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here's to you, good luck in your journey. make it worth it "If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfri
by hooande 4y ago
here's to you, good luck in your journey. make it worth it
"If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is."
- Charles Bukowski
- zasdffaa 4y agoI don't know if it's worth it. It's the way I am and I seem to have as much choice over it as ivy chooses growing up a wall. I've never been hungry by choice and I've always had a roof over my head, and I'm grateful for both of those things, but let's look at something I do know: "..could mean losing ... maybe even your mind" Yeah, BTDT. A lifetime of mental health problems culminating in a complete ... I dunno, breakdown? ... where I was barely able to function for 2 years and became a risk to others (should have been hospitalised but wasn't), and another 2 years recovering. 4 years of my life wasted. Any projected glamour of mental illness is purely done by those who've never had it. Mental illness is fucking shit and has no redeeming value. Edit: oh yes, and "Isolation is the gift" - Never is loneliness a gift, ever.
- Aeolun 4y ago> and has no redeeming value Hmm, the one redeeming value of my anxiety (and the accompanying fear of imminent death) is that it makes it much easier to contemplate things I wouldn’t otherwise contemplate. I’d still rather do without that, but I guess it’s interesting enough I can call it redeeming?
- zasdffaa 4y agoI suppose it depends. A redeeming feature of death is you never again wake up with a stinking hangover. You can find a positive everywhere I suppose. I don't know.
- zasdffaa 4y agoI am curious at the number of downvotes to this which I take as disagreement, but with what? Have others had years of mental health crashes and found it a great positive in the end, or what? Genuinely would like to know. TIA
- hn_throwaway_99 4y ago"Elegant, inspiring, soaring prose often makes for incredibly shitty real-world advice." - hn_throwaway_99
- xapata 4y agoWell, if you don't want your life to turn out Bukowski, don't take advice from Bukowski. As Modest Mouse said, "God, who'd want to be / Such an asshole?"
- uhhyeahdude 4y agoIndeed, but it’s a little funny coming from Isaac Brock.
- mmmpop 4y agoWell, he would know better than most, right?
- uhhyeahdude 4y agoFair enough!
- justbaker 4y agoI think of that song every time I see Bukowski quoted.
- Lio 4y agoAsshole he might be but he was right about Disney.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- cm2012 4y agoYeah seriously, that comment is like the ultimate anti-advice.
- goldenkey 4y agoGlorious, glorious loneliness...good one. Even introverts know that being alone sucks. Medical studies show a correlation between poorer health and loneliness.
- enneff 4y agoI’d only take life advice from Bukowski if I wanted to end up like Bukowski. Doesn’t really sound like a great life tbh.
- worik 4y agoI do not think that Charles Bukowski is a good role model. I love his writing, some of it is very disturbing, and some I only read once - will not repeat the experience. But to live like him? No thank you
- ekanes 4y agoYeah. What are we trying that we should expect to lose the most important relationships in our lives? Unsaid but heavily implied is this person would be an atrocious parent, and a very real price is paid for that.