Why You Hate Your Life | Schopenhauer

Unsolicited advice
17 Dec 202315:56

Summary

TLDR这段视频脚本深入探讨了亚瑟·叔本华的悲观主义哲学,解释了为什么人类比动物更容易遭受痛苦。叔本华认为,人类之所以痛苦,是因为我们拥有思考和反思的能力,这使我们能够意识到生活的无意义和长期目标的失败。视频还讨论了如何通过接受痛苦的普遍性、培养感恩之心以及与他人共享痛苦来找到安慰和亲密感。最后,视频鼓励我们通过阅读叔本华的作品来更深入地理解他的哲学思想。

Takeaways

  • 📚 亚瑟·叔本华是一位极端悲观主义哲学家,他的观点常常被误解为只带来痛苦和毁灭。
  • 🧐 叔本华认为人类之所以比动物遭受更多痛苦,是因为我们具有思考和反思的能力。
  • 🤔 人类总是担忧未来或评判过去,而动物则活在当下,只要基本需求得到满足,它们就感到满足。
  • 🔄 叔本华认为,我们不是为幸福而生,而是有一种生存的意志和生命本能,这使我们不断追求和挣扎。
  • 😌 幸福在叔本华看来是短暂的,它更像是缺乏痛苦的状态,而非一种积极的情感。
  • 🙏 感恩可以被视为一种转化力量,能够将平淡无奇的情况转变为绝对的幸福。
  • 🤯 叔本华认为,我们常常对自己撒谎,认为达到某个目标就会获得长久的幸福,但这通常不是真的。
  • 🙌 通过接受生活中的痛苦是不可避免的,我们可以更好地准备面对它,而不是感到惊讶。
  • 🧘‍♂️ 通过禁欲主义,我们可以学会控制自己的欲望,从而找到内心的平静和满足。
  • 🤝 共享痛苦可以让人们团结在一起,因为我们都遭受着痛苦,这可以促进同情和互助。
  • 🌟 尽管叔本华是一个悲观主义者,但他的思想中也包含了对人类同情和团结的乐观看法。

Q & A

  • 亚瑟·叔本华是如何描述人类与动物在痛苦上的不同的?

    -叔本华认为,人类之所以比动物遭受更多的痛苦,是因为人类具有思考和反思自己的独特能力。动物如叔本华所提到的狗罗茜,只要基本的生理需求得到满足,它们就能感到满足和幸福。而人类则常常担忧未来,回顾过去,并且不断地在精神上增加自己的痛苦。

  • 为什么叔本华认为人类总是倾向于追求未来的目标,而不是享受现在?

    -叔本华认为,人类从一开始就对生活充满了无限的可能性和希望,他们将生活的完整性和意义寄托于未来的伟大成就上。但随着年龄的增长,人们逐渐意识到只有少数目标能够实现,这导致了从对未来的恐惧到对过去的失望的转变,而忽视了享受现在的重要性。

  • 叔本华如何解释人类生活中的痛苦比快乐更为显著?

    -叔本华认为快乐很少被察觉,即使被察觉,也只是短暂的一刻。他将快乐视为缺乏痛苦的状态,即当我们的意愿不受阻碍,所有当前需求得到满足,所有愿望都在实现时的状态。大多数人在这种状态下并不感到狂喜或兴奋,而是没有痛苦,这与人们在需求未得到满足时所感受到的强烈痛苦形成了鲜明对比。

  • 为什么叔本华认为幸福是一种缺乏痛苦的状态,而不是一种积极的情感?

    -在叔本华看来,幸福并不是一种积极的情感,而是一种缺乏痛苦的状态。他认为,当人们的意愿不受阻碍,所有当前需求得到满足,所有愿望都在实现时,人们并不会感到狂喜或兴奋,而是没有痛苦。这种状态的不可见性是叔本华被认为是悲观主义者的原因之一。

  • 在叔本华的哲学中,为什么人类总是对自己撒谎,认为实现某个目标就会获得长久的幸福?

    -叔本华认为,这是一种人类自我欺骗的循环,我们不断地告诉自己,如果实现了某个目标,我们就会最终感到幸福和满足。但事实上,一旦最初的兴奋消退,我们就会回到起点,继续感到轻微的悲伤和不满。这是因为我们被设计成要不断地追求,而不是满足于现状。

  • 为什么叔本华提倡通过感恩来转化生活中的不满?

    -叔本华认为,感恩是一种能够将平淡或仅仅令人满意的情境转变为绝对幸福的炼金术。通过控制我们的期望和约束我们的意愿,使现实成为一个愉快的惊喜。这种观点与尼采在《快乐的科学》中提到的人类表达感恩的犹豫不决形成了对比。

  • 叔本华如何解释人类在生活中的苦难可以带来人与人之间的亲密关系?

    -叔本华认为,共享的痛苦可以使人们形成强烈的联系。当人们经历相同的痛苦时,他们会立即形成紧密的纽带。没有什么比共享的苦难更能将人们聚集在一起,因为我们都从根本上是受苦的存在。

  • 在叔本华的哲学中,为什么他认为我们应该接受生活中的痛苦是不可避免的?

    -叔本华认为,接受生活中的痛苦是不可避免的,可以让我们避免因世界观受到挑战而感到痛苦。他鼓励我们接受生活总是包含痛苦的事实,这样我们当然会悲伤,但不会惊讶。

  • 叔本华是如何建议我们通过限制欲望来减轻痛苦的?

    -叔本华建议我们从其他思想家如伊壁鸠鲁和佛陀那里吸取智慧,通过仔细的训练和对自己意愿的掌握来限制我们的欲望。这显然是一个庞大的话题,但《伊壁鸠鲁论幸福》和斯多葛哲学家爱比克泰德的作品是很好的起点。

  • 叔本华的哲学如何帮助我们理解人类痛苦的普遍性,并鼓励我们对他人产生同情心?

    -叔本华的哲学提醒我们,世界上没有一个人是不遭受痛苦的。认识到痛苦的普遍性应该鼓励我们对彼此产生深刻的同情心。他认为我们应该不是以先生或女士的身份相互问候,而是作为共同的受苦者,因为我们都在同一条破旧的船上,我们应该团结一致。

  • 叔本华的哲学对于个人生活有哪些实际的建议或指导?

    -叔本华的哲学鼓励我们接受生活中的痛苦,学习限制我们的欲望,并通过认识到痛苦的普遍性来培养对他人的同情心。他的哲学虽然初看似乎令人感到生活的无望,但实际上提供了如何在一个冷漠的世界中找到慰藉的见解。

Outlines

00:00

🤔 人类痛苦的根源

第一段概述了亚瑟·叔本华的悲观主义哲学,他认为世界是地狱,人类既是受折磨的灵魂也是恶魔。叔本华认为人类的痛苦源于我们独特的思考和反思能力,这使得我们比动物遭受更多的痛苦。与动物不同,人类会担忧未来、回顾过去,并且对自己的生活是否具有意义感到焦虑。叔本华提出,我们的痛苦是不可避免的,但认识到这一点可以帮助我们更好地应对生活。

05:00

😐 幸福的短暂与痛苦的持久

第二段深入探讨了为什么痛苦在我们的生活中比快乐更为显著。叔本华认为,幸福是缺乏痛苦的状态,而不是一种积极的情绪。当我们的需求得到满足,我们通常不会感到狂喜,而是简单地不感到痛苦。这与痛苦的强烈感受形成了鲜明对比。此外,叔本华还讨论了感恩的力量,认为通过感恩,人们可以将平凡的情况转变为幸福的状态。

10:02

🚶‍♂️ 人生的挣扎与目标的虚幻

第三段讨论了人类如何通过设定目标来欺骗自己,认为达成某个目标就能获得长久的幸福。叔本华指出,这种满足感是短暂的,我们很快会回到不满和渴望的状态。他认为,接受这一现实可以帮助我们开始理解并克制我们的意志,从而找到内心的平静。此外,他还提出了禁欲主义作为一种生活方式,通过拒绝物质欲望来寻找内在的宁静。

15:02

👥 共同的痛苦与同情的力量

第四段强调了共同痛苦的力量,说明人们在分享痛苦时能够建立深厚的联系。叔本华认为,认识到所有人都在某种程度上遭受痛苦,可以激发我们对他人的同情和理解。他提倡我们应该像对待同病相怜的人一样对待彼此,通过共享痛苦来建立社区和团结。此外,他还鼓励我们接受生活中的痛苦,并将其作为与他人建立联系的桥梁。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡悲观主义

悲观主义是一种哲学观点,认为人生本质上是充满痛苦和苦难的。在视频中,亚瑟·叔本华被描述为终极悲观主义者,他认为世界是地狱,人类要么是受折磨的灵魂,要么是其中的恶魔。悲观主义是视频讨论的核心主题,用来探讨人类痛苦的根源和如何应对这种苦难的真相。

💡痛苦

痛苦在视频中被多次提及,作为人类经历的一个不可避免的方面。叔本华认为,由于人类具有思考和反思的能力,我们遭受的痛苦远超过动物。视频中提到,痛苦是强大的,它比快乐更为突出,并且是我们生活中不断斗争和挣扎的驱动力。

💡快乐

快乐在叔本华的哲学中被视为缺乏痛苦的状态,而不是一种积极的情感。视频中提到,快乐很难被注意到,因为它通常只是瞬间的,并且与我们的意愿和期望有关。叔本华认为,快乐是一种被动状态,而痛苦则是更为活跃和明显的情感体验。

💡意志

意志在叔本华的哲学中是一个核心概念,指的是生命固有的、继续存在下去的欲望。视频中解释说,我们的意志推动我们不断追求和挣扎,即使这种追求可能导致更多的痛苦。意志是驱动我们行为和生活的主要力量,也是我们苦难的根源。

💡反思

反思是人类特有的能力,它使我们能够思考自己和世界。视频中提到,与动物相比,人类因为能够反思而遭受更多的痛苦。我们不仅关注当前的需要,还担忧未来、评判过去,这种反思能力增加了我们生活中的痛苦。

💡感恩

感恩在视频中被提出作为一种可能的解决痛苦的方法。通过感恩,人们可以将一个平凡或令人满意的情境转变为一个充满幸福的情境。视频中提到,感恩是一种转变力量,它通过控制我们的期望和意愿,使现实成为一个愉快的惊喜。

💡苦难共同体

苦难共同体是指共享痛苦的人们之间的联系和团结。视频中强调,当我们经历痛苦时,我们并不孤单,因为所有人都在某种程度上遭受苦难。这种共同的苦难可以促进人们之间的同情、耐心和慈善,从而加强社会联系。

💡自我超越

自我超越是指超越个人的欲望和需求,达到一种更高层次的精神满足。视频中提到,通过内省和自我控制,人们可以开始解构生活中的意志,从而找到一种内在的平静和满足感。这是一种通过自我斗争来实现的精神实践。

💡欲望

欲望在叔本华的哲学中被视为导致人类痛苦的主要因素之一。视频中提到,通过控制和主宰我们的欲望,我们可以减少不满和痛苦。欲望的控制被视为一种从痛苦中解脱出来的途径,也是实现内在平静的关键。

💡同情

同情是视频中讨论的另一个重要概念,它与我们对他人痛苦的理解和共鸣有关。叔本华认为,认识到所有人的苦难应该激发我们对他人的同情和帮助。同情是连接人与人之间的纽带,也是我们在苦难中找到支持和安慰的来源。

💡人生目标

人生目标在视频中被描述为我们不断追求的东西,我们告诉自己,一旦达到这些目标,我们就会最终感到快乐和满足。然而,叔本华认为这是一种自我欺骗的行为,因为即使我们实现了目标,我们很快又会回到不满足的状态。这种对人生目标的追求和失望是视频中探讨的人类经历的一部分。

Highlights

亚瑟·叔本华是著名的悲观主义哲学家,他认为人类的痛苦是不可避免的,并且提供了关于为什么我们受苦以及如何应对这一残酷事实的深刻见解。

与动物相比,人类因为具有思考和反思的能力,总是遭受更多的痛苦。

叔本华认为,人类的痛苦源于我们对未来的担忧、对过去的评判以及对他人伤害的怨恨。

叔本华提出,人类的主要驱动力是生命意志,这是一种内在的、持续存在的欲望,而不仅仅是追求幸福。

幸福在叔本华看来,是一种缺乏痛苦的状态,而不是一种积极的情绪。

叔本华认为,痛苦比快乐更为显著,因为痛苦是强烈的,而幸福往往不为人所注意。

感恩可以作为一种转化工具,将平淡或令人满意的情境转变为绝对的幸福。

佛教中的一则寓言说明了通过控制期望和抑制意志,可以将不愉快的情况转变为愉快的情境。

叔本华认为,我们总是对自己撒谎,认为达到某个目标就会获得长久的幸福,但这通常不是真的。

接受我们生活中不可避免的痛苦,可以帮助我们更好地准备面对它,而不是感到惊讶。

通过学习和实践,我们可以学会限制我们的欲望,从而减轻不幸福的感觉。

叔本华提倡通过内省和自我斗争来找到平静和满足,而不是仅仅接受生活的现状。

共享痛苦可以加强人与人之间的联系,因为共同的苦难可以带来共鸣和团结。

叔本华认为,我们应该将彼此视为共同的受苦者,而不是先生或女士,以培养更深的同情和团结。

哲学应该与生活相联系,叔本华的悲观主义提供了接受痛苦、限制欲望和通过同情团结在一起的实用见解。

叔本华的哲学提醒我们,每个人都在以自己的方式受苦,我们应该对他人展现慈善、耐心、宽容和仁慈。

Transcripts

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the world is hell and men are on the one

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hand the tormented souls and on the

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other the devils in it this is the

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radical and somewhat depressing view of

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Arthur schopenhauer the ultimate

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pessimist he is often dismissed by many

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as bringing only misery and destruction

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in his wake and people use this to shy

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away from his philosophy altogether but

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if you stay a little longer it becomes

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clear that shophow has deep insights not

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just into why we suffer but also how

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suffering is ultimately inescapable and

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how we should react to this harsh truth

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in this video we'll learn why pain is

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more powerful than pleasure why humans

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suffer more than animals and how we can

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turn the horrors of life into shared

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comfort and intimacy with our fellow man

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as always remember that I cannot

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represent shopen how's philosophy in all

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of its Rich detail here and I encourage

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you to read him for yourself to get all

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of the fine flavors of his thinking but

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without further Ado let's get started

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one the downsides of thinking have you

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ever looked at a dog they seem almost

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constantly Serene and content with their

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lot in life unless something actively

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awful is happening to them like they're

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starving or their leg has been chopped

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off or they're completely abandoned they

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are just chilled I've often sat back and

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compared what it takes for your average

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person to be happy with what it takes

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for my dog Rosie to be happy and humans

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don't come off well in the comparison if

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I made someone Live Like My Dog they

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would find it miserable and meaningless

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but Rosie somehow seems to be in

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complete heaven and shophow can tell us

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why for shopen Hower humans are always

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going to suffer far more than animals

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because we have the unique ability to

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think and reflect about ourselves and

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the world lucky Rosie just does not have

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the capacity to consider all the

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questions a human does she cannot wonder

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whether her life is meaningless she

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cannot set long-term goals and then fail

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to achieve them she cannot fall short of

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an ideal that she has crafted for

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herself or she has as the here and now

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and provided all her physical needs are

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met she is perfectly content with that

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compare that with your average person we

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are constantly worried about the future

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or judging the past we wonder whether we

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will ever get what we want out of life

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we worry that no one will ever love us

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we hold on to the bitterness caused by

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other people who have wronged us at

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every turn our minds compound and

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multiply the suffering in our lives and

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this starts young and only gets worse

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with age when we are just beginning Our

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Lives we have a world of possibilities

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we can put our hopes in making our lives

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seem complete and meaningful by striving

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to achieve great things we pile all of

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our hopes about existence onto a later

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date but as we age we realize that only

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a tiny fraction of our goals will ever

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come to pass and we're lucky if we even

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get that much in shopen how's view we go

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straight from Fear of the future to

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disappointment in the past and we don't

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take a single moment to enjoy the

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present and this makes a certain sort of

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sense schopenhauer doesn't think that we

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are built for happiness he thinks one of

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our primary driving forces is a will to

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life and inate desire to continue to

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exist dwelling in a mindful presence

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does nothing to further this goal we

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would be much better off constantly

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striving constantly struggling and

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constantly suffering to protect both

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ourselves and our Offspring it's a sort

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of Darwin pessimism but it's not all bad

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news there is a small consolation in

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this view it is tempting when we feel

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awful or miserable or inadequate to

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paint this as a problem with us we are

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defective in some way or our mind is

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broken or we are uniquely unhappy people

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but Shar andhow reassures us that this

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is not the case firstly he points out

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that our suffering emanates from

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something really quite beautiful about

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us our ability to think consider and

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reflect and secondly he reminds us that

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everyone else is in the same boat it may

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seem like you're the only unhappy person

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in the world but whenever silence Falls

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whenever we give into rumination and

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reflection most of us will suffer in

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some way even if this suffering is

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necessary it still hurts and whatever

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pain you're in you are never even for a

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second alone we will revisit this point

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about a community of suffering in detail

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later but why is it that suffering seems

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so much more prominent than pleasure in

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most of our Lives well shophow has

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another wonderful insight to gift us

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here if you want more on floss opy and

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the art of learning subscribe to my

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email list the link is in the

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description two the transparency of

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Happiness my granddad says you don't

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know when the good old days were until

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they're long behind you this is a

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feeling many of us can relate to it

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seems like we don't know just how good a

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situation is until it has passed into

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our rearview mirrors but why is

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happiness so difficult to notice when

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it's there why do we only recognize

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Bliss when it has slipped through our

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grasp and we are stuck wishing to relive

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those golden times and promising that we

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would appreciate them if they ever came

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around again the reason for shophow is

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that happiness is very rarely visible

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and if it is it's only ever for a moment

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this is because shophow views happiness

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as less of a positive emotion and more

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like a lack of suffering he thinks

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happiness is just what happens when our

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Wills are unimpeded when all our present

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needs are met and all our desires are

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being fulfilled but far from being

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ecstatic or excited at this most people

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just react by not being in pain they are

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not actively suffering yay but this is

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hardly a counterbalance to the kind of

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intense suffering people people feel

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when their needs are not met this

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invisibility of happiness is one of the

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reasons schopenhauer is considered a

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pessimist he thinks we are fundamentally

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more suited to suffering than to Joy and

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again his justification for this view is

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found in his concept of the will to life

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what sort of function would happiness or

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contentment serve for our survival if we

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were naturally contented beings we would

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let ourselves get eaten by a bear while

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we were pondering the intricate layers

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of our joy for shophow it would just be

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nonsensical for our natural state to be

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happiness to quote a famous Australian

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comedian content homoerectus was eaten

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by the saber-tooth tiger shophow

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sometimes gives the impression that it's

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a lost cause to try and turn this

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passive state of Happiness into an

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active one but call me a naive Optimist

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I think there is hope there the answer

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for me can be found in gratitude one of

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the great admirers and fiercest critics

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of schopenhauer was friedi ner and in

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his great work the gay science he speaks

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of the reluctance humans have to Express

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gratitude they see it as a mark of their

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dependency on other people but I think

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this is nothing to be ashamed of

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gratitude is like a form of Alchemy it

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can transform a dull or merely

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satisfactory situation into one of

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absolute Bliss and it does this in

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schopenhauer's Language by reing in our

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Wills so that reality exceeds our

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expectations in early Buddhism many of

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the monks that went to spread the word

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of the new religion were insulted beaten

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and killed and in one ancient Fable a

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monk who is about to embark on a journey

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of preaching is asked what he will do if

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the people there insult him and he says

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he will be grateful that they don't hit

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him then he is asked what if they hit

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him and he responds he'll be grateful

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that they don't hit him with sticks but

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what if they hit him with sticks then he

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will be grateful that they did not hit

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him with stones and so on and so forth

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you get the idea thus the monk

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transforms a potentially unpleasant

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situation into a pleasant one by

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controlling his expectations and

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reigning in his will so that reality is

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a pleasant surprise but I would add a

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little word of caution here it is very

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easy to preach gratitude as if it is the

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ultimate single answer to Life's

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problems but there are times where too

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much gratitude could lead us astray

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should we be grateful for an abusive

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partner or a job that we hate and yearn

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to leave or injustices that we could

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actually change in the real world it

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seems intuitively we want to answer no

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and shophow can tell us why happiness is

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not a motivating emotion it is a sign

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that everything is fine how it is if

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things are not fine then gratitude may

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not be the solution it is here that we

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must appeal to the wisdom of suffering

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but if our lives are to some extent

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doomed to suffering then why do we even

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go on the answer for schopenhauer is an

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eternal trick that we play with

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ourselves a trick that will be familiar

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to us all three the happiness lie have

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you ever had a friend who just will not

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tell the truth they seem committed to

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making promises that they will never

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fulfill every time you believe them and

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every time it turns out they were

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talking nonsense you were left wondering

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why you even have them around but

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they've been in your life forever so you

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just put up with it this is how shop

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andh Hower views our relationship with

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life itself each time we set a goal we

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tell ourselves an extraordinary lie we

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say that if we achieve this thing we

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will finally be happy and contented but

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this is not the case how many times have

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you said that if only you hit this

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Milestone had this partner got this

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promotion then life would be easy and

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yet every time as soon as the initial

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High has worn off you are right back to

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where you started slightly sad and

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discontented wondering if long-term

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happiness is forever out of your reach

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you are not unusual or broken according

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to shophow this is a perfectly normal

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part of the human experience we are

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designed to play this trick on ourselves

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over and over again until we finally die

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and he again appeals to this idea that

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satisfaction stagnates if we knew the

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truth that nothing we strive for will

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make us happy in the long term then we

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would cease to do anything so we make

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endless vows to ourselves that this will

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be the one this will be the thing that

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transports us from the mundane and the

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dull to the Transcendent and the sublime

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but it will never be the one it just

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won't and for schopenhauer once we can

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accept this we can work on slowly

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unpacking and deconstructing the will to

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life in his terms we can begin to

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embrace asceticism the athetic is a

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figure in almost all the major world

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relig religions they are the monk the

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priest The Hermit they are the person

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that looks at the lot on offer for them

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in life and says no I'd rather not they

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deny their will to life and this is how

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they slowly find peace this is not so

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they can end life itself but rather so

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they can withdraw from having to

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constantly nourish their dissatisfaction

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with reality they disengage from their

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struggle with the world and embrace an

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inner struggle instead one where they

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set their own will against the will to

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life schopenhauer does not pretend that

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this will be easy as I said just trading

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in one struggle for another but he says

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that it is possible to find some peace

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after the wrestling match is done once

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we have subdued our own will mastered

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our desires and managed to constrain

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them to a reasonable sphere of influence

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we can find a small bit of Stillness and

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contentment in our lives and in some

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ways this is a recommendation you see

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echoing throughout history controlling

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our desires and slowly mastering not

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only what we do but what we want is a

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Doctrine preached by everyone from SIA

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and epicurus to the Buddha and Christ

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and schopenhauer gives his unique spin

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on the idea here by painting it not just

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as a passive process of accepting life

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as it comes but as an active fight

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against a mind whose default setting is

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suffering and a fight that we must be

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constantly ready to undertake a new at

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any moment but this idealized atic ISM

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seems only attainable for a select few

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people most of us do not have the luxury

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to give everything up and hand over our

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lives to spiritual aesthetic Pursuits so

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what do we do well schopenhauer has his

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own Bittersweet consolation for us four

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a community of suffering you will rarely

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find humans get closer than we do

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talking about our pain put two people in

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a room who have suffered from the same

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illness or dated the same unpleasant

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character and they will almost

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immediately form a strong bond nothing

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brings people together quite like shared

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suffering and shophow gives us the life

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affirming idea that we always have

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shared pain to bond over because we are

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all fundamentally beings who suffer one

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of the worst things we can think when

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going through a horrible situation is I

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am alone no one else is feeling like

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this it can bring a limited form of

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comfort by making us feel special but it

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only does this by making us feel

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especially hard done by often a key

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factor in what makes pain a bait is

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connection feeling like others

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understand us and are willing to lend a

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helping hand I remember when I was at my

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lowest I had isolated myself from all

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the people closest to me and I was at

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the bottom of a self-destructive spiral

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the only thing that took me out of it

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was finally reconnecting with some good

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friends the difference between suffering

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alone and suffering together was greater

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than I could ever express made me feel

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less hopeless more powerful and it put

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me on the path to fixing my situation to

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finally getting my life back on track

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this was only possible because of the

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empathy and kindness shown to me by

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others and this experience made me

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Kinder it made me more willing to go out

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and help people just as I had been

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helped according to schopenhauer this is

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only natural at the end of his great

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essay on the suffering of the world he

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says that our shared suffering should

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ideally make us see other men in a true

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light and remind us of what are the most

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necessary of all things tolerance

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patience forbearance and charity which

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each of us needs and which each of us

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therefore owes this is one of my

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favorite passages in all of 19th century

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philosophy and it is because it at once

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shows the depth of schopenhauer's

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pessimism and the Sparks of his vibrant

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optimism on the one hand we are all in

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desperate need of one another we all

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need charity from others because we are

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helpless beings floundering amidst an

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uncaring World doomed to the torture of

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our own minds but on the other hand this

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compels us to help one another we are

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fellow Travelers on the same road paved

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with hot coals in such a situation who

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can fail to show deep empathy kindness

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and compassion to one's fellow human

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beings I've noticed a slight tendency in

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the modern age to pretend that other

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people somehow have it easy that if only

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we had the opportunities afforded to

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others that we would be happy we would

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finally be complete but shophow reminds

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us that there is not a single person on

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the planet who is not suffering

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certainly some of us are more fortunate

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than others and there are some who have

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the rough end of the stick in almost

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every aspect of their life but this need

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didn't blind us to the fact that every

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person in the world has their own

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struggles their own pain their own

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unique brand of suffering and just as we

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stand in need of the charity and

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sympathy of those around us they stand

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in need of ours whether we give it to

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them is our decision but it would be

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hypocritical of us to expect kindness

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that we will not extend to others but

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there is one final question I always

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like to ask of philosophies like shopen

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Howers and that is what do we do with

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them five what to do next it is easy to

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look at philosophers like schopenhauer

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and ask what on Earth we're going to do

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with this information and one of my

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strongest held beliefs is that

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philosophy should be useful it should

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connect with your life in some way with

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shopen Hower this is notoriously

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difficult because at first glance he

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seems like such an extreme pessimist he

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talks of the inescapability of suffering

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the invisibility of happiness and the

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dishonesty at the core of Our Lives how

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can someone like this help us won't he

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just make us feel like our lives are

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pointless well call me naive but I think

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there are many insights in his pessimism

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and some hints on how to find solace in

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a cold World firstly it encourages us to

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accept that life is going to have a lot

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of pain in it I remember when I was

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about 16 a friend of mine went through a

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breakup and because he was also 16 it

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seemed like the end of the world to him

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in a moment of misery induced Clarity he

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said I did not know I could hurt this

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much what an awful thing to learn it

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seemed like the pain of having his

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worldview challenged was almost as bad

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as his heartbreak schopenhauer allows us

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to avoid such situations by showing how

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life was always going to consist of

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suffering we will certainly be sad but

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we won't be surprised secondly

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schopenhauer's figure of the aesthetic

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provides some hope for us all of

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alleviating the cycle of needs and wants

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that traps Us in unhappiness we can take

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a little bit of wisdom from other

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thinkers like epicurus and the Buddha

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and learn to limit our wants through

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careful training and Mastery of our own

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will obviously this is a huge topic and

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I can't go into detail about it here but

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the book on happiness by epicurus is a

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good place to start as well as the work

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of stoic philosopher epic tetus lastly

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shopen how are morphs suffering into

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something that can bring people together

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so often when we are hurting we want to

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rage against the world and wallow in our

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own misery convinced that our suffering

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is unique kard talks of this sort of

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behavior as an advanced form of Despair

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shopan how warns us against doing this

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he thinks that a recognition of the

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sheer ubiquitousness of suffering should

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encourage a deep empathy for one another

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he says we should not greet each other

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as Sir or Madam but instead as fellow

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sufferer we are all in the same battered

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boat and we ought to stick together if

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we're going to make the best of it what

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a beautiful thought from one of the most

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pessimistic philosophers in history as

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always I encourage you to read shophow

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for yourself a good place to start is

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his essay on the suffering of the world

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you could read his magnumopus the world

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as willing representation but it is

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incredibly long so it's a bit of a

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difficult place to start if you do go

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out and read shophow let me know what

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you took from his extraordinary

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philosophy if you want more videos on

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philosophical misery then check out this

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one to see how dosi can make your life

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infinitely worse and stick around for

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more on thinking to improve your life

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