Does anybody else fantasize about the end of civilization?

[minstrelboy]

I suffer from depression (which may or may not play a part in this), and I find modern existence to be far too overwhelming, and extremely pointless. I feel like all of the b.s. that inundates our lives, all the technologies that are supposed to make our lives "easier", do nothing but make us stupider and more apt to a slovenly, self-indulgent lifestyle. Everything anybody needs to do absolutely nothing is at your fingertips, and there are so many technological distractions in our lives that we don't have the time to form a coherent thought. Sure, you may argue that it took some incredibly smart engineers to design some hi-tech gadget that any mouth-breather can go buy at wal-mart, but I think it requires a new kind of intelligence to be able to create things that 1.) we actually need, and 2.) is beneficial to, or at least in harmony with, the needs of our planet. (Anybody who has seen the movie "The Gods Must Have Been Crazy" should understand what I mean, if I'm not making myself clear.) I refuse to believe that the human race is any more important than any other creature on this planet - we are ALL a part of the same ecosystem, and we've done everything in our power to throw it out of balance.

So, yeah, I fantasize about survivng the coming zombie apocalypse, some Mad Max-type nuclear holocaust wasteland, Armageddon. I relish the thought of homo sapien being put in it's place.

Has anybody else sat down and figured out how to just drop off the grid? Does anybody know of any sulf-sustaining communes that accept people on the merit that they're willing to work an honest life living off the land? I spent 6 years in the US Army as a mechanic, I have a decent amount of knowledge (for building and maintaining things), and am reliable, dependable, and honest (although not very outgoing).

Because I feel myself die a little more inside every day that I have to sit in traffic on my way to work, every time I see fast food refuse scattered across parking lots and highways, every time I turn on the news and see people shooting people, drinking and driving, people abandoning their own children to do drugs, etc. etc. The dregs of humanity, which seems to grow more and more prevalent everyday, whereas all the redeeming qualities slowly slip away. Can somebody take me away from this, or give me some advice to cope? Can somebody at least validate that I kind of make sense to them?

(This is a serious question and doesn't require any flippant answers - if you don't agree, or if you're going to tell me to read the bible, then please, don't reply.)

 

[br4ve]

I have fantasized the same thought but more or less with curiousity rather then a desire for mankind to be put in its place. I think death will be an interesting adventure but that can definitly wait.

All of what you say is very relevant it would appear that the world is spiralling into turmoil and that we are abusing our planet through technology and industry, with little regard for the ecosystem. That is another matter.

I think the truth of the matter is that people have always been this way and that the day and age we live in now is no different (perhaps it is even better) then it has been in the past. Murder, rape, disease, abuse, famine etc. have all existed for thousands of years. Perhaps it got increasingly worse as the human population increased. I can't stand the thought of working 9 - 5 Monday to friday and whilst I am a uni student at the moment, don't relish the thought of being thrown into a workforce to live a meaningless existence until I die.

Thats just the thing though it is up to us to formulate the basis of our own existance and make positive steps in our life to acheive some form of happiness. It might seem meaningless at times but what choice do we have?

Things I do to improve my happiness - play basketball, attend meditation classes once a fortnight, exercise, eat well, socialise, take time for myself just to think through my thoughts, write down goals and to do lists, go to the gym, spend time with my girlfriend, read mens health magazines, watch nba.

Even from this though you can see my life is cluttered, in between these recreational things I still have to work, study, eat, sleep, drive etc. I truly get upset when I read, hear stories, witness acts which harm other people, especially those who are weaker (women and children) than the agressor - there are a lot of weak minded people in this world and I feel the best thing I can do is improve my own mental and physical balance. I want to make this world a better place by being the best I can be and spreading that positive outlook to other people.

Do I slip up from time to time? sure
Do I let myself be influeced by others when I shouldnt? of course
Do I get depressed, upset, angry or violent? yes

I see it as my task to overcome these problems though, I consider myself very lucky and will work towards setting goals that will make me satisfied with this life rather than others.

Hope there is at least one useful bit of advice in there - I went of on a bit of a tangent lol