Is it actually worth it?

.. perhaps ☕

For years now, I have been listening to people during those rare moments of true, raw communication... though, most of the time, these conversations are just a parade of worn-out clichés and brainwashed opinions lacking any semblance of critical thought—not to mention a total absence of actual reflection

There is this one unargued phrase that keeps repeating itself

"It isn't worth it"... whether they mean it isn't worth the irritation, or the time, or the money, or some tenth other thing... I suppose it should be obvious to you all... if it truly isn't, then just give ☕

Meanwhile, I have spent upwards of 30 years observing... watching how people act, how they conduct themselves... analyzing it (which I don't see as a flaw, provided one actually uses their brain), and reflecting on it..

Is life really "easier" if nothing holds value? If nothing is ever sought after? Because, frankly, I haven't encountered anyone who finds anything genuinely valuable... to them, everything is simply "not worth it"

I am speaking about that primal level of truth, when you look someone in the eye... amidst the lies, the history of deception, and the constant persuasion toward falsehood... in that vision of the human being, I find no sense of value, and they seem to confirm this through both their actions and their words... that they essentially possess no concept of what is worthwhile

whereas a sense of worthlessness seems to be everywhere☕

The question is quite simple;

.. what is actually worth something?!

Lawrence Bailey77 said:.. perhaps ☕

For years now, I have been listening to people during those rare moments of true, raw communication... though, most of the time, these conversations are just a parade of worn-out clichés and brainwashed opinions lacking any semblance of critical thought—not to mention a total absence of actual reflection

There is this one unargued phrase that keeps repeating itself

"It isn't worth it"... whether they mean it isn't worth the irritation, or the time, or the money, or some tenth other thing... I suppose it should be obvious to you all... if it truly isn't, then just give ☕

Meanwhile, I have spent upwards of 30 years observing... watching how people act, how they conduct themselves... analyzing it (which I don't see as a flaw, provided one actually uses their brain), and reflecting on it..

Is life really "easier" if nothing holds value? If nothing is ever sought after? Because, frankly, I haven't encountered anyone who finds anything genuinely valuable... to them, everything is simply "not worth it"

I am speaking about that primal level of truth, when you look someone in the eye... amidst the lies, the history of deception, and the constant persuasion toward falsehood... in that vision of the human being, I find no sense of value, and they seem to confirm this through both their actions and their words... that they essentially possess no concept of what is worthwhile

whereas a sense of worthlessness seems to be everywhere☕

The question is quite simple;

.. what is actually worth something?!

You're only truly valuable to yourself, so just focus on that..
Forget about everyone else. Don't even try to understand them, because you can't really get inside someone else's head—it's like trying to figure out what your dog is thinking. People are good or bad depending on your perspective and the situation, so just set some boundaries and define your own expectations. If you realize your expectations of people are way too high, just adjust them..

In today's world, nothing has any fixed value except for what lives in your head and mine. Everything shifts—you change, people change, the whole thing changes. This craving for something solid and permanent usually just comes from your own insecurity and fear. It's like you've fallen into a flash flood and you're desperately trying to grab onto some pole that's sturdy enough to tie yourself to so you won't drown. But that doesn't exist, man... there's zero guarantee you'll wake up healthy tomorrow, or that life will even look the way you planned. The sooner you realize you've only got yourself and you need to find comfort within (or in God), the better off you'll be. Let others be. Interact with them as much as you want or need to, depending on the person, but don't stress about the rest. Just let it flow, it makes living a lot easier... Don't go looking for a solid rock in a swamp, you won't find it. Just try not to sink...

While you're just drifting through life, everything stays subtle and unknown... living without any real substance keeps people stuck in that loop. It’s almost worth it. Especially when that constant "searching," which starts as pure impulse, eventually just turns into exhaustion. Suddenly, trying to find value in anything feels like it has an expiration date. We’re all just spreading like mold or fungi... while things like "logic, wisdom, or purpose"... are buried somewhere deep in extreme individualism. Paradox.

"The sooner you realize you've only got yourself, and that you need to find comfort within (or in God), the better off you'll be."

If that's the motto we're going by, I have no idea how anyone manages not to be depressed.
I guess you also have to love this fake version of yourself... this persona that was designed and molded specifically to satisfy the need to interact with "others." Those old-school others who abandoned the whole "God, humanism, empathy" platform... those future others who don't even exist for me... and these current others who live by the "you're on your own" mantra... It’s just collective schizophrenia; I'd say that fits the "phrase" perfectly...

Collective values among 7.3 billion individuals, where everyone wants to be their own little universe—where everything revolves strictly around their own rotation, cycles, and forces... and anything else is just a nuisance, a threat, or an obstacle...?

Here's one, retrobigcity.. 🤦

ironrider11 said:While you're just drifting through life, everything stays subtle and unknown... living without any real substance keeps people stuck in that loop. It’s almost worth it. Especially when that constant "searching," which starts as pure impulse, eventually just turns into exhaustion. Suddenly, trying to find value in anything feels like it has an expiration date. We’re all just spreading like mold or fungi... while things like "logic, wisdom, or purpose"... are buried somewhere deep in extreme individualism. Paradox.

"The sooner you realize you've only got yourself, and that you need to find comfort within (or in God), the better off you'll be."

If that's the motto we're going by, I have no idea how anyone manages not to be depressed.
I guess you also have to love this fake version of yourself... this persona that was designed and molded specifically to satisfy the need to interact with "others." Those old-school others who abandoned the whole "God, humanism, empathy" platform... those future others who don't even exist for me... and these current others who live by the "you're on your own" mantra... It’s just collective schizophrenia; I'd say that fits the "phrase" perfectly...

Collective values among 7.3 billion individuals, where everyone wants to be their own little universe—where everything revolves strictly around their own rotation, cycles, and forces... and anything else is just a nuisance, a threat, or an obstacle...?

Here's one, retrobigcity.. 🤦

Every single one of those 7.3 billion people is an individual, a tiny universe unto themselves. We only ever touch on a tiny fraction of what’s conscious or understandable—even if we speak the same language and can talk about ourselves and from ourselves... We’re basically like those coyotes you hear howling at night; if you even get a response, that’s a win. The true shape and form is hidden away—we only let a tiny bit of it out. What we see when looking at another human being isn't really aligned with how that person sees themselves from the outside or the inside. Like, when someone says their stomach hurts and we don't feel it—that's when you realize just how isolated we are in our own little universes...
We’re alone. We are born alone, we live alone, and we die alone—that's just a fact... that sense of intimacy and being understood? That's purely our own illusion...

Donna White50 said:Every single one of those 7.3 billion people is an individual, a tiny universe unto themselves. We only ever touch on a tiny fraction of what’s conscious or understandable—even if we speak the same language and can talk about ourselves and from ourselves... We’re basically like those coyotes you hear howling at night; if you even get a response, that’s a win. The true shape and form is hidden away—we only let a tiny bit of it out. What we see when looking at another human being isn't really aligned with how that person sees themselves from the outside or the inside. Like, when someone says their stomach hurts and we don't feel it—that's when you realize just how isolated we are in our own little universes...
We’re alone. We are born alone, we live alone, and we die alone—that's just a fact... that sense of intimacy and being understood? That's purely our own illusion...

I get the whole individualism thing; I just don't get why people feel this desperate urge to drown their universal selves in some collective fantasy. Living by a set of rules, following these rigid forms, "dos and don'ts," "rights and wrongs," or "morals"... stuff the group forces on you just to prove you belong in this pack of animals with [questionable consciousness]. If you're just an animal that exists to reproduce and process matter, using consciousness just to make your current existence a bit more comfortable without knowing where you came from, how much time you've got left, or where you're headed... then any sense of value or consensus is just a pre-written script. To some people, life is precious; all those tiny details that make it up. Not to me. I don't even notice them, and I couldn't care less... On a purely hedonistic level, maybe a good steak is worth something. Or a brain ["what kind of brain they had.. mmmhh.."]. If I know how to dodge the consequences within this individualistic, illusory existence, there's really no point in limiting any impulses, even the small ones, just to satisfy some "important" idea of [me vs. them / mine vs. theirs].......
What's actually worth anything... yeah, good question.

I think I understand where you all are coming from... honestly, it’s a bit of a wash. If there isn't a functioning system in place, then there is simply nothing to utilize. If every system we attempt to construct is merely an illusion—something lacking that primal, foundational essence—then it's all quite hollow. Without that core, value doesn't exist; life itself feels void of any real sense of worth or experience.

And besides, even death seems less certain now... or perhaps everything else has just vanished. To build up and tear down again and again might be philosophically sound if things were happening under controlled conditions, but when it "happens" against your will—completely outside of what was planned or prepared for—I suppose I am at a loss for words.

Life... existence in general... it's all just a mess. When I put it this way, I feel like my words are losing their meaning entirely.

It's like being lost in Dylan's songs...

Something along those lines... when language fails and the images begin to fade into the distance...

...it disappears...

what remains...

nothing. 😵

I’m asking you—what actually holds any real value?

Larry Lewis said:I’m asking you—what actually holds any real value?

Experience.

At least, that is what I have gathered from everything I have endured and concluded throughout my life...

But now, I suppose I should turn the question back on you...

How much is an experience worth when it is built solely on pain, suffering, murder, abuse, rape, pedophilia, lies, and fraud—all just to convince others of falsehoods driven by one's own inherent weaknesses?☕>

If it’s all built on lies, then the whole thing isn't worth a single damn cent.

Larry Lewis said:If it’s all built on lies, then the whole thing isn't worth a single damn cent.

But I suppose one might ask... is death itself valuable?

The stripping away of health, happiness, and the chance to raise a family... the acts of murder or poisoning... I guess one could argue those things possess a certain value to the weakness and impotence of certain "individuals."

No

Larry Lewis said:No

But I suppose one has to wonder... is life actually worth going through all those experiences?

... you know, the short circuiting and the constant mental spinning... it stays with you for a lifetime. 😵

If we're being totally honest here, absolutely nothing actually holds any real value. Value is just some social construct people cooked up to try and rationalize the sheer pointlessness of existence.

Lawrence Bailey77 said:But I suppose one has to wonder... is life actually worth going through all those experiences?

... you know, the short circuiting and the constant mental spinning... it stays with you for a lifetime. 😵

Look, I can't say for sure if it's "worth it," but that was just my reality...

I totally get that feeling of a complete system crash and just tilting out of control—it hit me hard for the longest time, and honestly,
even now it happens, though thank God it’s a hell of a lot more manageable.

amberorca17 said:If we're being totally honest here, absolutely nothing actually holds any real value. Value is just some social construct people cooked up to try and rationalize the sheer pointlessness of existence.

It is perfectly clear which lens is being used to view the question of 👍

But since I find myself drowning in a sea of subjective experiences... I suppose I would be grateful for a slightly more subjective (personal) opinion, some lived experience, or even just a random thought... look, I realize I am asking for a lot here. It feels a bit like walking into an ER and demanding a specialist on the spot when you've only got a minor scratch;

"Is there an artist in the house?!" 😬

... goodness... we are talking about objectivity here 😵 ... yet the subject is in critical condition. Without the subject, the object cannot even exist.🙂

Love is the one thing that keeps me from losing my mind entirely ☕

Larry Lewis said:Love is the one thing that keeps me from losing my mind entirely ☕

It is kind of you to say that... I suppose I have possessed an abundance of love—others have confirmed this, at least—so much so that I never practiced any sort of restraint or concern regarding its depletion. I never truly believed my capacity to love or to show affection would ever run dry. As for the love I have received in return, I cannot speak of it as being "mine," if that makes sense... but I won't dwell on it.

I haven't been capable of loving for quite some time now. I realize how that sounds; perhaps a bit too much like those melodramatic tales of broken hearts and romantic woe, but it isn't far from the truth. I have experienced those particular fractures and agonies more than once—unlike many who seem to boast about such things—and certainly not in a way that can be repeated.😬 I suppose I know the difference, though, of course, it is never quite the same.😵 I don't mean to trivialize anyone else's suffering; I am well aware of how heavy it can feel. But in comparison to what I am describing... well, it's incomparable. And again, I don't wish to sound as though I am wallowing; someone who has endured something similar to my own experience might take offense, so I ask for your patience.

What I am talking about is fundamentally different. It is a loss of self. A fading of one's very essence, character, potential, and possibility. It is an absolute erasure, or perhaps a severe limitation... a sort of instinctive struggle for survival, I suppose.

If I were a more primitive, simpler man, I likely wouldn't even perceive the distinction.😬

But I understand where you are coming from in my own way. Generally speaking, people claim to love me. I was told that often in the past, too, but lately... in these last few years... I simply cannot experience it. There is no sensation of love. In that regard, I am in a much worse position than most people who insist they love me and go on with their endless chatter. I find myself asking them not to love me—since I am unable to return the sentiment—but rather to look after themselves with due respect, which honestly just gives me a headache. You can try to persuade me, but you will fail.

And yet, I am ignored anyway. lol😵

So, the love that served as the core purpose of my life for thirty years simply no longer exists. It is impossible to relive those memories, even in the most vivid imagination. The data points remain, but the feeling... the feeling is gone.

I move forward... ☕ ...still living, and still prepared for whatever new experiences may come.☕

It’s love that pulls me through—plain and simple!

I suppose I’d much rather focus my energy on saving a relationship ☕

Lawrence Bailey77 said:I suppose I’d much rather focus my energy on saving a relationship ☕

I dig your style, man🙂

Just sitting here sipping a cold Budweiser with my girl—honestly, life doesn't get much better than this.🙂