Not futile if what you leave behind makes something better than how you found it.
In the scheme of the universe, though, it has been said a human life has no more significance than that of an oyster.
This post was edited by Don Barzini at June 13, 2019 10:54 AM MDT
That can only be a subjective judgment for each person.
When we have created meaning, purpose and love in our lives, we don't question whether life is pointless or incapable of producing any useful result.
When we are depressed everything seems utterly futile.
I was raised in a family in which both parents believed that life has no meaning or purpose. That, combined with childhood traumas and a depressive predisposition has made life very hard for me at times. I've lived through five major depressions - barely survived in a couple of instances. I've had to learn how to pull myself out of depression and prevent relapse - the latter is not always easy but I am, by-and-large, succeeding.
Facing climate change is the worst thing for me now... the fact of all the changes currently happening around the globe. It depresses me profoundly that thousands of species that have already gone extinct - and it is only the beginning of the process. I love nature. I love the multiplicity of life, its profligacy and variety. I love the beauty of wilderness. I love my relationships with animals and people. I love the stimulation that comes from so many human cultures. It seems the most terrible thing that all this will soon die.
Life contains a drive to survive, thrive and procreate, and for the non-questioning person, this drive is usually sufficient.
When the majority of species have gone extinct, probably most of humanity with them, Earth will take around 10-20,000 years to return to its former natural balance of the carbon cycle. Then, a new round of evolution will begin. Between now and when the sun burns out - meaning when it drops to 10% less intense than it's current rate of combustion - there will be time for 20 more rounds of evolution equivalent to the age of the dinosaurs. There is a chance that one of those might give rise to a species like homosapiens. If so, it is highly probable that the same problem - the discovery of fire and the use of fossil fuels - would start all over again. Yes, it is ultimately futile. All life on the entire planet will one day die out - and the duration of all that life will have been no more than a breath in the life of the universe.
But we humans, psychologically, cannot be healthy when living with that mindset. While it is important to be realistic, it is vitally important to balance realism with emotional health. What can an elder do in order to have a feeling of meaning and purpose? Teach. Impart wisdom to anyone and everyone willing to listen. Teach people to think ethically. Teach people the nature of healthy love, that which nurtures the well-being of life. Teach people to love themselves and one another, and all that lives.
You were a science teacher, Element, so you already have all the equipment you need.
This post was edited by inky at June 16, 2019 9:13 AM MDT
I have a fantasy about designing a time capsule for anthropologists of the future to discover. They might have six legs, four arms, two opposing digits on each hand, larynxes with a range from bull elephants' rumbles to bats' echo cries, and brains with vastly crenulated neo-cortexes.
This post was edited by inky at June 14, 2019 7:35 AM MDT
Shuhak 