Memento Mori

[shalheira]

"Memento Mori" is a literary topic used specially in the Renaissance and Baroque. The translation of these words are "Remember that you will die". This sentence and its meaning for me are very important, and I reflected a lot about it.

My question is the following: What is life? What is your attitude towards life? Do you have an inexorability feeling? (in the philosophical way)

 

In my opinion, I think that life is a drama, we are choking continuosly but in some moments we can reach the top of the water and break our slavery chains, for finally finding moments of joy and happiness. Also I think that everything has an explanation and all, all happens for something.

 

 

 

P.S: I don't accept religious answers. As the admins could say, this kind of replies will be banned. Thanks ^^.

[doomjockey]

It's a very poetic question. And I like that translation, it's quite sobering.

What is life?

Life is that thing you do before you die and find out the next thing you do. Really, humans have no idea, and I believe anyone who says otherwise is selling wolf tickets.

What is your attitude towards life?

Life is chaos. Embrace the random and you fit right in. Try to follow a plan and it blows up in your face. Really, I think it's superb to ignore traditional values in favor of random chance. Case in point, I flip a coin everyday to decide whether I will walk, drive, or catch a bus to work. Or toss a few dice to decide what I'll do on the weekends which might make me f*cking crazy, but at least I'm not often bored. :thumbsup:

And friends. Good friends can turn a shi*ty life into Disneyland.

Do you have an inexorability feeling?

Depends. I know I'll die one day, but it seems far off and vague like release dates for games I wanna play. Sometimes life is just unavoidably... hard, y'know? But you can always make it better with friends.

[NewtC]

Life is an odd subject, and I would say it is when something somehow organizes itself in just the right way to give conciousness.

 

Life has no meaning unless you can make one small difference on the world, because then life has no purpose. Also, honestly, how can someone have fun when they are dead? ;D

 

To tell the truth, we all eventually just accept that we are all going to die some day. I think "momento mori" is another way of saying "Don't waste your life, use it while you have it."

[xenxander]

The biological function of all living things, conscious or not, is to breed. It’s engraved into the DNA. As humans we have the preverbal “I am” syndrome, so as a species try to derive meaning from existence. The purpose of life is to pass on life.

 

Also as sentient creatures, we can choose not to procreate (a choice I wish more people would come to), which does set us apart from most other living things. From this, then one tries to find a meaning if they are defying their genetic purpose. Meaning then comes in forms of music, art, comedy, invention, preservation, innovation, prediction; I’m going to stop here because from here we then attempt to find a ‘higher purpose’ or ‘higher power’ and that steers the debate into places that will break forum rules (and places I don’t care to go either, as I always try to keep people from feeding the Trolls).

 

It sounds hollow when someone understands the purpose of their life is to pass that life on, but not to me. I’m perfectly fine not having children and leaving the world to stupid people when I die. I don’t need to ‘leave my mark on the world’, because unlike the inner need of everyone to ‘be remembered’, I know what I have done and will be content with that.

 

If more were content with their own situation (I am referring to the final pages of their lives, not the ‘here and now’) then dying is simply a return and a rejuvenation (not to be confused with reincarnation though; I’m referring to your body ‘feeding the worms’ and restoring energy into the living).

 

I am not afraid of death, and I will make the most of my life. So in short, the purpose of your life is to live it – so live it well.

[Chesto]

Most excellent topic, shalheira!

 

Being , in the actuarial sense, nearer to the end of the natural progress of my particular bit of Life, and having given this very question much thought over the years, I've come to a conclusion which requires that I paraphrase the late, unlamented Mao.

 

When asked, probably in the 1950's, what he thought about the influence of the French Revolution on world politics, he replied: It's too soon to tell.

 

That pretty well sums up my attitude to Life. And it's inexorability that keeps me going.

[Malchik]

Life is mostly a string of routines which the unusual periodically interrupts. These unusual events can make us ecstatically happy or as miserable as it possible to be but without both you don't really understand the other. My aim is to spend as much time as 'content' as I can be - happy is essentially too rare to expect it continuously. I have few demands and many interests which helps I think. I will die in time, which does not worry me though I would prefer it not to be long drawn out or painful.

 

I see no higher purpose but each to his own.

[Abramul]

An interesting line I came across is "Life is what happens while you're making plans". It appears that this may have originated in a Beatles song, but I'm pretty sure that's not where I heard it.

 

I'm inclined to think that an individual's success or failure can (could, rather) be measured by how much they deflect the course of history. But that which conquered Ozymandias, still conquers.

[Chesto]

I'm inclined to think that an individual's success or failure can (could, rather) be measured by how much they deflect the course of history. But that which conquered Ozymandias, still conquers.

 

That's a bit of a bummer if all you've ever managed to deflect are light waves. Or is it sound waves? Just...waves.

[evilkoal]

The biological function of all living things, conscious or not, is to breed. It’s engraved into the DNA. As humans we have the preverbal “I am” syndrome, so as a species try to derive meaning from existence. The purpose of life is to pass on life.

 

Also as sentient creatures, we can choose not to procreate (a choice I wish more people would come to), which does set us apart from most other living things. From this, then one tries to find a meaning if they are defying their genetic purpose. Meaning then comes in forms of music, art, comedy, invention, preservation, innovation, prediction; I’m going to stop here because from here we then attempt to find a ‘higher purpose’ or ‘higher power’ and that steers the debate into places that will break forum rules (and places I don’t care to go either, as I always try to keep people from feeding the Trolls).

 

exactly. though my only desires are to destroy the universe (at least the world) before i die, so that no other living being may be able to enjoy it after myself, and to keep my loved ones happy no matter what (unless their being happy prevents me from destroying everything.) how do i know that the world is not all fake though? how do i know that anything is real? how do i know that people are not actually part of my imagination? maybe all things in this world that i live are imagined by me. how do i know though? how does anyone know?

 

saying these kind of things to anyone other than my closest friends would most likely land me in the psych ward though, so i tend to keep them to myself.

 

these things were typed in all seriousness.

[Chesto]

Hey evil... I was out walking in the forest the other day and a tree fell. But it didn't make any noise. Or maybe I had just been distracted by a weird sound I heard. Sort of a clapping sound. But as if made by only one hand.... Was that you?