Just read the #mangaI Sold My Life for 10,000 Yen per Year. Enjoyed its bittersweetness. I s'pose living every day as if it’s one of the last days of your life (as long it’s not actually so, unlike in the manga), through which you would (reasonably) prioritize yourself, could be a way to #happiness. Also, while real life is in the way (compelling the protagonist to make the choice to give up his life), #love did prevail (convincing others that Miyagi really exists). You should give it a read!
I shall reiterate, that by “prioritizing yourself” doesn’t mean to ignore everyone but yourself. #Humans are #social animals, and #happiness is contagious, so truly fulfilling a specific person that you choose to care about also fulfills you. To find that someone though would require careful observation; it won’t come as easy as in the fictional stories (as much as we like reading them). I s’pose, though, that maybe calling it love is taking that connection a bit too lightly, sometimes.
But one thing shocks me is how candid the depiction of #death in this work, where #life is not worth living if one cannot enjoy the present: the protagonist sold his remaining lifespan as he realized that work is fruitless. Nowadays, the lack of hope of a better future is driving many to spend all their money in a desperate attempt to live in the moment. For them, it’s a life well spent; but collectively, is that not a kind of slow-bleeding death? Must people resort to that to be #happy?
@austin Ok: we more than likely don't have much time left. 10 to 20 years, more if things change but I find it highly unlikely.
People have never been this depressed, so even if short burst of fun are pointless in the long run, they are "good" way to enjoy your life and not be miserable.
I personally don't act like that, but in my experience most people do.
Most people who easily trade 3/4 of their life if they could have 5-10 years of happiness, and I kinda agree.
Following the #death spiral (pun intended), I then read the #manga (and then watched the #anime movie) of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. The optimistic girl, realizing not having much time left, lived her remaining days by hanging out with the secluded boy, trying to understand him. Of course, ultimately #life is about surprises and the girl’s life ended unexpectedly, but the boy’s life was changed; now he and her best friend inherits her spirit. It’s hard to not cry at this masterpiece.
ASIDE: what does it mean to be #alive? In Pancreas, the girl’s answer is to #sympathize with others, but she also realizes that she can only show her charm in the presence of others - as in, she’d be living for others. As such she becomes curious when she sees the boy unconcerned with being alone, his life only containing himself and books (this is not “shaming #otakus” as some think). Towards the end we see that the answer is a synergy of both: live with others while maintaining one’s self.
Finally, I want to comment on @PeterCxy ’s https://typeblog.net/36434/being-towards-death which seems to agree with the boy's assessment above. Yes, it's laughable to seek a specific meaning of #life, and that we should (and usually try to) live each day to its fullest, but maybe it's because we're ultimately irrational. If #humanity is perfectly #rational, it'll lose its variety, all changes can be foreseen, and so our existence would be truly meaningless. Therefore, we exist, for that we're #unique.
Speaking of #rationality of #life, I should also mention #ElonMusk’s new #xAI thing, where he stated that the goal is to “understand the true nature of the universe.” Of course it’s just a slogan, but I feel that collapsing everything info reasoning would be disastrous. The true nature of the #universe is unpredictability; letting it be might be the better way to go.
Add comment