i don't know where to even post this.

my whole life i was raised in a very strict roman catholic family. i rarely questioned anything -- all i knew, though, was that organized christianity was not for me. did i believe in a god? i never really could decide when i was young. i sometimes felt there was something guiding me through life, sometimes not. i knew i wanted to gain as much information as i could, but when i was younger i was a lazy kid who didn't care much for reading and learning. that could wait, ya know?

but as i've progressed through college to where i am now, a 23-year-old guy living in the big city, i've become more and more aware of life. i've started to read and learn. it interests me.

my senses have awakened and i've opened up my eyes. i'm questioning all that is established -- religion, politics, the meaning of life...etc. -- and dedicing what i want to do with my life, what i want to get out of it and how i should go about it. those questions drive me on a daily basis.

upon all this thinking, i've read/heard some great opinions. one that's recently struck me is jeff ament saying 'if it takes the end of the world to save the world, then so be it'

...we as humans should always be progressing, always questioning life, death and everything else around us. what's our purpose here on earth? is there other life out there? how should i lead my life? what will my actions bring about in terms of consequences?

ament's statement brings me to another thought, though. and this is my discussion point:

as we're working towards perfection -- which we will most likely never reach as humanity, but should strive for -- what are we working towards not for ourselves, but for the future of everything that we know? is ament saying that if all of humanity was to die, it'd be ok because earth would live on? is this acceptable to humans? (i'd guess not, humans are, for the most part, conceited about their existence)

I think I speak for everyone when I say that Mr. Ament overlooked the obvious resolution to the current state of things. We will by in large destroy civilization by our own devices, and be usurped by intelligent Apes, and those of us that remain will be their slaves. At this point some lucky few of us will be aware enough to recognize the meaning to life, the universe, and everything.

ilike the qway you think, c_b. i wish i was smart enough to have something to contribute. i've been thinking about alot of the things you mentioned lately, and i have also been raised in a strict roman catholic family, but i find myself doing things that bring me further and further away from that everyday.

*contemplates*

hey, anything you wanna contribute is fine with me. it doesn't have as much to do with smarts as it does with just what you're feeling on the inside and getting that down in text. if you feel like you wanna PM me, go ahead.

Such thinking will be species-centric by nature, and this fact does not warrant apology any more than it is inappropriate for you as a member of said species to think in such terms.

Being a recognizing member of a global populace which encompasses multiple species...perceiving that as a living collective....does not require that you stop putting your own species first in terms of concerns and awareness. You can be a part of the planet and not be an uneducated hippy.

I do not believe that the elimination of the human species, nor the natural depopulation thereof, is a necessary endgame for current scenarios. However, I also do not believe that the human species is providing any significant evidence that it has reached the capability to adjust to significant factors which may cause that very consequence.

i'm not gonna comment much on the part about working toward perfection and the future of humanity much. personally, from what i've seen in my life, people work because they want to feel like they've made a difference, whether it be for themselves or for their family, and don't give much thought in their daily life to the future of the human race.

right now, in this stage of my life, i also feel like i've "awakened" as you put it. i honestly feel excited to be alive most days. i've felt through most of my life as there was somehting definite guiding me through my life, and i almost resented it. now, that i'm nearly on my own and finally realizing it, i finally have decided what is guiding my life. i know what i'm living for in this moment...and its not to continue the human race or anyhitng nearly as big as that. i just want to make a difference in a few important people's lives...and i'm lucky enough to have found those people. i want to make their lives better because of what they have done for me, and said to me. maybe it is the chance of setting, or situation with a stable relationship and a strong relationship with my parents, but this past year has changed me. i'd like to think i'm a bit more mature than the average college freshman, i almost feel like i should be 24 or 25 by now, but stuck with this number 19 for an age....

now i'm just rambling. i need to work on organizing thoughts.

Well ya know what, I just go through life ya know? I do believe in a God and a mystical power we can't explain. Do not confuse that with the christian way, because I would be a terrible catholic if I was labled one.

Point is, Forrest Gump made a SMART comment in the movie. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I believe each and every one of us is meant to do something in this world. We just got to find out what it is. Maybe its our passion for something I don't know.

OH yeah and never kill yourself, because you need to find your calling in life, whatever that may be.

I say do your duty in this life, and get prepared for a whole other world after this one. To tell ya the truth, I really can't wait to die (But remember what i said about killing yourself )[/i]

And don't think there isn't an afterlife my friend. All this love we muster for one another...our family and friends...its eternal. There is no scientific explanation for it. Its forever.

As is the hate

True, but you can pick a side

i know there are some cynics out there that just view love as a made-up social custom or whatever to romanticize our sexual desires. but i'm with you... it goes beyond that. i love my girlfriend. of course there's an attraction and all that tied to it, but it goes so far beyond that. does it make scientific sense for me to love her and do the things i do for her? absolutely not. i do feel like the love we share is forever.

but what do i know...i'm fucking 19.

Fuck that I'm 19 and I know how you feel. A little Einstein quote for Punk David..."No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"

dear forrest,
it's neither. nothing is accidental. you are the captain of this fucking ship. i hated this underlying come-what-may tone in your movie.

love always,
bp.

Really? Almost gave me a lump in my throat

it bugs me, because this is how so many people live. "oh, there's a plan, everything happens for a reason, yadda yadda."

but bp....we control our own ship....but hardly control the current.

yes, naturally there are circumstances that affect your navigation. it's how we're all connected, how virtually all of our actions have some kind of effect on another person.

My point is everything does happen for a reason, only if you make ends meet yourself. Meaning, if you do nothing to find your passion in life, and do something you're not satisfied with, then you didn't fullfill your destiny or whatever you wanna call it. There is a certain plan for you, but you need to find it. If you don't search for it then your destiny waits. There is choice involved. Maybe my Gump quote wasn't the best example, but I do like it.

...some die just to live