Can you still find contentment in life despite being familyless?

[kfccruelty]

I know that there is a number of individuals on here that have absolutely no family and/or relatives.
And you have my undying respect for being such strong, courageous people.
I am very fortunate to have a mom and dad that is still living but the rest of my relatives live overseas so I am not very close to them.
So I can easily wind up in the same boat as others on here that have found themselves without a family when my mom and dad eventually die as we all will someday.
Anyway, the question that I would like to pose to people on here is; do you think that it is possible to still be happy in life and find contentment without any family whatsoever? Maybe there are people on here that have still found happiness despite being without family members, maybe they fill the void with lots of close friends.
Or perhaps they know of people who have done that.
This is a question I have been wondering about for some time now.
I look forward to hearing peoples responses in regards to this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SubjugatingH2O]

I don't understand, do you mean living out your life with no family until you die? If so, I have to say no, personally. I want to marry and have kids and all that crap.

 

[kfccruelty]

hi SubjugatingH2O,
well, I guess I mean outside of marriage and kids. I mean not having a living mom and dad and no living relatives.
I know that there are some on here in this kind of situation. A number of them are also not married and have no kids either.

 

[kfccruelty]

I forgot to also thankyou for your response, SubjugatingH2O.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

It's possible..I had a fall out with my parents or family for years.
Plus living 1600 miles away. I became less dependent on them.
Still a bit of issues inside of me I had to work through.

Overtime I focus more on my life and what was going on
in front of me. I can't say i was completely content but
it didn't killed me or I was crazy becuase my parents weren't
in my life at that time...

Being married with a child or in a relationship...filled that viod i suppose.
Plus i also had a lot of freinds or support system in place.
I was actaully having a blast having a great time enjoying my life before i met my wife.

To this day, I still don't know what it is to have a relationship
with my father..The father and son relationship...he was never
around or was availible in my life...even though we lived under
the same roof when i was growning up.

Even when I first got clean and sober. I had to stay away from my family.
The dysfunctional in my family was making me sick.

 

[LonelyDragon]

I hope so. I told mine where they could go. They were controlling and overbearing. Especially my father. To be honest I felt better after I did.

 

[SilentThinker]

Just glad to have a family

Without parents,it is hard to survive for me.(Cause i am not really independent.)
Sometimes thinking about the bad things we done and the tough job of parenting,I guess it is good to have parents too.

 

[Antihero]

To be content with myself without my family I would either need a some good close friends, a significant other, or a hell of a good cause to fight for.

 

[querida]

both my parents are still alive, thankfully. it scares me to think about the eventual reality, however there are people who have no family (parents, relatives, spouse etc) but are content with their lives, i cannot speak to it as that is not the case with me, but it will really depend on each person...some people may have incredibly strong friends, others may have a strong passion in life, etc

i think its best to not fret too much in the present about such things tho, i know just thinking about it myself for 5 mins makes me unbelievably sad, plus god willing, your family may live to a very ripe old age

 

[kfccruelty]

thanks for all the wonderful and interesting responses everyone.

 

[Sarahlone]

It all depends on what stage in our development that we become without parents or extended family. For example, your parents have likely matured to the point that they derive their contentment from each other, you, or, maybe their careers and hobbies.

 

[gal_lisa]

i'm in the same boat myself. i got a sweet kitty 3 years ago. his name is gino and he's the best. he's like family truly. i would recommend animals because they love unconditionally. they keep u company always.

 

[Satyr]

My mom and dad are starting to get older, and my mother is in really rough shape. I expect that it won't be long before all I have left is my dad.

I have no brothers or sisters and I'm not married. While I've come to terms with the fact that I will always be single, I worry if something health related happens to me. Unlike my mother, there will be no one around to help me out. I feel like I was cheated in that arena, but whatever...boo hoo.

Not having a family isn't the end of the world. Just make **** sure you've got a few good friends around in case something happens to you...especially as you grow old.

As for me, I get to die by myself and rot for three weeks before the neighbors start complaining about the smell. So that should be fun.

 

[Skorian]

It all depends on what stage in our development that we become without parents or extended family. For example, your parents have likely matured to the point that they derive their contentment from each other, you, or, maybe their careers and hobbies.

I just want to say congrats on making your first post in 8 months You should say more.

 

[MiKeY]

Absolutely. Family isn't always a unit that consists of our parents/siblings; oftentimes, it's a group to which we belong based on a mutual goal or committment. I have a work family, a family of friends (very small), and a blood-relative family.

There are tons of people whose real "blood" families are nothing more than people to which they're legally related; however, they still have friends or coworkers that make up the tight-knit group of people that enrich their lives, and make it worth living.

Without sounding too much like a cliche, perhaps I can submit that family is what you make it?

 

[eh?]

It is definitely possible.

But if I had no family at this point in life, I would probably be a total wreck.
I would give up in life. Family is all I have. Without them, I don't see much reason to do anything.

 

[Bluey]

hi SubjugatingH2O,
well, I guess I mean outside of marriage and kids. I mean not having a living mom and dad and no living relatives.
I know that there are some on here in this kind of situation. A number of them are also not married and have no kids either.

Hi there

I to have a mum and dad. Me lucky One day they well not be here All though there is not a big age gap so maybe I well always have one of them around. Maybe my mum as me dad smokes like a chimney lol

Well when they go I well have nothing left but 2 cousins I still talk to. But by then there is nothing saying that they well not have moved away or fall out with me. ppl change. But it dose worry me that I well have no one to call if I need someone. I think all you can do is go fro life being friendly with ppl that you think are OK and try and have good friends around you. Apart from that I don't see that there is a lot moor that you can do.

 

[SilentThinker]

I do my things.
My parents do their things.

There is a big generation gap.We all need closeness and acceptance from someone.Family is one source and friends is too.

 

[Sarahlone]

It all depends on what stage in our development that we become without parents or extended family. For example, your parents have likely matured to the point that they derive their contentment from each other, you, or, maybe their careers and hobbies.

I just want to say congrats on making your first post in 8 months You should say more.

Thank you!

 

[Sarahlone]

Absolutely. Family isn't always a unit that consists of our parents/siblings; oftentimes, it's a group to which we belong based on a mutual goal or committment. I have a work family, a family of friends (very small), and a blood-relative family.

There are tons of people whose real "blood" families are nothing more than people to which they're legally related; however, they still have friends or coworkers that make up the tight-knit group of people that enrich their lives, and make it worth living.

Without sounding too much like a cliche, perhaps I can submit that family is what you make it?

I completely agree that the definition of “family” is not restricted to blood relatives. For instance, if I had a husband, he would certainly be a part of my family—by choice! Some people would rather spend quality time with their “non blood” relatives.
I guess it all depends on your frame of reference. I read and interpreted the thread as from the perspective of someone in the early (young adult) stages of human development theories.