Watch unlimited films online for $6.99.
Try MUBI for FREE.
 

WHY IS LIFE WORTH LIVING?

DANGER PAULE

over 1 year ago

Any die-hard Woody Allen fan will remember the crucial scene in MANHATTAN when Woody’s
character, Isaac, makes a list of “WHY LIFE IS WORTH LIVING”, before realzing his mistake
and thereby setting up the film’s finale:

Inspired by this scene, I have, for years now, been keeping a similar and growing list… it’s a
great way to keep a tally and appreciation for life’s little pleasures. I posted this because I
thought that it would be interesting to see what others’ list would look like. I’ll start off with a
few things from my own.

WHY IS LIFE WORTH LIVING?

Staying home watching a good movie on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Eating a really good meal when I’m really, really hungry.
Cooking.
Meeting and befriendling friendly tourists and giving them a tour of my city.
Discovering / seeing an awesome new film / filmmaker for the first time.
Windy days.
Paul Auster books.
Hearing about people doing good things on the news.
Hot chocolate with little marshmallows mixed in.
Ben Stiller movies (never fails to make me laugh).
Meeting a nice girl with similar tastes in film
Sleeping outdoors on a warm summer night…

Law

over 1 year ago

why is life worth living?

music and girls

!!!

Dimitri​s Psachos

over 1 year ago

Art, Women and Mythology.

katz

over 1 year ago

Meeting and befriendling friendly tourists and giving them a tour of my city

you are a very nice person, I would rather chew razor blades…well almost, but it would be a toss up

Ben Stiller always makes me laugh too, his timing and facials are flawless

Grey Daisies

over 1 year ago

555-

over 1 year ago

Because it beats the alternative.

Dennis Brian

over 1 year ago

Sex
Archie comics
Andrea Dworkin’s fiction
The FIght by Norman Mailer
the film Picnic
Bob Dylan
Warren Beatty
The Trinity films
the short stories of JD Salinger
Sex

Rich Uncle Skeleton

over 1 year ago

Art
Love (by which I mean both platonic and romantic love)

Robert W Peabody III

over 1 year ago

Windy days.

What makes life worth living is the oneness found in the formless, shapeless, and oblique wind.

Vic Pardo

over 1 year ago

Exactly the kinds of lists made by people who have never even CONTEMPLATED suicide!

Robert W Peabody III

over 1 year ago

What about those of us who want to end it all precisely BECAUSE the likes of Ben Stiller get to make movies?

Dunno – can you shed some light there?

Mary

over 1 year ago

‘Exactly the kinds of lists made by people who have never even CONTEMPLATED suicide!’

um… really?

Jirin

over 1 year ago

Why is life worth living?

Well, why isn’t it?

Rich Uncle Skeleton

over 1 year ago

it isn’t. but we’ve all got to take our lumps.

katz

over 1 year ago

Exactly the kinds of lists made by people who have never even CONTEMPLATED suicide

Almost everyone has at least had “suicide ideation” even if no plan/ immediate intent …or so the research says

Mary

over 1 year ago

Love – Platonic, Erotic, Romantic, Agapae. Most of us want romantic love.
Honor – You have an obligation/duty to your parents, family, spouse and friends.
Charity – When you experience the compassion of giving you can begin to learn how to contribute to someone or something outside yourself.
Ambition – Healthy ambition is good because there is a lot that can be accomplished in one lifetime. And if you combine ambition with a charitable spirit you can experience the real success of making a positive change. You are not your job but you are related intimately with your actions. And if you believe in forgiveness (yourself and towards others) then the possibility for positive action does not have to be delayed.

I think what makes life worth living plays into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is also about perspective. With each level in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs a person has the opportunity to experience a different or renewed perspective. So something as simple as food or entertainment can indeed make life worth living.

Oftentimes (and perhaps this sounds a bit cliche but it is true) suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem. So the circumstances will change and hopefully God will provide you with the insight, strength and opportunity to overcome adversity.

As for end of life issues regarding chronic poor health and euthanasia. That is where it may get more complicated. This is probably where a deeper relationship with one’s family and spiritual order can help develop an outline for care.

deckard croix

over 1 year ago

“Exactly the kinds of lists made by people who have never even CONTEMPLATED suicide!”

Do we need qualifiers now? Seriously people, get off the computer, see some sunlight. Lighten up.

Now back to the heart of the thread…

Art (creating it, witnessing it)
Love (feeling it, giving it – romantically and platonically)

The rest is just details.

So yeah, I’m with Cecil on this one.

Grey Daisies

over 1 year ago

My (granted, personal) list:

Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol
C-c-c-c-c-cocaine.

deckard croix

over 1 year ago

^ at least you didn’t put Ambien, that would be an odd thing to live for.

mikilav

over 1 year ago

Film.

DANGER PAULE

over 1 year ago

@ peabody the third; Thanks for sharing your “issues”. Um… I’ll make sure they get filed.
-——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Continuing my PERSONAL list:

IN-N-OUT BURGERS
The Smiths
Finding an old toy at a flea market
Thai Food
MAKING INSTANT RAPPORT with a stranger
Alcohol of course
Seeing an old couple’s PDA
The New Beverly theatre

Mary

over 1 year ago

grey daises -

caffeine gets no love? :(

Miasma

over 1 year ago

Miasma loves caffeine

Post-Kyo

over 1 year ago

I believe in reincarnation so the possibility of being reborn into a shittier situation if I were to commit suicide is a real one.

“The Hindu [or buddhist] also knows that death must come naturally, in its own course, and that suicide only accelerates the intensity of one’s karma, bringing a series of immediate lesser births and requiring several lives for the soul to return to the exact evolutionary point that existed at the moment of suicide, at which time the still-existing karmic entanglements must again be faced and resolved”.

Also, cats and chocolate. Not together.

Hopeles​sly Addicte​d

over 1 year ago

Sex
Food & ‘drugs’
Love
Nature
Art
Smiles of others
Being useful
Stimulating ideas
Having choices

Jirin

over 1 year ago

The taste of cherries.

But seriously, you ask why life is worth living, but can you answer the question, ‘Is it worth it to die?’ Aside from a terminal illness or a ‘Debt to the mob that threatens my family’ situation, what is ever gained by ending your life?

Dimitri​s Psachos

over 1 year ago

‘Is it worth it to die?’

I believe in the afterlife. More art, women and mythology :D

micky ward

over 1 year ago

Moderated

Patapon

-moderator-
over 1 year ago

Hope, fear and love

Patapon

-moderator-
over 1 year ago

-