“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” - Socrates
Last night I went to bed at nine instead of playing space marine two and drinking whiskey. This comic was the reason why
But tonight I will
woah, that’s beautiful. So simple
The problem with this simple life is that it’s notthat simple.
The first time they need to repair something or someone has a medical problem reality hits. The little trailer home falls apart more and more every month but they can’t afford the repairs. Food keeps getting more and more expensive. Medical conditions become chronic problems and soon every day is difficult. If they didn’t have a drug problem before they do now. Just to cope with the hardship of being chronicle Ill. Theft and crime are common around you. What little you have is always vulnerable to being taken from you. Life is stressful and difficult. This kind of life is an endless downward slide, and the only way to get out is to claw your way out.
The only way this life is truly simple is if you have money and a lot of it. You can live a simple unemployed life as a trust fund baby. Or if your spouse has a good job and you just stay home and chill.
I agree with the sentiment in a way to not endlessly want but the actual best thing that leads to happiness, fulfillment, and way more is:
Hope https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/hope-key-in-meaningful-life
Hope that your life will be alright. Hope that people will and are working together. Hope that the planet gets better. Hope that your relationship will continue to grow. Add that with purpose, action, and consistency then that is a well-lived life
I was waiting for the part where Carly accidentally gets pregnant cause, you know, that happens a lot. And their happy life gets obliterated by being forced to carry the fetus to term, because of GOP abortion laws, and raise a child they didn’t want all the while damaging the ever living fuck out the kid’s mind through bad parenting via neglect and self hatred.
Where are they getting money from? They sit around all day doing drugs. How can they afford chicken tenders & electricity & drugs?
The secret ingredient is crime
Government assitsence? Nobody specified where they live.
Hope they enjoyed their simple happy life while it lasted. Looks like the days of govt assistance are over. Trump is cutting everyone off. In other news, have you heard about the $300 million ballroom he’s demolishing the white house for? God bless America
“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” - Socrates
“Dogs. Dogs know how to live.”
— Diogenes, while masturbating in his barrel in full view of anyone passing by.This works until private equity comes by and makes their trailer home just as expensive as any other home. Yes, this is a thing that is happening in the remaining trailer parks, because of course it is.
Capitalism is the best system.
This comic speaks to me because both the general vibe and the specific actions are the kinds of things I’ve consciously been putting more into my life.
I have managed to curate an existence similar to the comic in many ways. As opposed to their tranquil little home being a camper in the woods, mine is more of a combination petting zoo and computer lab hidden in plain sight. It’s a little old house in a blue collar neighborhood. Being old means even though it’s quiet here, I’m located SO close to local resources and POIs.
Being able to walk my son to elementary school is also some next-level wholesome and calming stuff. I get just a dose of the walkable lifestyle, even though I expect I will be driving a car everywhere else for my entire life.
Itt: tons of people judging these characters for being happy.
Not for being happy, but for being immature
Also the littering
I don’t think it’s about the “capacity to enjoy less”.
I think it’s about shedding the things we think we need. It’s about surrounding ourselves with the beauty of the world, and allowing ourselves to enjoy these things while weathering the horrible things.
It’s not easy, and I think the comic deliberately focuses on the beauty while also conveying hardship through the simple juxtaposition of abject poverty.
There’s nothing wrong with “more”, but sometimes when we must discard our dreams and visions of “more”, and embrace less, we find ourselves ultimately enriched.
In short, society likes to lie to us about what we truly need and want. And those lies convince us all too often that we are failures if we don’t meet or exceed certain societal and cultural expectations.
I’m sure many people took the quote to mean this, but I don’t like wording… It’s not about a “capacity” to enjoy less, it’s about an ability to see more.
God damn i wish I could setup a camper somewhere and not be fucking kicked out.
Fuck the social contract, if society wants participants it can offer something of value in return.
Fuck the social contract, if society wants participants it can offer something of value in return.
Having something in return is the whole point of the social contract. The social contract is already broken in the US, and slowly breaking eveywhere else.
Some people were never meant to be good little capitalistic drones capable of working long hours just to be profitable to some member of the Parasite Class who already has obscene amounts of wealth but desperately needs more.
Some people were just meant to go through life vibing with the universe.
And that’s OK, it just means they are wholly incompatible with our current civilization.
Goddamn there are some really old people on lemmy.
One weird thing I’ve noticed about life, and especially since becoming terminally ill, is that generally the older people are, the more terrified they are of “the future” and the harder they cling to life.
When logically, it should be the other way around. You’ve already lived your life, old man. What are you so afraid of?
Does this have something to do with chicken fingers?
I agree with the “enjoy the simple things” of this but this is not a smart plan for your future. You should absolutely make an effort to not only get by now, but also later when problems may arise.
I have a good friend of mine who may be related to this comic. He was a trucker and lost his job in the 2008 crisis. After that he decided he did not want to get a job anymore.
He set up a tent in the woods and lives there. He goes down town to read books every day and people give him some money. He has food, he has his place full of books and with the money he gets he can buy some wine to enjoy the day. Cool guy to be around and have nice chats.
He’s got a good life he enjoys. What should he plan for? If he ever gets sick (and with his lifestyle he really doesn’t get sick) he can go to the hospital and they’ll treat him for free. He’s got more clothes and stuff he may ever need as people just throw stuff away and he collects it. In fact he gifted me clothes, backpacks, pans and other stuff.
I do not think he needs to plan much more to maintain his lifestyle. I mean, some planning is good. I know he took down a few trees as he’s planning to make a teepee to have a better kitchen area. But I don’t think much more planning than that would significantly improve his life.
How is he getting free healthcare when no one else can? How does he take showers every day? How does he survive the cold brutal winters? The hot brutal summers? You know every square inch of land on the planet is owned by someone. A person can’t just set up a tent somewhere and call it home, with no expectation of being forced to git. You are romanticizing this a bit too much.
Everyone gets free healthcare in Spain. No matter whether you do pay taxes or not, as long as you’re a resident. There’s places where they offer showers for free in town, however I believe he doesn’t use those places and just washes in the river. To survive the cold of the winter, he has the tent and blankets. To be fair, it doesn’t get too cold where I live. It never snows. The guy goes around in shorts and sandals all year round, doesn’t appear to suffer too much cold. In fact he often complains he has to leave the tent half opened because of heat.
The place where he set up tent is private and owned by someone. It’s a small spot in the woods. Nobody could ever care less. Police can not kick him out because the place is private, and I guess the owner doesn’t give a damn and would rather have someone live there in peace rather than kick them out for no reason. He’s now been staying in that spot for over seven years. I’ve been in the place a few times as he invited me for lunch, it’s pretty nice.
Now, I’m not romanticising anything. This is not a lifestyle I would conduct. I know this is possible and works out because I know people who live this way and they are happy.
Hospitals legally have to treat you in the US. Also people will only kick you out if they know you’re three (and care enough to). As a trucker, I’m sure he knew some spots.
If they know I’m three? What?
A working healthcare system makes a huge difference yes!
So he’s essentially a parasite on society that takes and gives nothing in return?
Nah, he’s a cool guy. Everyone around enjoys his company. A little bit of the philosopher of the town.
He does not work, if that is what you mean by giving something in return. However he also does not use many things. We live in a rich country and things are plentiful. What he gets is either stuff that people throw away or that they are happy to give him.
What is in this comic that implies they are not planning for their future? It is simply not addressed in the comic because that’s not relevant to what the author is trying to convey.
3rd panel




