ekrodomos.net> 086d6eb5   
   From: joss@nospampleasewerebritish.nekrodomos.net   
      
   On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 17:54:13 +0300, metaperson wrote:   
      
   Okay. I start with a disclaimer, I'm going to try not to offend/upset you.   
   Rereading through this, some of it might seem a bit harsh at first.   
   Believe me, it's not intended like that. Also, as with most things I'll   
   add the IMHO watermark to this post. And if I say anything nasty, I was   
   probably joking.   
      
   > Hi,   
      
   Ho there.   
      
   > I find myself  in some kind of an unpleasant state of mind: my life is   
   > dull and uninteresting... I don't see how do I want to spend the time of   
   > my life.   
      
   General response here is something along the lines of "everyone is   
   interesting", "i'm sure you're really great". I don't know that about you.   
   Your life might be really dull and uninteresting. It does happen. I'm a   
   computer scientist, think how I feel. :o)   
      
   Without knowing anything about you (age/location/occupation etc) I can't   
   really judge/help much. You must be interested in something, though.   
   You're here, so there's definitely a subculture that you find interesting.   
   And, I guess, literature. Surely other stuff as well.   
      
   > Who knows, maybe if I ask a lot of people about what is most important   
   > to them in their life, I'll find an answer for myself. They say,   
   > enthusiasm is infectious.   
      
   I wouldn't count on it. You're interested in what you're interested in,   
   not what other people are interested in (unless you're a sociologist, but   
   that's too horrible to contemplate).   
      
   Personally, I like mountain biking and fiddling about with computers (in a   
   software and, i hasten to add, platonic sense). Also, I'm really into   
   music. (Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Jazz, loads of other stuff. Check out   
   Future Sound of London, they're cool.)   
      
   Anyway. Why do you need something important in your life? All it does is   
   give you something to worry about. Still, if you really want something:   
   how about personal freedom? That's a good on-topic thing to be concerned   
   about and something that I'm personally quite into. (Maybe not an   
   ultra-hardcore tinfoil-hat cypherpunk, but definitely a believer.)   
      
   And if you want something that'll get you lots of conversation just choose   
   a side in the gun ownership debate and make some comments about it. You'll   
   have more posts than you know what to do with. (For the love of God,   
   no-one bite on that bait. I don't _care_ what your views are, and nobody   
   ever convinces anyone else.)   
      
   > At least, such kind of action seems to bring more hope than just sitting   
   > around alt.support.depression or alt.support.loneliness.   
      
   You don't want to do that. All you're doing there is reminding yourself   
   that you're depressed/lonely. Sitting on the net in that situation is bad   
   enough anyway (assuming you have an alternative), but sitting in a group   
   with lots of other depressed/lonely people is hardly going to help. I've   
   known a few people who are depressed like that. For a lot of them, it was   
   when they started thinking about being depressed/worthless/useless that   
   they got depressed, and when they went out and did stuff they forgot all   
   about it. Obviously not true of every depressed person in the world, but   
   certainly of some. Same of those groups, I'm sure a lot of people have   
   found them helpful but I just feel that they tend to drag you down a bit.   
      
   > (And besides, I like talking to people. A few days ago, before getting   
   > access to the net, I was in a much worse state - I was going crazy.)   
      
   What situation are you in? Aren't there people you can go out and meet?   
   Clubs to join? Things to go along to? Evening classes? Going to the pub   
   and talking to random people who might want to talk to you the next day?   
      
   > So, here is my question: what are you enthusiastic about? Or what   
   > justifies the value of life for you?   
      
   I'm enthusiastic about my PhD, Go (weiqi/baduk/igo - it's a game), chess,   
   computing stuff. Biking. Learning how to do a bunny hop (I'll never manage   
   it, I'm so useless). Reading. I love reading. Playing guitar. Avoiding   
   cleaning my house. In the last few days, posting here in an attempt to get   
   some discussions going. Ummm... looking back at this post I suppose that   
   "spouting my ill-informed personal philosophy" fits in there as well.   
      
   What justifies the value of life for me? Nothing. It's life. It's fun.   
   It's a game. I don't like to analyse it too much or try and justify it. I   
   don't believe in very much, certainly not that life has to have a   
   "meaning" or "purpose". I just try to have fun because as far as I'm   
   concerned, it's everything that I've got.   
      
   Anyway. Join in the discussions here. We could do with some people who   
   aren't silent.   
      
   pip pip,   
      
   	joss   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)