The futility of our time here on Earth

[Andres]

I had a weird thought today.

I moved a couple of years ago, but I still work in the town where I grew up. I work at the same place for about 9 years now. As I was driving through the street where our office is situated, I saw this man. A friend of my parents and I've known him since I was a child. He's about 10 year older than my parents, he's married and he has a son who is the same age as my brother. He waved and laughed at me and I waved back. It's a friendly guy and he does a lot of charity work.

Driving further, I looked in my back mirror and a random though crossed my mind: add another 9 years and he'll probably be no longer with us. Then I realised that within 9 years, I'll be 41 and my son 9.

MTW was only 9 years ago, yet within only 9 years, a lot has changed and over another 9 years more will have changed.

After another 4 or 5 periods of 9 years, I'll probably be dead too and I won't see all those changes anymore.

Mind you, I don't find this idea to be depressing or so, I'm not the type to go all philosphical and talk myself into a deep depression and all, but it just fascinates me how a man carries on with his life in the illusion that he is immortal, that he has all the time in the world, while at some day, it'll be over. It also fascinates me how people have all kinds of ambitions and pursue all kinds of nigh impossible things, while they could just be happy. Why not giving yourself a break and be happy? It'll be over after a few 9-year periods, no matter what you do.

I don't feel the need to change my life drastically. You have people who say that you have to live your life and do and see as much as you can or gather as much wealth as you can, try everything, but why would I? At the end, it will be the end and it will be over, regardless of how much things I did or tried. Why pursuing all kinds of things, striving to achieve objectives, wanting to visit this, eat that, try out X and Y and all that, when I'm happy here and now?

Why are people always so busy and stressed? Why do people care so much about reaching goals, achieving things, what others think of them?

It is my belief that the key to happiness lies in not wanting too much and in not taking yourself too seriously, let alone finding yourself important. A coffee and a bar of chocolate on a sunny Sunday afternoon is more than enough to be happy.