How do you see life?

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Live is about ...

  • A destination

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • A prize

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    11
  • Poll closed .

Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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You hear things like "Life is a journey" all the time. And I think we all tend to see life in different ways. Some of us look forward to a destination or even a reward. Others relish the journey, with their eyes on the next waystation, not an endpoint. Some see life as just being, kind of wandering day-to-day without a travel metaphor. Others have metaphors other than travel for life. Lets talk about our guiding metaphors. The poll is really a discussion starter/focus and is currently open for at least 6 months. Not aiming to lock you into an answer, just give a quick way to see what mix of answers we are getting.

And, to be clear, there are no right or wrong answers here and debating the answers of others based on their faith or beliefs is generally not on topic. Questioning them to try to learn more, or to better understand where they are coming from is welcome.

Oh, and the Bible, or any other source, is NOT the definitive text for this thread. Cite whatever you like as your source for your metaphors for life. This is an open thread.
 
I used a journey, trite but true , for me.

There are many side trips, some are short-term road trips, others are around the world intense.

There are different travelling companions, some are with you for a long time, others not.
Some you'd rather not sit beside on the train
 
I used a journey, trite but true , for me.

There are many side trips, some are short-term road trips, others are around the world intense.

There are different travelling companions, some are with you for a long time, others not.
Some you'd rather not sit beside on the train

Imagine the chance he took sitting next to you as the gambler! Thus the cards were played ... many bluff about how they fall ... can't stand not winning?

Tis beyond me! Why I'm often called a looser attribute than average ... reaching and straining in seeking for virtue ... tough journey!
 
I like the idea of the "dash" - between your birth and death date. It's a finite period of time within the infinity of that dimension we call time, and think of as linear.

I don't know that we're meant to figure out the purpose of it, and for many of us, there isn't a huge amount of joy or pleasure to be attained from it. For far too many people, despite my assertions of the positive arc of the Universe, life remains nasty, brutish and short. Much like that of the bunny that a local owl swooped down on last week. I believe that the Universe is benevolent in a macrocosmic way, not at the level of the individual unit of anything.
 
The faith journey metaphor has always worked well for me. Life as a journey? Not so much.

I do believe life is a gift but it is not hard to find lives that are experienced as a burden. Sometimes for very good reason.

The meaning of life? I don't know. It seems more worthwhile to look for meaning that can be found IN life. Rather than the meaning of life itself.

There is meaning in faith, in love, in finding and creating beauty. There is meaning in creating life and passing on values to the next generation.

Just some random thoughts for now as I contemplate the end of someone's life which is approaching soon. Great poser you have given us with this thread @Mendalla
 
Interesting to see that the old "life as a journey" metaphors don't seem to resonate much around here.

While the journey metaphor does have some meaning for me, I don't really see it as a literal point to point to point journey. I like the idea, which I think I first heard from the late GoldenRule, of existence as an ocean and we are the fish exploring it. He was posing it more as a counterpoint to the mountain metaphor (all religions are climbing the same mountain and we'll all meet at the peak), IIRC, but I also see it as a counterpoint to life as a kind of linear "journey" to a destination.

We might go in this direction at some points, in another direction at others as we find our way. We form "schools", religious groups, social groups, other groups based on common interests. This provides nurturing, protection, and comfort but we don't necessarily swim with the same schools all the time. And some of us are loners, more like sharks or other fish that don't school. The key thing is that there may be a destination at times, but at other times we may just be swimming to get away from something or just to keep alive (as some sharks require). And the destination is not a fixed thing. There is no ultimate, final destination where we all end up (other than death, but even that can be different for different people).

There's less certainty there than a journey with a destination(s), but it feels more like how life seems to go for me.

Great poser you have given us with this thread @Mendalla
That's what I was hoping for. I am dreaming up some other ideas to try to revitalize R&F. Hope others come up with some, too.
 
life is an adventure.
That, it certainly is. And not always in a good way. Adventures can lead to treasures and discoveries, but there are hardships along the way. Sometimes those hardships outweigh the treasures and discoveries, too.

It's another good metaphor that I have contemplated as well. And maybe I should have included it, as well. I was trying not to be too exhaustive.
 
Journey, destination, and gift, at times, yes. But I like John Lennnon's description of life, as cynical as it may sound at first blush, as what happens when you've made other plans. Often a surprise, sometimes pleasantly so.
 
Journey, destination, and gift, at times, yes. But I like John Lennnon's description of life, as cynical as it may sound at first blush, as what happens when you've made other plans. Often a surprise, sometimes pleasantly so.
In the words of the great philosopher Dr Seuss, the waiting place is a most useless place.

"Waiting around for a better break" and so on.

Or "waiting around for Friday night."
 
Life is a force to be reckoned with.
As a metaphor, I would use the seasons as expression of life. Changing in it’s own rhythm, developing in it’s way of evolution, life forces more visible in some but never not existent. In the deepest time of winter, the coming spring is present and can be found.
 
Life is something to be assassinated according to some unbelieving activists around the world ... it all has its turns! Some traditions say cranks!
 
Life is a force to be reckoned with.
As a metaphor, I would use the seasons as expression of life. Changing in it’s own rhythm, developing in it’s way of evolution, life forces more visible in some but never not existent. In the deepest time of winter, the coming spring is present and can be found.
This is very nice @Mrs.Anteater

I would add that life is a mystery. I am okay with that (I think.)
 
Life ----How exactly is life defined -----that is the question ?

Life I think is a system of meaning and value --it is about communication ---understanding and service ---it is about a beginning and an end ----it is about how we handle tests ---trials and situations that come our way--

Life either has meaning to us or it doesn't ------life really for me is not a mystery in how life works ---it is quite clear when your eyes and ears have been open it --

There are 2 Realms ----this Physical Realm and the Spiritual Realm -----

So experiencing life in this Physical realm is different from the life experienced in in the Spiritual Realm ----so you could say that we experience 2 different aspects of this 1 life depending on which Realm your in ------

The life we experience in this physical world is driven by our Sin nature which is self centred and self driven ----
The Life we experience in the Spiritual realm is Zoe --it is God driven ---

Many --many people today struggle to find meaning and purpose for their life -----a life that was given to them by God and needs God in that life to give true purpose and meaning to it ------

Our Sin Nature can find some love ---peace and happiness in this life but it is sporadic and doesn't last ----the storms that comes our way drives --the love --peace and happiness out and leaves us torn and tattered for a while ---

Zoe life---gives us Agape --peace and happiness that stays even in the mist of the storms that come -----no wavering ---

So life is in my view is who we are allowing in the drivers seat of that life -----
 
Driver's seat of life????

A grand ride into the eternal unknown as a sign of matters you didn't wish to know of? Og od this goes on and on? ... know it is temporal!
 
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