Ok, what does that actually mean when you apply the sound bite to reality? What are your specific expectations for “the people” as individuals?

Much more dubious is Buddhism’s claim that perceiving yourself as in some sense unreal will make you happier and more compassionate. Ideally, as the British psychologist and Zen practitioner Susan Blackmore writes in The Meme Machine, when you embrace your essential selflessness, “guilt, shame, embarrassment, self-doubt, and fear of failure ebb away and you become, contrary to expectation, a better neighbor.” But most people are distressed by sensations of unreality, which are quite common and can be induced by drugs, fatigue, trauma, and mental illness as well as by meditation.

I find this particular angle of criticism trite.

Are most people distressed by sensations of unreality? Maybe. Some, for sure. But so what?

Isn’t the sensation of distress a sensation to move through by perceiving its “unrealness”? Seems to me the discomfort is, in many cases, the finger pointing at the moon. Be with it and the opportunity to disappear your suffering about it arises.

If you disappear enough suffering, what’s left? Something new… new opportunities for being… opportunities for compassion and wisdom… and those opportunities would almost certainly have never arisen inside the prison of sensation escapism.

You don’t need to be angry to speak and act.

I mean, maybe you feel like you do, but to anyone else reading this—that’s a trap.

Anger is poison.

Find a way to be happy and live well and stand for what matters to you.

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.

“If you don’t apply your morals consistently, don’t bother applying them at all”…?

Human beings are not rational actors. It’s a recipe for burnout and depression to walk around expecting them to be.

For anybody feeling the way parent commenter feels, do yourself a favor and let it go. We’re human beings. What we are is what we are.

A wild Oglaf appeared!

Have you ever worked in corporate?

Yea that tracks for me too. Well said.

I appreciate your sincerity. Please accept mine:

What do you think the vast majority of people care about?

Did you… read the Criticism section like I mentioned?

The neoliberal ones. Check out the Criticism section.

country

*planet

It doesn’t—sorry I didn’t make that clearer. I lump the conversation about emigration in with looking for a better life. I meant the article to contribute to the quality of life angle. Hope that helps.

Some relevant words on the UK from an energy economist here.

Speaking as a Canary user, what am I missing?

400mg theanine and/or 2g Magtein. Melatonin didn’t work for me and I dislike the effect of cannabis and its derivatives on my body.

Icelandic chic.

The article says it was slivered onions from a single supplier servicing 3 distribution centers in and around Colorado and Nebraska.

How much acreage does it take to feed a person? How does it scale?

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name;      this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 1