Life’s don’ts
This section can be summarised in two words: thresholds and moderation. Don’t chase money Since we’re not hunter-gatherers anymore, most people don’t have a choice to withdraw their participation from the economic system. Most people can’t or won’t retreat to foraging for food in the forest, so it’s best to embrace the realities of money instead . There is no virtue in being poor, though a lot of people imagine it so. You don’t need to become a money-hungry sociopath, who’s entire life and self-worth are driven by desire to add zeros to their bank account . But you shouldn’t feel bad about making changes/sacrifices to elevate your economic status. You should strive to have enough. Everyone’s level for enough is different: some are more comfort-seeking, others hardy . Putting yourself in peril and through hardships because you perceive chasing money as evil is not smart.
You should never drink/do drugs/ Any mention of “vices” like alcohol, weed, etc. is an easy polariser. We end up with people strongly for or against. But should it be? All of these vices are just a subset of the larger category of stimulants . Things like tea, coffee, sugar, energy drinks, medicines, are all in the same category. The differences are on two fronts: 1. Actual effects 2. Perception (aka Marketing) . Most judgement and pressure to avoid drugs comes from the latter. Your mom who tells you to never smoke weed then dutifully brings out ice for your dad’s drink, misses out that fact the alcohol endangers far more lives than weed does . Her opinion is driven by perception over actual effects. People intuitively understand risks. We’ll never be able to barricade every balcony, cliff, and ledge in the world, yet 99% of people will not commit suicide . Even the kids know that meth is bad. The modern anti-drug situation is an output of racism, corporate interests, and government opportunism to always ban things.
You should totally drink/… I’m also opposed to the hard opposite of the previous statement. The obligation to drink due to peer pressure. In many places, the whole conversation around spending time together has been framed entirely around consumption, especially that of alcohol . In many workplaces too, non-drinkers are made to feel out of place. WTF. Can’t people just sit by the ocean or brutally injure each other in an underground group where if it is your first day you have to fight? I’m guessing the teenage peer pressure to drink is what gets a lot of people into drinking . Gardens, beachfronts, balconies, and libraries need their own marketing division to make reclaim communal gatherings and reframe it without alcohol consumption as the focal point.
Sexual desire/being horny is a sin, a bad thing and an immoral. Chasing women is wrong The hold of religion is so strong that it has fooled us into suppressing and ignoring our most fundamental biological drive. You literally only exist to propagate your genes . That process is done by middle-age and nature very appropriately starts you down the path of death. That women appear beautiful and lust worthy to men, that the mechanical process of sex produces ecstatic orgasms is biologically programmed into you . The modern taboo is again the fruit of religions looking to shape their “wild” populace into timid believers. Dictating their desires and controlling their minds . And most people with little in the form of will are happy to follow along. Priests, and other religious men are literally virgins. How can you pay attention to someone who hasn’t had a good shag?
Here again, I don’t paint self-denial as a crime. Progress and focus only come with some form of sacrifice and self-denial. However, we have truckloads of cultural programming on denying basic desires . Respect all women and don’t look at them in a lusty way - except when they appear in movies, shampoo commercials and music videos. Our natural desires always leak through . On the contrary, if we made sex less taboo, making it banal, we might realise how we spend too long a time discussing something that takes <30 mins.
Watching porn is bad Again, a question of moderation. Porn is nothing but a poor adaptation of the Mills & Boons category of books that have lined bookshelves and homes for decades . More than half of us wish porn was more faithful to the source material. Men are emotional too. Sexual desire isn’t going anywhere so might as well rub one out if your thoughts are clogged with lust . But if you’re masturbating 7 times a day, rushing to the bathroom to rub one out every time you see some round or phallic object, or god forbid an actual desirable human, then you need the doctor and some human connection . I’d say, porn is just another stimulant. Like all stimulants, you are vulnerable to overuse and addiction. An occasional drink, joint and spanking of the monkey are all good fun.
Don’t watch TV Stimulant. Moderation. You get the drift. Television and movies have such power in transport us into new worlds and experiences, we’re in the golden age of content. There’s a lot of good stuff to watch, don’t feel bad about enjoying it.