What is the foundation of who you are and your purpose in life? Of course this question will be different for everyone and I'm curious to hear your responses.
I reluctantly left Christianity 13 years ago, and arrived at atheism 3 years ago. Those 10 years in between were devoted to trying to find the truth of reality/god, and it tore me apart emotionally. I've talked to other Christians who have left the faith who experienced a sense of freedom, but I've never felt that. I feel like I've lost the being that I loved more than anything and that I planned to devote my whole life to. I've lost the guarantee that my life actually makes a difference in the world and that I have constant support in making that difference. I lost the magic of truly believing in miracles and divine intervention/purpose. And now I'm left to live the rest of my life without any innate purpose, god-given gifts/talents, confidence in the future, or a loving being constantly by my side.
I've had issues with depression since puberty, but the last 3 years have been pretty devastating for me. It's gotten more manageable since being in therapy. I find myself trying to find ways to create joy in everyday life: spending time with good people, hiking, learning, contributing to others, etc. and while that has been nice, it's not budging the underlying issue: Life feels empty and purposeless to me now, and my confidence has taken a nosedive. While I've had people respond to me with "Great, now do whatever you want with life!", I'm not sure how to explain to them that there is very little appeal for me in that.
My therapist has emphasized that the work to be done now is to create a new foundation for my life. To find a new perspective that gives meaning, purpose, confidence and joy. I'm in no way trying to avoid the tough realities of the world, but I am looking to live a fulfilling life that does not only wallow in those tough realities, but can create joy for myself and others.
So I'm curious to hear what perspectives have been empowering for you. What makes life worth living? What do you live for?
Subscription Note:
Choosing to subscribe to this topic will automatically register you for email notifications for comments and updates on this thread.
Email notifications will be sent out daily by default unless specified otherwise on your account which you can edit by going to your userpage here and clicking on the subscriptions tab.
Pages