Lately I’ve become even more aware of the fact that I’m made up of atoms, and that everything is made up of atoms, and it’s making everything in life seem silly, ridiculous, and making me feel very detached. Where do I go with this knowledge? I’m made up of mostly space, and small particles - atoms, etc… I’m in my mid fifties, and I thought I would have had some grip on this by now, but I’ve kind of had this issue since I was a little kid. I’ve always been in to science, physics, chemistry, astronomy, etc… But it’s making me question existence more than ever. Do i talk to a spiritual guide? Do other people have these thoughts? What do I do? It’s starting to interfere with my everyday life.
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Hi friend. I think it’s pretty normal as a human to think on these things in life. We ask ourselves why the grass is green, why the sky is blue, what are we made of, where did we come from? Normal things that we start asking from a very young age.
Sometimes our minds want to dive deeper and explore more and more and what these things mean to us and the world around us. I think it can be a good thing to ponder and wonder. But not so much that it is causing you to get so detached . Don’t over obsess or worry about it.
Yes, maybe speaking to adviser could be of help to you. That is very possible. Maybe even a therapist to open up about your feelings and thoughts and perhaps even they can give you references to people you can connect with.
I think it’s important that if it’s interfering with your everyday life that you should try to step back from it a little bit. We have a beautiful world around us! You have a mind and body that you can do things with, create things with and share with people around you. Focus on doing that! It’s amazing what we as humans are capable of. Focus on the things you are passionate about and the things you are capable of that fulfill these passions. Let those be the things you think upon. Don’t over worry about the rest.
Much love to you friend
- Kitty
This kind of question is quite normal as a lot of questions remains without answers concerning life itself, our existence, our purpose. I’ve always been struggling with this since I was a kid too. Sometimes it was to the point of having this impression of being an observer, out of this world and my own body. I remember being deeply scared when I realized about permanence of death and what you actually shared here: the fact that if we’re made of atoms, what’s beyond this? And what’s the point? But as long as I love learning new things and asking myself too many questions, I learned at my own depends that it’s not healthy if it becomes too much. It can prevent you to simply live. So there’s a balance to find in this.
We’re human beings. We seek for answers, understanding and control. We need for things to make sense, otherwise we might feel lost. Science allows us to understand this world even more, how it functions, but is it enough? Answering to this kind of question is highly intimate. Not necessarily a matter of spirituality or religion but, at least, the way you interpret meaning of life itself. And it’s healthy to think about it, as long it doesn’t take control over your own life.
What works for me is to read, basically, and to write. I’m passionate about science and astronomy as well. I couldn’t stop being interested in it even if I would. But I find more personal insights and inspirations in philosophy, poetry, history and anthropology. It’s just two different ways to nourrish your mind that happen to be complementary. Those are fields in which the main interest isn’t how our environment functions based on specific rules but how we, as human beings, interact with this environment. Whether it’s through creativity, introspection or cultural/social productions. I find a lot of inspiration and personal “answers” (if we can say it like this) by learning about how people deal-t with universal events and elements around the world, such as birth, alliances, cosmogony, death, spirituality and myths, nature/culture, etc. But it doesn’t provide answers in itself. And it’s only my opinion but accepting this is part of our own limits as human beings. It’s a grief in itself. A symbolic one but a really important one.
Also I don’t know if this reference could be useful to you, but “Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death” by Yrvin Yalom could be helpful (I know you didn’t mention death in your message, but this book has some interesting insights about existence itself, related to what you shared. And as the author is a psychiatrist, his books are generally based on concrete discussions with his clients).
What is certain: you’re not alone. This could be a first step for you to find a new sense or purpose in your life. It goes along with being lost and having many questions at the same time. But that’s okay. The more you’ll interact with others, try new activities, have new interests, the more you’ll learn about this world and yourself. Because we may be able to understand how it functions with sciences, but the relation you have with your environment is entirely yours. A part of reflexion is certainly needed. We have the capacity to think after all. But allowing yourself to also embrace life and learn to let go sometimes can be also needed.
Hold fast. 
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