this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What if an intelligent species was born, thrived, and perished in that galaxy? What if thousands had?

Humanity will one day be gone - will anyone out there even know we existed? Shouldn’t this awareness of our insignificance be unbearable? Shouldn’t I be sleeping right now?

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Awareness of our insignificance is incredibly freeing. It means that you get to assign your own purpose to life because that’s all it matters to.

As long as you’re not infringing upon the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of others, then everything else is completely up to you! Have fun! Play video games! Eat great food! Make others happy! And don’t worry about your mistakes or being humiliated because none of that really matters after you’re gone.

In the end, only you can make your life worth living.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the end, only you can make your life worth living.

Very true words that took me far too long to find out. I used to be such an angry bitter person.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Same here. Took me 25 years to figure that out. ❤️

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Shouldn’t this awareness of our insignificance be unbearable?

Why would it be? I personally find it humbling.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

some people find it incredibly depressing to realize that nothing they do matters at all, when considered in the context of the entire the universe

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Those people need to check their ego and recalibrate to find contentment. Or double-down on their preferred alternative reality.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

What does it mean to "matter" in the context of the scale of the universe?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

I always think we are such rare combinations of molecules. And we are even able to see how precious and rare all lifeforms are. Very likely there is nothing like that out there.

And on top of that we are the only known combination of molecules which theoretically could protect complex life, even beyond the lifespan of earth or even our galaxy. But we don't see us as the ones who could have protected that freak of chance. Instead we bicker and perish and the universe will with high probability never see anything like that again.