that, i'm sorry for you ;)

IMMORTALITY — would any of your responses be different regarding this concept if immortality was natural for people and we just kept populating new planets... would that be preferable to death? Or an "immortal soul" type concept. If your soul could live on after a physical death, go up to heaven (let's say) and decide what it wants to do next, would that be preferable to death? I realize many people believe in an immortal soul, anyway, so that question is really for those who dont, I guess.

Sure 'nuff.

a.) If you are a
cynical prick, what makes you think you're happy to be alive? (Just a question,
not an accusation.)

?? I don't speak your strange moon language.

a1.) As a cynical
prick, do you get off on being "right" and "smart"?

I'd rather be left and smart, thanks.

b2.) Does the definition of cynical
really sound like someone who is happy to be alive? If you are a "cynical
prick" who is "happy to be alive", maybe you are just reasonably
distrustful?

Nanu nanu (no really, you're off on some tangent here...it's OK, though, I'll stick around)

b.) Do you have a
healthy outlook on life?

As opposed to a diseased outlook? Yeah, I think so. If I forget to exercise it regularly, it can go a little flabby. But generally healthy, sure.

c.) Would you want to live forever?

I have no idea. But I do know it ranks pretty low on my list of "what if I could" things, definitely below flying and being invisible and having a girl in every port.

c1.) If not, why?
Why would someone who is "happy to be alive" want to die?

I never get anything done without a deadline.

2.) Are you glad that
you are alive? (Question 2 is not the same as question 1.)

Yeah yeah yeah.

Example 1: You're
not exactly happy to be alive, but having lived, you would somehow
feel "ripped off" if you never had a chance to live -- realize,
of course, this makes no sense; one who has never lived has never felt "ripped
off" in its nonexistant life-- but is this how you feel?)

Um...I don't really know what you're talking about here. But I'm pretty sure that's not the way that I feel.

a.) Would you want
to live forever, since you are "glad that you're alive"?

a1.) If not, doesn't
death make you feel "ripped off", having now a taste of life?

I dunno. Let me get a taste of death and I'll compare notes.

a2.) If yes, why? Is it related to a fear of nonexistence or do you
genuinely enjoy your unhappy life enough to want to live forever.

Example 2: It's not
that you'd feel "ripped off" at all, you just are enjoying this opportunity
at something and you'll ride it out to the end without much complaint.

Boo'shi'. I'll complain as much as I want to, dammit.

Example 3: "I'd
like to use my own words, thank you very much..."

I would like to use my own words, and my own words are:
fremzyphilic
calamocka
bursteen mizzle
wooly booly

3.) Is your concept of
life something much greater than being happy to be alive or simply glad to have
lived?

Right now? My concept of life is... my wife asleep in the next room keeping the bed warm a glass of wine a window a/c unit a picture on the window sill of my wife smoking a cigarette at her brother's wedding...and that's just the beginning...so, yeah, much greater.

a.) God's plan
is life and you are a joyful servent of his master plan. ("My soul shall
be joyful in my God." --Is. lxi. 10.; "Sad for their loss, but joyful
of our life". --Pope.)

Whatever

b.) Life may or may not be "enjoyable", but I am fascinated
by it. There is so much to consider and experience that being a whiny wuss
about it is just narrowminded (unless, of course, life's been really
bad to you, in which case I don't consider you a wuss)

Life is marvelous and all, but it comes fully equipped with pain. Some people have more pain than others, sure, but nobody rides for free.

4.) Do you believe in
God?

Whose god do you mean? If I told you I believed Christ was the bastard child of a 200-foot platinum rooster, would that count as "god" to you?

5.) Do you think God
would have to be a cruel and imperfect God to exist at all?

Well, you did read that bit about "in his image" right?

a.) Do you plan on having
children?

I'd like to have kids, yes.

6.) Do you believe your
opinions on life should be shared by everyone?

Only if I can share theirs too. Otherwise, I'm hangin' on to mine.

7.) Do you believe your
opinions on these matters will change before you die?

Not as much as a lot of other things about me (my hair, my waist, my teeth, my lens prescription...)

8.) How do you feel about
death?

Interested but not hurried.

sometimes yes. sometimes no. In the end what does it really matter? I didn't have a choice in being born into my life and am too chickenshit to choose my exit.

a.) If you are a
cynical prick, what makes you think you're happy to be alive? (Just a question,
not an accusation.)

I *really* don't get this question. Wouldn't a cynical prick not be happy to be alive? Are you asking why a cynical prick would think that other people were happy to be alive?

If the former, proofread. If the latter, as a cynical bitch, I would say because they don't know any better.

a1.) As a cynical
prick, do you get off on being "right" and "smart"?

not as much as I used to. Mainly b/c I'm not as "right" and "smart" as I used to be.

b2.) Does the definition of cynical
really sound like someone who is happy to be alive? If you are a "cynical
prick" who is "happy to be alive", maybe you are just reasonably
distrustful?

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? How is a cynical prick someone who's happy to be alive?? Did I smoke some sherm earlier and forget about it? These questions are making no sense. . .

b.) Do you have a
healthy outlook on life?

ask me when I'm sober. And have been taking my medication.

c.) Would you want to live forever?

HAHAHAHAHA

c1.) If not, why?

B/C life's a fucking bitch, baby. Didn't you get the memo?

Why would someone who is "happy to be alive" want to die?

I don't know. I'm not one of these people and can't read into their brains. What exactly are you on about?

2.) Are you glad that
you are alive? (Question 2 is not the same as question 1.)

I guess. What difference does it make? How could I know anything else in order to rationally answer this question?

Example 1: You're
not exactly happy to be alive, but having lived, you would somehow
feel "ripped off" if you never had a chance to live -- realize,
of course, this makes no sense; one who has never lived has never felt "ripped
off" in its nonexistant life-- but is this how you feel?)

I would probably feel relived if I had never been born and could have the ability to recognize this turn of events.

a.) Would you want
to live forever, since you are "glad that you're alive"?

i already answered this question . .

a1.) If not, doesn't
death make you feel "ripped off", having now a taste of life?

not really. It's like taxes, you know, inevitable.

a2.) If yes, why? Is it related to a fear of nonexistence or do you
genuinely enjoy your unhappy life enough to want to live forever.

I give up. You aren't making sense.

What's the point of this again??

Yes. If God exists, and I am not God, there must be opposition between God and me, and the only way for this opposition to be manifest is through something which defies what I would otherwise want - i.e., some act of cruelty, however brief.

"all things are so very uncertain, and that's exactly what makes me feel reassured"

Sure, however you feel about God is what counts.

Thanks, everyone, for some good responses.

Bruce Almighty to thread

however, the idea that God can be God AND cruel/imperfect makes no sense. like the stupid 'why does God allow suffering?' question - God does not, people do.

Oh, I don't know about that. Ever read Philip K. Dicks's concept of God and "the artifice"?