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by waynecochran 3054 days ago
A particularly important read concerning the meaning of life is the book of Ecclesiastes. It tells of Solomon’s great experiment of finding meaning in knowledge, pleasure, wealth, accomplishment, etc..

I am often bewildered by those who pour a great deal of energy in planning for retirement and ignoring the fact that they will soon thereafter be pushing up daisies. Death awaits us all.
2 comments
replicatorblog 3054 days ago
I pour a lot into retirement because I don't want my final days to be a time of financial hardship or to be a burden on my children.

Today, I can easily move around, feed/wash myself, and but that won't be true forever. Putting money away for later gives me some measure of confidence I'll be able to pay someone to help me when the time comes.

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freeloop3 3054 days ago
Why not kill yourself when you get too old to wash/feed yourself? I'm being serious. I've asked myself that many times and can't find a good reason why not.
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maroonblazer 3054 days ago
It's not even about washing/feeding yourself. I simply don't want to have to work all my life. I'd like to spend my days reading, watching movies, traveling, eating out, etc.

To your question though, I find that as I get older life is increasingly more interesting. I suspect that will be the case regardless of whether I'm hobbled by my body.

Also, if I have grandchildren I can imagine wanting to hang around to see them grow up.

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kgwgk 3054 days ago
Why not kill yourself today? The answer may be similar.
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waynecochran 3054 days ago
I think planning for retirement is important, but spending no thought of what happens next seems very irrational.
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pmoriarty 3054 days ago
The Book of Job might be one that the Stoics could appreciate, as in it Job is robbed of every worldly good, his health, his friends, and his family. Though they'd probably point out that if only Job had practiced Stoicism he'd be able to meet all of these privations with indifference.
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damontal 3054 days ago
If you like Job you should seek out the play J.B. by Archibald MacLeish. His take on the story is that Job in the end forgives God, making him superior in some way to the God he loves so much, which is a view of the story you don't often hear.
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