Give me hope: Is life all downhill or is there still a chance of perfect moments?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

…In adulthood.

Within the complicated angst-ridden life I’ve had so far fate has appeased me with the odd moment of pure happiness, be it enlightenment, or love, or the joy of friendship, or pride or whatever.

I’m now 28 and I’ve been wondering when and more importantly if I will ever feel that again, if only for a moment. I wonder if my age and the level of experience my brain is at negates it’s ability to be taken by surprise and be overcome by a new and perfect experience that is not drug-induced.

To cut the bollocks: Has anyone felt a sense of satisfaction with their lot in life after the age of 30? Give details.

2

Don’t listen to the doomsayers; life just gets better as you get older. You stop looking for “perfect” and start getting happy with what you have. You develop skills to deal with what happens, and things just aren’t as catastrophic. You stop looking for people to blame for your life, and realize that your life isn’t so bad, after all. You start realizing that your attitude in life is a choice, and you start choosing to have a better attitude. You realize how much truth there is in the saying, “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you let it affect you.” You develop patience. You develop compassion and empathy. You stop caring so much what other people think, and what other people are doing, and just follow your own path.

At least, that’s my experience, so far.

3

After the age of 30? No. But then I’m only 29.

I remain convinced, however, that I’ll be capable of having those moments in a year’s time, in ten years’ time and in fifty years’ time. Every poll I’ve ever seen says that people are happier with their fifties than with their forties, happier with their forties than with their thirties, and so on.

But I don’t know what the hell life is going to do to top being seventeen.

4

My life didn’t even begin until my 20s, and now at 36 I’m still frequently awestruck by the realization that I’m the luckiest sonofabitch alive. No kidding – I often have moments in which I feel sorry for anybody who isn’t me, and I think that if I dropped dead right then and there I’d be a happy man, more than satisfied with the life I’ve lived, the people in it, and the experiences I’ve been blessed with (figuratively speaking).

5

It’s all about enjoying what you are doing, while you are doing it. Sometimes I find it’s the simpler things that I appreciate most. Next time you are leaving work, take the back-road-scenic-route home if it’s a nice day. While you are mowing your lawn, stop and look around at your domain and realize that you own this piece of the planet and all that is on it. Treat yourself to an expensive steak cooked the way you like and a cold beer. Take off work early and go fishing, catch a ball game, whatever it is you like to do. The key is to take a moment while you are doing something you like to appreciate it for all that it is.

6

Every moment you completely accept for what it is, is a perfect moment.

Oh also life really doesn’t seem to start until 30, not for me at least.

7

I wouldn’t be 17 again if you paid me.

8

I’m with you. 17? Oh, hell no.

I’m 38 (and three quarters) and life gets better every day. Better jobs, more money, better relationships, older kid…it’s all very good.

Cheers,
G

9

I’ll never be as healthy again as I was at 17, but that’s all that 17 had going for it.

10

I had a pretty rough childhood, and there was a really long stretch of time when I thought things would never get better, and/or that I’d never be happy.
Well, I was wrong.

I’m 45 years old now, and my life is great. I’ve very satisfied with my life. I also know that it will never be as bad as it was when I was a kid. That in itself is more than I could have ever hoped for! Considering that, there is no reason for me to ever be unhappy with my lot in life, ever again, no matter what happens from here on out!

You’ve just got to take what comes, and enjoy what you can, is all. Open your eyes to all the good things you can experience, and then experience them as much as you possibly can!

We grow up and we try to do the very best we can. Some of us get married, some of us divorce, some of us lose someone or something we care about, some of us have kids, we all have bills to pay, we all go through bad patches, and sometimes our health goes to shit, but, in the end, it usually works out, no matter what it is.
If it doesn’t, then just roll with it.
There’s no need to worry yourself sick over something you cannot change!

I think that the simple act of living our lives is one big learning experience, and we might as well make the best of it, because that’s just what happens to be dished out to us.

Use what you’ve got and enjoy as much of it as you can.
If you can, try to make things better.
If you’ve tried, and you can’t make things better, that’s ok, too.

You will have wonderful experiences throughout your life.
Just keep your eyes open, and keep your heart open enough to realize when they’re happening to you!

11

my daughter was born when I was 30 so i have a whole passle of moments of joy to come.

12

I’m just about the same and I’m still waiting for life to begin. But I’m not too discontented about it.

13

While I certainly had fun in my 20’s, I don’t believe my life was really good until about I was in my early 30s. I’m 38 now and the last 6 years have been the best of my life. Looking forward…I think it’s only going to get better.

14

I’d be 17 again if I could change the things surrounding my life.

To the OP: If you continue to look at life that way, absolutely it will be nothing but downhill. I’m a firm believer that to a pretty great extent it’s all in your outlook.

15
  1. Keeps getting better. Sometimes I look at my life and cannot figure out how I landed in such a nice life. Of course, I’m also often waiting for a catastrophe; surely the universe does not allow this.

My dad (age almost 60) recently said that he can’t believe how fortunate he’s been either. He pretty much feels the same way I do, only 30 years later on.

16

Things I did before I turned 30:

Went to school, meh
Started a career, meh
Had an unsuccessful rock band (not hard to do), meh

Things I did after 30:

Got married
Had 3 beautiful children
Career got better
Bought a house that has tripled in value in 9 years.
Have a slightly more successful rock band.

One of these days, you’ll look over at your lovely wife and kids and think about this period of your life and go :smack: .

As someone said, youth is wasted on the young.

17

It’s all downhill.

18

I’m 43. It seems that for the first time in my life, I have a chance at making things good. Not just surviving them, not just taking what comes, not just muddling through, but actually using my internal power to make things better. It’s not certain, but it’s a lot more likely than any time before in my life.

17? I was in grade 13. The last year of high school: calculus, French, art, physics, chemistry, urequited crush on a certain Japanese girl, will I ever learn to drive, university’s coming up, do I go to art school or architecture school, I’m so scared before the interview that I throw up, for once I get to go over to someone popular’s house and hang out even if I feel awkward and out of place, spring and summer come, no-one to go to the prom with, all of a sudden high school is over and I’m blinking and looking around and wondering what happened…

Naah. I’d like the youthful fitness back, but I wasn’t all that fit or coordinated and I had lousy vision then, too. But there were things I couldn’t imagine I needed, things that would take ten years and more for me to learn… after I turned 29.

So, while I want to be in better shape, and I’m working on it, emotionally at 43 I’ve just gotten to the starting line.

19

Why, after 30, would you *not * feel odd moment of pure happiness, be it enlightenment, or love, or the joy of friendship, or pride or whatever? Do you think you’re done making friends? Will you never love another person? Are you done with everything in life that you take pride in?
I’ve only been 30 for two weeks, but I still love my husband and kids. I’m proud of the house we’re moving into, even though it’s very much a “before” picture at the moment. I’m looking foward to the challenge of making it a beautifiul home. I’ve still got friends - some have fallen by the wayside but I’m confident I will make more.
Life is not a destination, it’s a journey. You do not get a finite amount of happy alloted to you at birth.
If you honestly feel that you have no hope of ever being happy again, I would ask if you’ve considered that you might be depressed.

20

“Satisfaction with your lot in life” is not the same as “the odd moment of pure happiness.” In fact, you admit that those bits of happiness occurred in the midst of angsty complications.

Most of us are able to grow out of the angsty complications. Yes, shit happens. But we can do quite a bit to improve things. This is an ongoing process.

By losing the “Lows”–do we lose some of the “Highs”? Perhaps, in a way. But the transcendent moment is still possible. Nature’s beauty, music or visual art can take you “outside” of yourself. I’ve heard that parenthood can be hard work–but I’ve seen many a parent melt at a child’s smile.

Keep working on “your lot in life.” But that’s not all there is to living.