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Thank you for sharing the honest evaluation of your life. The only advice I can give you after having lived in the, from my point of view, shallow American tech

by andruby 12y ago

Thank you for sharing the honest evaluation of your life. The only advice I can give you after having lived in the, from my point of view, shallow American tech world: move to Europe. The people in most European countries will be less welcoming at first, but I can tell you, if you stick through you will find them to be more profound. It helps that we don't have an American Dream which focusses on financial prosperity through hard work, but rather a joy of life (joie de vivre) which encourages us to enjoy the beauty of life and nature. Travel to Tuscany or Portugal and see for yourself.

andyl 12y ago
"you will find them to be a lot more profound" BS - there's plenty of shallow people in Europe too.
- andruby 12y ago
  Of course there are shallow people in Europe. I met one last year :)
gress 12y ago
You don't have to move to Europe. Just Oakland.
taway 12y ago
I was born in Portugal and lived there for most of my life. Virtually everything the OP said could describe some portuguese person just as well. Hell, I could have written it at some point and it would be a surprisingly accurate summary of my life back then. These are symptoms of problems that live in you, that consume you from the inside, they will follow you wherever you go, you can't just run away and escape them all. I don't have any recommendations, but you have my empathy and understanding. I believe you will find your way out, maybe by finding some deeper meaning to your life, maybe by finding your place in the world or maybe by just stop giving a fuck. On the other hand I have a feeling that something is pretty fucked with western society in general. And as the western model of society is pretty much expanding everywhere it is becoming a global problem. I can't quite put by finger on it but maybe it has to do with ever growing expectations, the idea that we can be or do everything, that is all in our hands and only depends on us puts an immense pressure on our shoulders and leads to immense pain. The truth, I think, is that luck plays an huge part in our life, on our successes and on our failures. I am not sure if I made any sense, if I did not, please accept my apologies ;)
- noname123 12y ago
  You makes perfect sense, taway. I appreciate your sentiment regarding traveling somewhere will not solve one's problem. I want to travel to Macau or Goa and eat the fusion of traditional Indian or Cantonese-Portuguese cuisine and maybe plays Gaopai at the casino's there but pretty sure that'll only obliterate my anxieties for a few days. I also appreciate your empathy and stating that you also felt the same once. At least for me, there's more to a person who is willing to make fun of themselves or admit freely to their shortcomings than someone who offers eager advice. Re: Western society criticism; as someone who grew up partially in Eastern society (China), I believe that traditional Buddhist practice is in practice and effect more similar to the Catholic Church than different. And people in China and South Korea see the same alternative appeal in Christianity as people in the West seek Yoga or Zen Buddhism. So perhaps it's not the religion/philosophy content but the person doing the seeking.

by andruby 12y ago

andyl 12y ago

"you will find them to be a lot more profound" BS - there's plenty of shallow people in Europe too.

andruby 12y ago
Of course there are shallow people in Europe. I met one last year :)

gress 12y ago

You don't have to move to Europe. Just Oakland.

taway 12y ago

I was born in Portugal and lived there for most of my life. Virtually everything the OP said could describe some portuguese person just as well. Hell, I could have written it at some point and it would be a surprisingly accurate summary of my life back then. These are symptoms of problems that live in you, that consume you from the inside, they will follow you wherever you go, you can't just run away and escape them all. I don't have any recommendations, but you have my empathy and understanding. I believe you will find your way out, maybe by finding some deeper meaning to your life, maybe by finding your place in the world or maybe by just stop giving a fuck. On the other hand I have a feeling that something is pretty fucked with western society in general. And as the western model of society is pretty much expanding everywhere it is becoming a global problem. I can't quite put by finger on it but maybe it has to do with ever growing expectations, the idea that we can be or do everything, that is all in our hands and only depends on us puts an immense pressure on our shoulders and leads to immense pain. The truth, I think, is that luck plays an huge part in our life, on our successes and on our failures. I am not sure if I made any sense, if I did not, please accept my apologies ;)

noname123 12y ago
You makes perfect sense, taway. I appreciate your sentiment regarding traveling somewhere will not solve one's problem. I want to travel to Macau or Goa and eat the fusion of traditional Indian or Cantonese-Portuguese cuisine and maybe plays Gaopai at the casino's there but pretty sure that'll only obliterate my anxieties for a few days. I also appreciate your empathy and stating that you also felt the same once. At least for me, there's more to a person who is willing to make fun of themselves or admit freely to their shortcomings than someone who offers eager advice. Re: Western society criticism; as someone who grew up partially in Eastern society (China), I believe that traditional Buddhist practice is in practice and effect more similar to the Catholic Church than different. And people in China and South Korea see the same alternative appeal in Christianity as people in the West seek Yoga or Zen Buddhism. So perhaps it's not the religion/philosophy content but the person doing the seeking.