r/ExistentialJourney

Sometimes, especially when I’m really happy or just sitting around doing nothing, I suddenly get this strange feeling and start questioning literally everything.

Where am I? Who am I? Who are these people around me? My mom, dad, sister, girlfriend, friends — how are any of us even here? How is this entire world possible? Who created all of this? And if nobody did, how did anything ever begin?

Sometimes I look at the people I love and think about how strange it is that we’re all here, living our separate lives, making memories, getting attached to each other, worrying about things, making plans for the future — while none of us even knows what existence actually is.

And then I start questioning my own consciousness. Am I actually in control of what I’m doing, or am I just watching everything happen? Why am I experiencing life from this particular body, with these particular thoughts and memories? Is there a soul? Is there a God? Honestly, I don’t really believe in God, but I also don’t understand how any of this exists in the first place.

The thing that messes with me the most is death and the scale of the universe. We’re here for such a ridiculously short amount of time. A hundred years from now, most of us will be gone. The universe is so enormous that our entire lives probably mean nothing on its scale.

And then I wonder: **if we’re all going to die anyway, what am I supposed to be working so hard for?**

I have studies, work, relationships, goals and responsibilities. I know I should focus on them, build something for myself, enjoy my life and make the most of the time I have. But sometimes these thoughts make all of it feel strangely unreal or pointless. I’ll be doing something completely normal, and suddenly my brain zooms out so far that I can’t understand how to return to just being a normal person living a normal life.

I don’t want to spend my life overthinking everything. I want to enjoy being alive, love the people around me, work towards my goals and actually experience my life instead of constantly questioning it.

But part of me also feels like ignoring these questions and just following society’s rules — study, work, earn money, get married, grow old and die — is somehow avoiding the bigger picture.

So what are we actually supposed to do?

Do we try to find our soul and understand consciousness?

Do we accept that we’ll never know the answers and just live? Does finding a purpose matter if the universe itself has no purpose? And how do you stop these thoughts from interfering with your everyday life?

I’m genuinely curious how other people deal with this. Have you experienced something similar? Did you find any answers, or did you learn to live without them?

And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, "We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it." The Man said, "I want to have good sight." The vulture replied, "You shall have mine." The Man said, "I want to be strong." The jaguar said, "You shall be strong like me." Then the Man said, "I long to know the secrets of the earth." The serpent replied, "I will show them to you." And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, "Now the Man knows much, he'll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid." The deer said, "The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop." But the owl replied, "No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, 'I am no more and I have nothing left to give.
It left me wondering: are we unhappy because we lack things, or because we keep wanting more even after we have enough?

Do you think human desire is what drives us forward, or what keeps us from ever feeling content?

I don't know what to do at all. Stuck between debt, Job, life and what not.

Don't know what im doing in life, what ill do in life and what's happening.

Living multiple personalities. One for family, one for office friends/colleagues and a whole different person with childhood friends.

Trying to hold everything but can't.

What im gonna do? I don't know.

You wake up. You go to sleep. You dream (sometimes). The cycle repeats. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself what is really going on? What is the essence? What is the purpose of life?

Consider a fundamental question: when were you truly at your happiest? If you are honest, you will likely discover that your most joyful and enduring memories coincide with the periods when you were most productive.

Humans are essentially meaning-making engines and masterful storytellers. We instinctively weave interpretation and depth into every facet of our existence. Each day, we feel an organic need to justify our actions and beliefs because meaning provides the fuel and resilience required to persevere through hardship and exhaustion.

This is not a random occurrence but a mental survival mechanism. In a world characterized by disorder, our brains act as primary narrators, imposing cognitive design upon unpredictability and turning raw experience into a structured history. This process is a vital part of the human experience; it is an unstoppable, and necessary, function of our minds.

When we lose the focused mental states that tie us to a daily purpose, we risk psychological decompensation. Imagine a world where everyone was suddenly stripped of their daily obligations—work, education, parenting, or even basic chores. Such a vacuum of structure would likely lead to global chaos and widespread existential crises. Without purpose, the mind turns toward high anxiety and misplaced obsessions. For the human psyche, idle time is not merely a playground for trouble; it is a prison of the mind.

Daily order and structure are what allow us to function and find resolution. Whether mundane or monumental, our responsibilities and overarching purpose are survival tools that prevent us from spiraling into negative reflections on our fleeting existence.

While self-awareness and deep analysis have their place, over-analyzing can be detrimental. Without a focus on the immediate present, we tend to look backward with undue scrutiny, obsessing over past mistakes and regrets. When we lack a forward-facing purpose, despair often leads us to dissect a past that no longer serves us.

The Power of Flow States

Most people have experienced the remarkable phenomenon of "flow." These are periods of intense absorption—sometimes joyful, sometimes obsessive—where the passage of time seems to vanish. Athletes call this being "in the zone," a state of peak performance where distraction and doubt disappear, leaving only fearlessness and absolute determination.

Flow is often associated with happiness, but it also encompasses our aspirations and daydreams. Visualizing ourselves being courageous, pursuing a degree, starting a business, or falling in love are all variants of flow. When flow and purpose reinforce one another, they create a powerful synergy that makes us wiser, stronger, and more capable through the application of intention.

Flow can also emerge from intervals of high intensity, such as being consumed by a critical project, a difficult assignment, or a meaningful cause. While these states can feel overwhelmingly emotional or urgent, this intensity is often a sign that your inner strengths are activated in service of a greater good. The drive to protect, improve, or support others is a unique and powerful form of flow.

Whether your flow is a source of pleasure, a product of intense focus, or simply a daily ritual, it is essential to recognize it as a gift. Acknowledging these states as your "best self" is key to creating meaningful intent. Do not overlook these moments. Identify your daily purpose and your personal flow, then honor and maintain it. According to the philosophy of ikigai, doing so may even extend your life.

As Albert Einstein once noted, a happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.

War, hunger, poverty; greed, prejudice, inequity. Too many problems to list. Not one of these man-made challenges or emotions need exist.

By selflessly sharing the bounties of the earth, equally respecting all life and our planet, living our lives with unconditional love rather than fear, we would leave our children a world they would thrive in, rather than a self-centered world of malice and indifference.

Nothing Should Exist

My claim is that nothing should exist. I realize that this is not the case, but I believe this to be the more logical case, because creating something (from scratch) seems impossible.

Creating from scratch means that there is nothing to use as base material; there is no “storage unit” to draw from, so to speak. This includes subjectivity and the objects around us.

What makes you want to get out of bed each morning? Am particularly interested in hearing about individuals’ personal motivations rather than societal motivations. (ie not just ‘partners,’ ‘kids’ or religion’).

I am 23M and lately I have started feeling like I am literally an NPC in this world.

I don't have any ambition whatsoever. I am not good looking, not very smart, not good at sports, and I don't really have any hobby or passion either.

I have a job where there isn't too much pressure and it pays enough to pay my bills. And honestly, I am completely okay with that. I don't have some dream of becoming successful or having fame.

If someone offered me another job tomorrow which was more comfortable, paid more and had less pressure, I would probably leave my current job without thinking twice. I don't feel attached to any particular career or goal.

I also really like having the same routine every day. I get annoyed when something suddenly changes like suddenly having to go somewhere, plans changing, not getting a holiday I was expecting, etc.

The weird thing is, I don't hate my life either.

I have close friends and family whom I love and care about. I can enjoy spending time with them. I am not sitting alone thinking that everyone hates me or anything like that.

But sometimes I just wonder...

What exactly am I doing here?

I look at other people and some of them have something they genuinely care about. Someone is obsessed with football, someone loves gaming, someone wants to build a business, someone wants to travel the world, someone loves music, someone is passionate about their career, etc.

Even if they don't achieve anything from it, they seem to genuinely enjoy doing that thing.

I honestly envy that.

I don't know if it's actually okay or if I'm just wasting my life without realizing it.

Has anyone else felt like this in their 20s?

Did you eventually find something you genuinely cared about, or did you just accept that you're someone who prefers a simple and comfortable life?

I would genuinely like to hear from people who have been through something similar.

we are just a very specific configuration of atoms right now.

eventually this configuration will break apart and will start doing other atom configurations ( a plant, a bird, a insect ) .

given enough time , atoms will make again a 'human config' .

the scale of the universe don't give a shit about 'chance' 1 in 100 trillion . 'Chance' is a stupid human thing.

What do you think about life and death?

Like is there a real meaning behind these or what?

Its based on my thoughts ~

How to imagine nothing? the simple answer is 'you cannot' but just to get a depiction most people think about a dark void then no a dark void is not 'nothing' its still something as you were thinking about it. Nothing cant exist cause if it did then it will be something.

Here are my two ways to get a light depiction of it:

• The Closed Eye Example: One way to get a light depiction of nothing is by closing one of your eyes then trying to see through that closed eye, what you see? its not darkness it not something as in your brain there is no voluntarily measurable thing there, we can say that its somewhat nothing.
• The 2D Planes Example: Another why which I think is also good if you can imagine it. so first take two 2d planes and put them on each other as they are 2d they do not have any z-axis in between now think what is between those 2 planes, here a lot of people get looped as when you think about that you get the point about nothing as that area is not even dark cause there is no area to be dark, BUT here you will get checkmated (first i also did then i though about it for a while) the thing whatever that is in between those planes you are thinking no matter it exist or not your brain is still connecting time with it, focus and think about it your brain is still thinking about time going there but to be true nothing you should imagine there is no time at all, not just the time is stopped but the entire concept of time is not there.

by my examples it seems like i am talking about nothing in a mathematical way but it doesn't need to be mathematical at all it can be expressed with any type of thinking even philosophy or can be contradicted by existence

its kinda off we try think of thing we cant think of then have a existential dread

if you have any of your ways to imagine nothing then we would like to hear them

~have a nice day

Sometimes I just wonder to myself why am I still alive what good comes from living all there is in this world is just endless pain and suffering because what do you mean we were born to go through a lot of pain and when we are adults we have to take care of our kids and wife which means working endlessly and coming back home drained and not having time with your kids. My life is good but for some reason there’s always this empty feeling in my heart but I don’t know I’m scared of the future what if I’m just a failure I don’t wanna live no more in this world why do we humans have to suffer so much because we didn’t choose to be born and suffer. MIGHT JUST HAVE TO END MY SUFFERING AND THIS EMPTY FEELING IN MY HEART