# Reasons to Live



## missjayjay (May 5, 2014)

That feeling in my gut; that little voice inside my head that keeps telling me to move forward, that the best is yet to come and I should never stop. That little gut feeling that pulls me right out of my deep existential crisis, just as well as it causes one.


----------



## Coldspot (Nov 7, 2011)

My reason is that I influence the world towards being a better place while I still breathe. I will not willingly stop making ripples in the pond.


----------



## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

I can die anytime. Today, tomorrow or next week. If it's my time to go, I'll go. I will not rush myself into anything and live while I'm still alive.


----------



## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

1. It would be really painful no matter what method
2. I would upset my immediate family
3. No more donuts


----------



## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

My kids!

(Sorry you feel like that btw)


----------



## Biracial (Sep 8, 2010)

cosmicyeti said:


> 1. I can die any moment i want to. Today, tomorrow, in six months, in ten years. The option is always avalable. Death is easy.
> 2. After everything that i've been through why die now?



hilarious


----------



## lunai (Feb 22, 2014)

I figure that we will have all of eternity to spend dead, so there is no rush. Only so many years to spend living. So we may as well take what we are given and find a way to make the most of it.


----------



## CosmicYeti (Dec 15, 2014)

Biracial said:


> hilarious


elaborate


----------



## phoenix_9 (Nov 22, 2014)

I don't think I'll have a problem OD-ing when I'm old..straight talk...Be the best way to die IMO...Til then, hell no


----------



## TheEpicPolymath (Dec 5, 2014)

Music


----------



## Im FiNe (Oct 17, 2013)

Um...it seems to me that there are conditions that produce pain that don't get better. The pain does not go away but increases over time. Consider advanced stages of cancers especially sarcomas, different neuropathy conditions, fibromyalgia, arthritis, cluster headaches, and so on.

Then there are those that are intense but do eventually go away (or can go away with access to treatment), like shingles, kidney stones, cholecystitis, and the like.

That's for the "physical" pains. My hunch is that the psychological/emotional/spiritual pains that people may endure could follow suit. Some may be of the chronic and continuously more painful varieties while most are of the acute variety. It seems that most people think that this type of pain isn't real on one hand and should be easy enough to get over on the other hand just by _being more normal_.

So, based upon what was offered in the OP, I certainly don't feel that offering, "Things will get better" is necessarily true. I reserve the possibility that the OP was written in a hyperbolic manner, but I choose to begin by listening to the assessment. The condition is one that will continue to get worse.

I don't think that I really fit that category of person. I do experience pain. I do experience chronic psychological/emotional/spiritual pain. I don't expect it to ever fully leave. I haven't experienced it as getting worse but perhaps sometimes more difficult to bear because it persists and is tiring.

Why do I go on or rather, why don't I self terminate? Fear mostly with perhaps a tiny dash of hope. [_It certainly has nothing to do with talk of "things getting better" or "coming up with your own reason to live". That's absurdity to me._]


----------



## HoldenCawffled (Feb 25, 2015)

My bucket list.


----------



## Ninjaws (Jul 10, 2014)

I think of it as having worst 20 years (the "school years") behind me already, so it can only get better from this point onward. Not that I have any high expectations (those tend to lead to disappointment), but as long as I don't feel like shit all the time it will be alright.


----------



## Lexicon Devil (Mar 14, 2014)

Clyme said:


> I'm probably going to at least one of the many versions of hell that have been written about if any religion has any ounce of truth to it.
> 
> In any case, I live to take care of my girlfriend. She's my entire life and I literally live to make her happy. That is the only thing that keeps me going.


If you desire to care for another, you don't go to hell.


----------



## Clyme (Jul 17, 2014)

Jeff Felis said:


> If you desire to care for another, you don't go to hell.


For many, many religions, if you believe in the wrong god, you go to hell.

Which version of hell am I saved from if I live as a decent person? The Buddhist hell?


----------



## Lexicon Devil (Mar 14, 2014)

Clyme said:


> For many, many religions, if you believe in the wrong god, you go to hell.
> 
> Which version of hell am I saved from if I live as a decent person? The Buddhist hell?


First, I am Influenced by Buddhist writings but I am not a Buddhist. 

FWIW, I don't believe in hell except for self-imposed guilt (not remorse). I do believe in an NDE life review--where we will relive the good and bad that we have done for purposes of learning--while enveloped by love.


----------



## EbonyTigger (Apr 13, 2012)

Popinjay said:


> On days like today I think, "I have nothing to look forward to except increasing pain and agony...why am I bothering?" Then I'm reminded of my anti-suicides:
> 
> 1. Fear of going to Hell
> 2. It would utterly destroy my mother (and she's my best friend)
> ...



I hope things improve for you, if you don't mind me asking - what's causing your pain?

*hugs*


----------



## Clyme (Jul 17, 2014)

Jeff Felis said:


> First, I am Influenced by Buddhist writings but I am not a Buddhist.
> 
> FWIW, I don't believe in hell except for self-imposed guilt (not remorse). I do believe in an NDE life review--where we will relive the good and bad that we have done for purposes of learning--while enveloped by love.


I see.

My original comment about the likelihood of going to hell was a sarcastic response to the notion of hell introduced in the OP. I don't believe in any version of heaven, hell, purgatory, or otherwise. I don't believe in an afterlife, in reincarnation, in ghosts, or any of that. When we die, our body breaks down and our atoms are recycled. That's what I believe


----------



## Popinjay (Sep 19, 2011)

EbonyTigger said:


> I hope things improve for you, if you don't mind me asking - what's causing your pain?
> 
> *hugs*
> 
> In answer to your question though, I live for my cats.


It's a combination of things. I'm facing a lifetime of manic episodes and my own stupidity during them (such as dumping my long-time psychiatrist and going off meds, etc.). My dad is getting dementia way way WAY too early. My mom isn't in the greatest of health. I have no girlfriend and have no prospects. I have to take boat loads of an antipsychotic so I can sleep at night, which precludes jogging in the morning so I'm out of shape. My car, which is still under warranty, seems to be in constant need of repair. I need two dental implants (which cost a fortune) and I'm just living with the pain right now. My parents live in a house that is falling apart and their social security will barely cover living expenses. Did I mention my job? I passionately hate my job working in I.T. and desperately want to switch careers to ANYTHING else (business, behavioral sciences, etc.). And ignoring some other minor issues, I hate myself. I can't play the piano like I used to thanks to hand issues and I feel like I'm getting dumber as I get older.

Positives: I don't have any life-threatening illnesses...no small thing. I make okay money if I'm only funding myself.

The real issue isn't these issues. I'm dealing with them. The issue is every one of these areas will unquestionably get worse and there's really nothing positive to live for except my parents, with at least one of them on the way out.


----------



## cardinalfire (Dec 10, 2009)

I keep thinking of that soundgarden song 'the day I tried to live'.


----------

