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I wanna live an NPC life

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Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#211

Post by SoftTalker »

hungryhobbit wrote: post #76
ayanmali wrote: post #55

In The Republic, Plato tells a story of a man who briefly died, visited the afterlife, and came back to life. According to the man, people would be reborn after dying, but they got to choose what they would be reincarnated as. Some people chose to be rich kings, some chose to be fierce animals. Odysseus, a legendary king known for his wisdom, chose to be reborn as an ordinary man.

>Odysseus, a legendary king known for his wisdom I know our society is ignorant of the classics, but given recent cinema, I'm not sure you need to explain who Odysseus is ;)

Others of us are ignorant of recent cinema.

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#212

Post by keiferski »

If this viewpoint resonates with you, I highly recommend the Japanese film Perfect Days.

It is about a man living a very simple life as a public cleaner in Tokyo, and after watching it (it’s been three times now) I have the desire to throw away 99% of my unnecessary possessions and go work a simple job as a barista or gardener.

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#213

Post by SoftTalker »

dwoldrich wrote: post #194

NPC's have no agency. They're lines in the main character's story and otherwise forgotten. There is a negative karma to putting this kind of nihilistic message out into the world. Obviously everyone should shoot for the stars, not the dirt. The goal is to give one's life meaning and purpose. If the job is a snooze, adjust your aim. Treasure your family and start your own if you are able. Life will be infinitely more…

Starting a family has its rewards but it greatly limits your choices, the risks you're willing to take, and the things you're able to try when you don't have responsibility for anyone else. Life becomes pretty narrowly defined and predictable when you have a family, not infinitely more interesting.

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#214

Post by SoftTalker »

LIMEVINCE wrote: post #97

Its pretty common in Japanese and Chinese culture to want to live an NPC life -- characterized mainly by being completely ordinary and living a relatively simple life without much excitement, and finding joy in small pleasures.

This is the way. It's a lot less draining on everyone else too.

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#215

Post by SoftTalker »

retired wrote: post #130

Best QoL upgrade was to stop caring about politics. As an immigrant I can't vote anyway so why read about politics every day. Now I'm just happy about life.

Yeah I gave up on news and politics during the pandemic. It was all just so over the top, I said fuck this and checked out. I don't think I've watched a news program, political debate, or followed any party platform since then.

I keep up on local news and events, as they are the only thing that affects me anyway. At least the only thing I have any bit of control over.

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#217

Post by mindhash »

savolai wrote: post #36
oilkillsbirds wrote: post #27

This is pure escapism. Numbing yourself to the burden of being. Likely from a stress tolerance so shallow and under-developed that the slightest inconvenience or expectation feels like a crisis. The truth is that after the brief initial relief of excusing yourself from being anything at all, you'll end up in a deep depression. It's a naive and immature fantasy. Remove all electronics from your life, they are a consta…

Not sure at all you actually read the piece. Your responses about having a job or inconvenience or expectation seem entirely unrelated. The text does not, for instance, encourage not having a job. It also does not encourage being nothing at all. Being nothing special is quite different. Recommended movie: perfect days https://youtu.be/wqUT9hQd1XM?is=v1x85FdKOK_zfu60

I often ask myself if i can go to a small town and live an anonymous life. Its my scoring system for personal pride/ego. Does such an anonymous life stop me from inventing things or think about stuff deeply. I don't think so,..

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#218

Post by SoftTalker »

tonyarkles wrote: post #208
SoftTalker wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you've got to cut the grass, weed the flowerbeds, wash the car, do the laundy, cook dinner, do the dishes, etc.

Or not tonight. If I didn’t enjoy yard care, I wouldn’t have a yard or I’d xeriscape or gravel + trees, or something. Laundry’s kind of a drag, mostly the folding part. Most of the time I enjoy cooking and tidying up afterwards; when I’m not in the mood I’ll do takeout or throw something from the freezer in. I’m not sure what you’re saying overall? Is it that those things you’ve listed are what stops people from havi…

They are just examples. Adults with responsibilities, especially with familes, have really moved beyond living "without giving a single shit about anything." The only adults I know who live like that are homeless. I guess they are the ultimate real-life NPCs

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#219

Post by abc_lisper »

talloaktrees wrote: post #133

Zhuangzi was fishing in the Pu River when the King of Chu sent two high officials to him. They said, “The king wishes to entrust you with the affairs of his realm.” Zhuangzi kept hold of his fishing rod and did not turn around. He said, “I have heard that in Chu there is a sacred turtle that has been dead for three thousand years. The king keeps it wrapped in cloth, enclosed in a box, and stored in the ancestral temp…

This story made me very happy. Lol

Re: I wanna live an NPC life

#220

Post by rc5150 »

catuscubitus wrote: post #132
kulahan wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> do nothing after work. why do you have to do something after work? do something because you feel like doing it, not because you feel like you have to. Escapism. You SHOULD feel like you have to do some stuff. Our bodies are always aiming to relax, because conserving calories is an extremely effective survival method. We are hardwired to do nothing, in order to escape the burden of instead doing something.

Call that conserving energy. Contrary to commonly-held belief, calories are a very ambiguous concept.

tell that to someone with an eating disorder.
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