The Ultimate Question - Why is there something rather than nothing?

Jeez!! Defining a "thing" in the context of determining what does or does not constitute existence has befuddled better men than I for more time than we have here. And most of them have come up with little more than ontological gibberish as far as I can see.But in general I think I agree with you about possibilities and other such abstract entities qualifying as "things". So "nothing" is an absence of all such "things".So absolute nothing would be a complete absence of possibilities, contradictions, time, space, consciousness, mind, etc. etc. An absence of reality (whatever that means) perhaps?Is this self-contradictory? I didn't think it was but now I don't know. My head hurts. And that isn't just because I went to the Earls Court beer festival last night.

If think I would rephrase the OP to question to something like.... Why are there possible alternatives to nothing rather than absolutely nothing at all?....In order to best reflect my own rather all-encompassing interpretation of it.And God himself would surely be asking himself that question.

Well given that there certainly is something rather than nothing your question is very arguably more pertinent than mine.But my question (I think) is closer to the all inclusive and god stumping question that I think the OP was aiming at.The more I think about the stuff the more I conclude that anything beyond the physics of the whole matter is nothing more than semantic jiggery pokery.