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self-improvement. progression. the "bucket list." lifelong learning. materialism has been replaced by collecting experiences in a lot of first world countries. people seem to think that they are infinitely working toward something, so they read a lot, travel the world, meet lots of people and experience as many things as possible. what is the end goal of all this? when you reach a certain age, will you transform into a magical being because of all these things and achieve immortality or become the most interesting man or woman in the world or something like that? constantly learning and experiencing new things are definitely good but doing this stuff will most likely not bring about the results a lot of people imagine. you're still going to get old and die and most likely you won't become a wizard or sorceress or the guy from the dos equis commercials or experience nirvana. this is definitely not meant to be negative or discourage people or sound too preachy - I just wonder if people are aware of this. I'm also curious what they are trying to accomplish exactly. these questions also apply to me because I do this stuff too.
you just made me ponder all types of things. a lot of times when im out traveling and experience something alone i right away wish i had someone to share it with. later i ask myself why? do we really need others to validate our thoughts and experiences?
Personally, I think the goal of doing the things you mentioned, and pretty much anything I do in my spare time is just to have fun. I know I'm going to die and pretty much everything I do and experience doesn't matter, but that doesn't mean that my enjoyment of those moments isn't enough to justify seeking them out. You can either do nothing in your spare time, or do something that you enjoy, so why not do the latter?
And Nopes, I'm pretty sure it's ingrained into our species to seek out companionship. It's how we survive. You don't need validation of your experiences from anyone, but it's perfectly natural to wish you had a buddy along to share the fun.
In the end, sure, nothing matters. What I don't understand is why people have such a hard time embracing this. It's kinda freeing.