[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 2.94 MB, 994x540, Ghost in the Shell (1995) rooftop drop scene.webm [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13530957 No.13530957[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Fear of missing out.

This is how they get you. This is how they trap you. This is how they enslave you. Desire only leads to more desire and ultimately suffering. The modern world offers no legitimate forms of helpful suffering. Being stranded on a tropical Island for 3 years will build you into a stronger man, being an office drone for 3 years will turn you into a meek wreck of a man. There's the difference, people get all pumped up on challenge and enduring suffering but rarely realise not all suffering in pursuit of a goal is worth enduring. You will never benefit from chasing money, power or success in modern society. It will do nothing but break you down. Anxiety is nothing but the fear of missing out, of not being up to standard, of being thought of as not one of the pack. They're abusing your natural instincts with advertising and propoganda.

Take a step back and honestly evaluate things from an outsiders perspective. Do you want to write for the sheer love of doing it or do you want to be a writer?

>> No.13530959

>>13530957
I want to slam pigs

>> No.13530967

False dichotomy.

>> No.13530973

>>13530967
Enjoy your life of suffering then

>> No.13530987

>>13530973
Life is full of suffering and happiness. There is no one or the other. Your total enjoyment, if you could even put a value on something like that, is merely a result of your perception of your experiences. Life isn't black or white; it's a variety of colors. Which colors you see, however, changes based on the lens you wear.

>> No.13530993

>>13530957
>>13530959
>>13530967
>>13530973
>>13530987
read the bible

>> No.13531022

>>13530987
>Life is full of suffering and happiness.
Like I explained in the OP, the suffering offered in the modern world is illegitimate. It doesn't matter that there's highs and lows if they're artificial.

>> No.13531055

>>13530987
All I see are combinations of green red white and yellow, is that normal?

>> No.13531056

>>13531022
What makes it illegitmate? Is suffering even something that you can ascribe a level of legitimacy to? Even if you could ascribe legitimacy to it, why is the only source from an apparently singular entity (which is still some vague bogeyman anyway)? What's stopping you from creating your own suffering? What's stopping other people from creating "legitimate" suffering? Does it even matter if suffering is "legitimate"?

>> No.13531063

>>13531055
Do you usually see only those colors and derivatives? If yes, then that's your answer.

>> No.13531067

>>13531056
>What makes it illegitmate?
That it makes you weaker instead of stronger. Real suffering lifts you up when you power through it, being a wagie or chasing the dream of a wife and house just leaves you empty and damaged.

>> No.13531104

>>13531067
So, to you, suffering is legitimate if you grow stronger? I just see suffering as a trial of the spirit, regardless of the reward. Not really sure how "wagies" or chasing trophy wives factors in though.

>> No.13531123

>>13531104
>I just see suffering as a trial of the spirit, regardless of the reward
Tal like a person, not a motivational image

>> No.13531151

>>13531123
If you are op then you are a hypocrite. If you are just a rando who cringed at “trial of the spirit” then maybe you should get off of the literature and philosophy board and read something worthwhile.

>> No.13531170

>>13531063
Sure I see the other colors fine but those four really pop out, in the sense that given enough time I would probably be able to pull out a meaning of life from them alone.

>> No.13531202

>>13530957
>Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
>For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
>For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

>> No.13533397

>>13531202
>how to btfo every esoteric occult """"order"""" in just three verses

>> No.13533430

>>13531170
Schizophrenic

>> No.13533564
File: 287 KB, 360x519, Divine Ladder.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13533564

>>13530957
>No matter where you go, there you are.~Buckaroo Banzai
>Nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you. ~Luke 17:21
Suffering is no different than a fire. You can either be burnt by it, or use it to transform yourself like cold metal into steel.
Use it as a springboard to transcendence. Once one form of suffering repels off your like a raincoat, seek to conquer another form of suffering. Much like steel, the old flames has no effect on it's essence once it's been tempered.

The elimination of suffering is a moot endeavor. We will always create new forms of suffering; whether that be the banal ennui of the modern office space, or the despair of a temporary internet outage. Understand it. Tame it. Harness it. Grow.

>> No.13533590

>>13533430
Guess it's time to slow down with the daydreaming and hyperbole.

>> No.13533710
File: 314 KB, 1440x1080, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13533710

>>13533564
When I was in high school I found a copy of Buckaroo Banzai on VHS at a Goodwill a bit away from where I live. It still manages to hold a special place in my head, since I ended up liking the movie a good deal despite it not being very good. It's nice to know others know about it too. I looked up quick the quote you mentioned and it seems to be attributed as well to Confucius, but that could well be wrong.

>> No.13533718

>>13530957
That's a lot of excuses for something as simple as you hiding from life in absolute terror.

>> No.13533743

>>13530957
is it just me or is this site getting gayer?

>> No.13533786

>>13533743
It's not you. It's been over a decade since I started visiting 4chan and as annoying as it is to say the 2016 election did affect the quality of the site. I've given up using the internet outside of strictly utilitarian reasons almost entirely and don't regret it at all.

>> No.13533798

>>13533564
>>13533710
I love that movie. Everything about it feels like it was made by a child, in the best way possible.

>> No.13533849

>>13533718
>Life
That's a joke.

You don't have a life, you live to serve the system. You're a cog in the machine, desperately trying to believe you're essential.

>> No.13533850

>>13530957
>FOMO
Nah, anon. It's guilt, shame, fear of solitude that shackles the greatness.

People who want to create anything, be it a business or an artwork, will inevitably have people in their lives who will try to guilt, shame, or shun them. Whether you've developed the character necessary to keep moving, absolve that bullshit guilt, let go of the shame pinned on you, and get over being alone is up to the individual. People who see hard work will either be neutral and watch you closely, negative and direct all their insecurities at you -- malice and contempt for attempting to succeed where they believe they cannot, and the occasional positive person who'll buy into you or your work -- or just help you along.

50% of the population has some negative bias, not even considering "you" or "your work(s)." A little less than that, maybe 48% are neutral and scheming for a way to get "to the top." Perhaps 2% are the positive kind who'll buy into you, your work, or help you along when they see results of your efforts.
>The real trick is flipping the unhelpful 98% into the helpful 2% without them even noticing.

To directly answer your question, OP, I love creating. Writing being a large part of that. But I'm not creating out of love alone. I expect rewards for my years of efforts. I celebrate the joy of living, and of being alive, and I full-well expect to do so with the fruits of my labors. Whether that's the fortune to purchase the next 50 years' food & shelter, the freedom to work & travel unrestricted, or the security found in knowing I will never want for basic necessities because I have done something valuable.

This is an open challenge to any anon, from any part of this planet:
>Ask your local grocer/store manager if they'll accept your dreams and love in exchange for their food & services.
>See how fast police come when you take what you need to live without giving something tangible & of value in exchange.
>Post results, pics for proof.

>> No.13533861

>>13530987
Question for you is whether you act on that belief or quote the one who does.

>> No.13533870

>>13533850
>People who want to create anything, be it a business or an artwork
Are 99 times out of 100 doing it to feel like a winner among their peers. They wouldn't bother if they were the last man on earth.

>> No.13533901

>>13533870
That depends thoroughly on their actions. If you see a man working through the night on something that may never take off, and he knows it, but does it anyway... is he doing it to "win" amongst others? Does such a man even have peers?

I don't believe the 1% law of social dominance anon. 80 000 000 people are the only ones on the planet who create for some value beyond competition? Naively, I doubt that. I'll raise you another 80 000 000, to 160 000 000 at minimum.

>> No.13533913

>>13533850
>But I'm not creating out of love alone
Then you're not an artist, you're a scab.

If you truly loved to write and create, reward and recognition would be the last thing on your mind. You want to be a writer, you don't want to write. You want the recognition and the fame and to do something you enjoy doing that funds your safe little existence as a comfort slave. You can romanticise it all you like, the harsh truth of the matter is though you value your nice warm house, your good food and your holidays more than your writing. The writing is just a shiny star you stick on your shirt to make you stand out and seem interesting and worth noticing.

Of course you'll accuse me of being jealous or bitter, go ahead, we both know I'm right.

>> No.13533918

>>13533850
>This is an open challenge to any anon, from any part of this planet:
>Ask your local grocer/store manager if they'll accept your dreams and love in exchange for their food & services.
>See how fast police come when you take what you need to live without giving something tangible & of value in exchange.
Is this meant to prove anything except the fact you're a slave to comfort and trying to pretend being a whore is the only way to pursue your interests?

>> No.13533930

>>13533901
>If you see a man working through the night on something that may never take off, and he knows it, but does it anyway... is he doing it to "win" amongst others?
>may
Yes, he is doing it to show off. He's just too scared to hope for success but scared enough of failure to try.
>I don't believe the 1% law of social dominance anon
You can believe the sky is green, but it's not.
>80 000 000 people are the only ones on the planet who create for some value beyond competition?
>Value
Why is everything about money?

If I create an absolutely stunning painting, I don't give a fuck about how much someone will pay for it. The fact you do is proof you'll never be one of those true artists, you'll always be a poser.

>> No.13533936

>>13530957
>Do you want to write for the sheer love of doing it or do you want to be a writer?
Lame question mate. I write for the sheer love and passion of it. So why wouldn't I want to become a writer?

>> No.13533943
File: 2.40 MB, 854x480, 1563908464007.webm [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13533943

>>13533849
Nigga live a little.
Just give it a try.

>> No.13533954

>>13533936
>So why wouldn't I want to become a writer?
The point I'm making is there's people who love to write and people who are in love with the idea of being a writer. They care more about the appearance of being a writing than their actual writing, they're superficial.

If you were the last man on earth, would you still write?

>> No.13533962

>>13533943
Your system has nothing I want.

>> No.13533988

>>13533954
I understand whay youre getting at.
>If you were the last man on earth, would you still write?
That would give me even more reason to write.

>> No.13533991

>>13533913
I would never ask to be nor claim myself an artist. That's a long-dead horse to be kicked anachronistically several centuries ago, at least.

Recognition is of little merit. Reward though? Certainly! I'm not so meagre a man I'd give away the results of decades of effort, or a lifetime spent mastering a craft. No, I expect and demand some measure of value in exchange for the work I do, and the work I have done. I could give no fucks for titles, honors, media bullshit. Popularity, fame, recognition, "respect"? Fuck no. Those don't buy the goddam groceries. They don't keep me off the streets, or out of gangs, or prevent me from spiraling so far into despair murder and theft become opportunities.

Would someone pay me fairly for the work I love? No? Then why the fuck would I ever give them anything? Because my hopes and dreams and love are sunk into some bauble? Fuck that noise, fuck that nonsense. I'll not toil and labor chunks out of a lifetime getting by on measly slices of communion and scraps from others' dinner tables. Fuck that pedantry.

Creating, writing, developing is all well and fine and wonderful for the 18 hours a day it's being done. Those other 6 hours require sleep, food, some measure of hygiene, security. Unlike those who preach and pretend they would write a tome in the midst of a battlefield, suffering from dysentery and starvation for weeks on end, I know the comforts necessary for my greatest levels and degrees of creation. Not a single person in my personal life knows I create, nor am I interested in telling them. I don't need some fucking child's star, I create the fucking stars.

I haven't any reason to accuse you of anything anon. You're somewhere between a shitposter trying to rile up another and a great critic. I wish I'd run into more like you, years ago, so I could've learned earlier to act, to be an author of completed works rather than a writer of words.
>At the very least, I'm grateful you're here, now, with the disposition you have.

>> No.13534000

>>13533918
Tri it anon. Don't sissify yourself for the sake of an ideal you haven't truly realized.
>How many days can you create when you have no food, no home, no clean water, no change of clothes, nothing except "the writing"?

Pose and posture all you want, you won't write the next Gatsby or Ulysses while you're dying in a gutter off the side of a highway.

>> No.13534005

>>13533991
>Would someone pay me fairly for the work I love? No? Then why the fuck would I ever give them anything?
Nothing you ever write will be worth reading if this is your mindset.

>> No.13534019

>>13534000
The very fact you think the only choices in life are being a prostitute or dying in the gutter tells me you'll never write the next Gatsby or Ulysses.

>> No.13534034

>>13533930
Who is he showing off for, anon? Himself? "God"? Some peeping tom he isn't aware of?

In many languages blue and green are referred to by the same word for the same color. It can physically appear green in areas like the atlantic coast of Canada, the western coast of the UK, and many parts of the arctic circle, for various reasons.

Value isn't money anon. Money's a symbol of value, but it is not the character referenced by the symbol.

If you create a stunning painting and want to die without creating another, good for you and your foolish whimsy. I care to create more than one thing. I care to keep myself alive and operating at the highest levels, as much as possible, to produce as many works as possible. Because I want to see every fucking thing I can possibly create in a single lifetime, to the best of my developed ability.

>> No.13534039

>>13534034
>Who is he showing off for
I already explained, reread my post.

>> No.13534042

>>13533991
It's actually really hard to find someone who doesn't think like this.

>> No.13534044

>>13534005
And yet your only criticism is to denigrate, not to correct. You are the 50% that contributes nothing positive nor neutral.

You are the kind of anon I wouldn't sell a shoelace to.

>> No.13534055

>>13534019
The very fact you don't comprehend life is largely binary proves to me you haven't lived long.

Come back when you've the life experience necessary to posture, anon. I might listen to your shilling of ideals, then, after you've succeeded where others have failed.

>> No.13534058

>>13534034
>In many languages blue and green are referred to by the same word for the same color. It can physically appear green in areas like the atlantic coast of Canada, the western coast of the UK, and many parts of the arctic circle, for various reasons.
Do you have autism? Or are you just being passive aggressive like a woman?
>Value isn't money anon. Money's a symbol of value, but it is not the character referenced by the symbol.
The concept of value is disgusting.
>I care to create more than one thing. I care to keep myself alive and operating at the highest levels, as much as possible, to produce as many works as possible. Because I want to see every fucking thing I can possibly create in a single lifetime, to the best of my developed ability.
You care about being in a warm house, you care about running water, you care about nice food and travelling. You care about all of these things more than you care about writing, because if the writing doesn't pay you'll find something to do that does. You're a scab larping as a writer.

>> No.13534061

>>13534044
>And yet your only criticism is to denigrate, not to correct.
You can't polish a turd. Unlike what you were raised to believe.

>> No.13534062

>>13534039
You didn't explain a damn thing anon. And you avoided a direct answer that could've changed someone's mind or life.

>> No.13534066

>>13534055
Life is a lot more than what you conceive, but you're too scared to step outside of comfort.

>> No.13534074

>>13534062
I explained, if you don't understand it that's your problem not mine.

>> No.13534075

>>13534042
Where do you live anon? I've rarely found a person who would dare ask for compensation for their efforts or for the value they produce.

>> No.13534090

>>13530987
The question you should be asking is, if a dying comrad is the same suffering than a day without wi fi. Yes you have happiness and suffering in your life but thanks to modern society the degree is toned down a lot.

>> No.13534096

>>13534061
Well there's a joke anon, I was raised on even less. Now I can look up to the massive shit you hold up on a podium.

>>13534066
Sure, it's what I act on, with great discomfort, after I conceive it. What do you do with yourself?

>>13534074
>TL;DR you can't explain because you don't even know what the fuck point you're trying to make. Now you're dodging out wholesale because someone called you out on your lackluster position.

>> No.13534130

>>13533988
Liar

>> No.13534134

>>13534090
>if a dying comrad is the same suffering than a day without wi fi
NOOOO ALL SUFFERING IS EQUAL IT'S A TEST OF SPIRIT JUST KNUCKLE DOWN BRO DON'T BE A PUSSY IT'S TIME TO MAN UP BRO

>> No.13534166

>>13533991
You are a singularly awful writer. Every post you've made this thread has been overblown and turgid. I cringe at every word. You have absloutely no value as a writer and judging by the content buried in your purple posts, probably even less as a human being.

>> No.13534169
File: 1.30 MB, 255x170, Stalin-Clap.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13534169

>>13530957
There's one really interesting part about education. Let's consider a middle sized city with a healthy birth rate. That city will have enough children every year to fill the elementary schools and that will create a wave of children who will go to high school and then university.

If you're the minister of education or in any other way mixed up with the educational system, the most economically justifiable thing to do is to realize that you can't reach all of those kids. But you can play around with the probability a little bit. There's gonna be a genius in one of the classes, so you tell the teachers to look for them, pick them out and give them a special treatment. If there's a kid who's too stupid, then try a little bit and if it doesn't work then it doesn't work, at least you can have a clear conscience because you tried to do something.

The best thing is, considering only the high schools and universities, the kids are gonna be there for 4 years, so a rotation is always present. New flesh is always coming. That's why the important thing is to give all of those kids the feeling that they are the genius, that they are the next Newton or the next Einstein. Yes! You can be an astronaut, why not! Fulfill your dreams! A small percentage is going to end up being exactly, but it's important give everyone that feeling to raise the probability.

During this warm night, shrouded by the light polluted sky, I
voluntarily read the post of one of the children who got baited by the educational system into thinking that he has something valuable to say.

You got me real good there OP. Congratulations.

>> No.13534177

>>13533913
Most of the greatest artists throughout history used their art as a way to make a living and support their lifestyle. Great works of art have been produced explicitly by commission or to earn money.

Shakespeare wrote his plays in a manner specifically designed to draw in audiences and raise commissions.
Greek poets performed the Odyssey and The Illiad with the expectation of being paid for their skills.
Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment to clear the enormous debts he had accumulated.
Every great director who has ever produced a film had to finance and fund it.

This idea that you can't produce great art because you are restricted by the need to earn a living is nonsense, the world's greatest artists have struggled with this. It's hard, yes. It can compromise you, yes. Human life is struggle and compromise.

>> No.13534190

>>13533962
What about recordings by rage against the machine, or System of a Downs? Surely some art inspired by **their** system is worthy of your fedora.
I tip my fedora to you, good sir. May the edge be with you.

>> No.13534196

>>13534177
Exactly
If making great art didn't pay, nobody would do it. Why do you think literature is in such doldrums?

>> No.13534214

>>13534196
>>13534177
Some of the greatest writers of all time receiving money for their work does not legitimise your stance that unless you're being paid, why bother?

>> No.13534226

>>13534196
We'll only know if literature is in the doldrums 20 years or further from now. It took a long time even in the past for great works of arts to establish their legacy, to seperate the wheat from the chaff. Since then, more books that ever are being produced, which means it will take that much longer to see how many truly great books were produced in our time.

I've read less great books that were written in the modern day, but I've found a few and I'm sure there are more that I haven't discovered.