Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”??? – George Panetas

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Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

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Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

Introduction I strongly believe, that "not giving a fuck" is an idea and that is very important. I will not say much about what ideas are, because we all know their power. what I will emphasize, is that an idea is indestructible, it can be eternal, it can be timeless and classical. The most important thing, is that an idea never dies, it has such power, that no one can destroy it, only hide it from the world ... An idea never dies and is so strong as to create movements, is so powerful that can give birth to revolutions of all kinds ... "Not giving a fuck" is definitely an idea and it is a movement. The followers and supporters of this idea and movement are certainly many. The importance of such an idea should be emphasized, as for example, just imagine how much stress, which is largely a psychosomatic illness and a serious mental disorder, can be reduced by having such an idea in mind and following it. But also, in our way of life in general, this idea can help, make our life better. Anxiety is a widespread disease and many suffer from it, especially in modern west society. Anxiety about exams, anxiety about going to university, anxiety about getting good grades, anxiety about the loan I got, when I will repay it, anxiety about when I will finish school, anxiety about how to ask someone I like to go out with and what will happen if she says no, anxiety about finding a job, anxiety about being hired for the job I want, anxiety about getting a promotion, anxiety about going in time at work, anxiety about when I will have children, anxiety about where I will go on vacation, anxiety about whether I will be able to get the car of my dreams, anxiety about being able to get the house I always wanted, and so many other anxieties ... Just thinking and writing all those anxiety reasons made me anxious. The idea of "not giving a fuck ", as I comprehend it, is found and contained in the way of life of different people around the world, in people who have slower rhythms of life, who live their lives calmer and smoother, who are not sick from stress, who care about essential issues, who do not run like crazy, to catch up everything, since no matter how much we run, in the end, time will catch us all. When you see people at parties and entertainments, getting up holding hands (and so coming close), laughing and dancing, throwing it out a bit, forgetting for a while their problems, which I emphasize they never 2


Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

end, when you see people put away all stress, talk to each other, get in touch with each other - especially in a world which, as it is structured, is rather characterized by the lack of communication and the alienation of people, with all that entails- that is the idea of "not giving a fuck". The idea of "not giving a fuck" is found in people who live in the blue zones. These are some specific areas across the planet where the inhabitants live for many years and have fewer diseases. These areas are Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy, Nicosia in Costa Rica, Loma Linda in California (the researchers studied a group of Seventh-day Adventists, ranked among the longest-lived people. North America). The way of life of the people in these areas is characterized by the following: 1. Moderate, regular physical activity. 2. Purpose of life. 3. Reduced stress. 4. Moderate calorie intake. 5. Plant nutrition. 6. Moderate intake of alcohol, especially wine. 7. Commitment to spirituality or religion. 8. Commitment to family life. 9. Commitment to social life.

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Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

Critique "The subtle art of not giving a fuck", is an interesting book, but sometimes it would be better to have more clarification when referring to something, to have clarification of terms. One cannot constantly refer to a term without have given the definition of that term, for example, what is the definition of happiness? of morality? If one is addressing to an audience of, let’s say, millions of people (such as the global village), then just think how different each person comprehends happiness. For every person happiness might be something different, depending on the extent, to which everyone has met their needs. For example, for a poor child in Africa happiness might be having to eat, or having clean water, for a millionaire maybe happiness is to buy a new luxurious car. Chapter 1. Should I not try to read the book? Our whole life is a try, an endeavor. Once you come into this world, as soon as you are born, you try to take your first breath, you try to live. Then you try to stand on your feet and find your steps, to walk. You struggle and try to get an education, to find a job, to make money, to have food to eat, to have a house to live in, (for some people, food and a house is not self-evident), you try to survive, you try to live, to fight and overcome every difficulty, every obstacle, every test. P. 3: To try or not, is not a choice but a one-way path. We all strive for everything in life. We all try. Accepting what you are does not mean that you should stop striving for anything. If we move on the basis of the paradoxical, inverse law of the philosopher Alan Watts, then not trying means trying? People always try, they never give up. Regarding to what I say, there is a very interesting picture, I have seen on the internet, it is a stork, which has caught a frog, has it in its mouth ready to eat it, to swallow it and the frog has caught with its hands the stork’s neck squeezing it, choking the stork. Even then the frog does not give up, he tries. Another example is a photo that I also saw on the internet and I was very impressed, it depicted a stork flying and an eel hanging from its neck. What had happened; I read below the text, which says that the stork, looking for food, ate an eel, but the eel, in its desperate attempt to escape, bit the stork's neck and went out. Never give up. 4


Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

P. 11: Not trying is also a form of trying? P. 3-4: Today's culture, tells us to become the best, the smartest, and that is correct, because in life there is evolution, everything changes, everything evolves, "everything flows", nothing stays the same, that, does not evolve dies. In addition, there is unfair and fair competition, we live in a global village, someone from a different country, can come and claim your job and manage to get it. Another reason you need to evolve and become better. People must know and conquer higher levels of consciousness; this is how we evolve. Maybe that's the meaning of life, evolving. The tendency towards the positive is always something positive. If the tendency becomes obsession it is something negative. When one refers to a concept, an idea, one must also give the definition of this concept, this idea, because each person can have each idea differently in his mind and give another definition. So, if we are talking about something and every person has a different perception of this something, of this idea, how can we come to a conclusion? So, what does positive mean? what does happiness mean? For someone who is poor, happiness can be having food to eat, for a millionaire what is happiness? a Lamborghini? a yacht? P. 4: The distortion of reality is something very bad. Each person perceives and interprets persons, events and situations from his own point of view. Everyone sees things in their own way.

P. 5: No one can forbid us to dream. P. 5: Don’t believe TV commercials. Say no to brainwashing. Try to read a book for a change. P. 5: The evolution of Homo Sapiens seems to be Homo consumens and now we are led to homo digitalis and Homo optimus. From homo consumer to digital human and posthuman. Homo sapiens Homo consumens Homo digitalis - Homo optimus - Post human - Homo deus P. 5: No one says no to more sex. Always more sex is something positive. 5


Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

P. 7: To say that you will not go on vacation to an island in the summer, for some people is like saying the most absurd thing in the world. It is a competition, who will throw more money to go on vacation, who will go to more places. Do summer vacations on an island bring happiness? have they made us believe such a thing? something similar is when you see people at work competing over who will wear the most expensive clothes:

-Look I got this shirt for 100 dollars. - I bought my shirt for 101 dollars. - My watch has gold hands - Yes, but mine has diamonds inside - I peed a meter -Yes, but I peed 1 meter and one centimeter A pointless, vain and complex demonstration contest. Why do people give so much importance to objects, items? are they trying to cover some problems that they may have? maybe they lack somewhere and trying to show off to hide where they lack. Some politicians go like: - Look, I " acquired " so much money from the public coffers - No, I'm better, I " acquired " more from the armament programs -No, I " acquired " the most to put the country in memoranda and in an economic surveillance program ... P. 8: stress is bad and negative, it also releases substances in the body that make you fat, it has many negative effects on human life. P. 9: Do not believe what you see, do not believe the false images, whatever they are, wherever they are.

P. 9: How can you be happy if you do not know what happiness is?

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Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

P. 9: Being stressed about anything is obviously a negative thing. Stress is a negative thing, being stressed in order to feel certain emotions, such as happiness, is negative. P. 9-10: Alan Watts Reverse Law tells us that if we do not want to give a fuck, we must give a fuck? If we want to give a fuck, we must not give a fuck? If we do not care, then do we really care? If we care, then do we not really care? It seems paradox. P. 9-10: Using an argumentum ad verecundiam ( ipse dixit) is an interesting tactic, but who really is the authority? the expert? experts cannot stop us from thinking, or having a different point of view. After all, there is no development, no progress, no evolution without questioning, without disputing. Perhaps once, today’ s experts challenged the experts of their time, before they become experts. P. 12, 16: When someone first urges you not to try and then urges you, to take action and to do what you think right no matter what, that seems a bit contradictory, don't you think? should we not try? or should we take action? P. 16, 116: What is right and what is wrong? Is it a matter of perspective? it depends on someone’s point of view? many years before, if a woman was wearing a short skirt it would be considered wrong, not appropriate, today it is something acceptable and common (okay not for everyone). P. 17: The point is to be able to backstroke in "shit". P. 19: Do we have to care about what others say? who are these "others"? do they have good judgment or do they function as a mass? these "others" functioned the way, in which many people operate: firstly, they welcomed Jesus with palm leaves, they took off their clothes and laid them down, so that Jesus could walk on their clothes. They showed a lot of love. They themselves later shouted "crucify him." These others forced Socrates to drink hemlock. So how much importance should we give to what these "others" say? First, they can say that they love you and then gathered in a mob, in a mass and having the psychology of the mass, they can lead you to death, they can crucify you. I urge you to research and study the psychology of the masses and how it works. A very interesting book is: "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind". Individuals in a mass, in a mob, lose their logic (if they ever had), they operate emotionally, they act like a mob, they get carried away by each other, what one does, will immediately do the others. Also important is the tendency of people to imitate 7


Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

everything without any critical thinking. It is like saying: "why did he do that? I will do the same".

I have seen a movie in which the protagonist is the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence, who acts Joy Mangano, the title of the movie is "Joy". So, there is a scene where Joy Mangano is on TV, trying to promote and sell her product, which in this case is a mop. Initially no one called to buy the mop. At some point, a friend of hers, Jackie, pretending to be another, Joan from New York, calls and says that the mop is very good and orders several. After her friend's phone call, too many people started calling and ordering her mop. Imitation… P. 21: In the movie Rocky 6, Rocky makes a nice speech, saying: " it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" I did not expect to read anything like this in a book. It’s great. P. 21: Obsession to pain and suffering? It is one thing to be able to endure pain and another to pursue pain.

P. 26-27: The panda reminds me of a horsefly. A horsefly that is necessary to wake up a city, this city, due to its size, looks like a big sluggish horse. It always tells people harsh truths about themselves, truths they need to hear, but do not want to accept. This particular horsefly, goes back and forth all day, it does not stop waking up and convincing, everyone individually and criticizing and telling the truth. It may be annoying to some, but it is necessary. If this horsefly would not exist then we will spend our lives "sleeping". So just think how important this horsefly is ...

P. 30: I think most people would like to have the problems of a billionaire, not of a poor person. P. 30-31: Happiness or a form of happiness? P. 57: The importance of Homo universalis.

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Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

P. 60: Every person is different, is unique, is special. Maybe the fact that we are all special does not make us special? We may not be unique regarding to our ability to be unique in that our quality of being special is unique. If we are not unique and special, then what are we? are we all the same? are we clones? we are separate units of a divine whole, of an "olon". Pp. 70, 178: Have self-awareness, while pp. 132, 133: Do not have self-awareness. So, should we, or should we not have self-awareness? P. 73: So, happiness is permanent? P. 86: What is good, is it objective and generally accepted, or is it subjective? What is bad, is it objective and generally accepted or is it subjective? When a woman wears a short skirt, is that something bad or something good? P. 87: Virtues. P. 89 Vanity? P. 105: You have not felt the specific pain though. Chapter 6: If you are wrong about everything, does that mean you are wrong about what you write in this book? What u tell us is wrong? I do not think so... P. 130: I do not know anyone who does not want a million dollars. P. 181: Maybe in the fifty-first country we visit, we meet something magical, something special, something extraordinary, something that will change our lives, you never know. P. 181: Comparing dissimilar, different, things, is sophistry. How many times has the word "fuck" been used?

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Should i give a f@ck about “The Subtle Art of Not giving a f@ck”???

Happiness What is Happiness?

When referring to an idea, a concept like this, one should try to approach it as much as possible, to try to reach the depths of its essence, to discover its definition or at least the definition one gives to it. So, we will determine what we are talking about. The key questions to achieve this, are: What is happiness? How can we obtain happiness? How long does happiness last? Before reading below I want you to take some time and ask yourself, to think about what happiness is and even better what happiness is for you, how you define it, how you perceive it, how you experience it, just think: "what makes you happy "?

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