• CodexArcanum@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    6 hours ago

    People are ragging on the AI art, but the message is also bland pseudo-mystic instagram-motivational word spew. Many religions and philosophies teach things like this, but even real quotes are reduced to pithy candy aphorisms when taken out of context like this.

    Like it definitely is trying to riff on the genre of Zen Pencils.

    And funny enough, that Thoreau quote is more in line with global views on happiness: the pursuit of it is in some ways the root of it’s nonexistence. When we focus on making a better and simpler world for all, happiness often follows.

  • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    wtf is going on with his feet

    (he said, already knowing the answer)

    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 day ago

      it’s amazing how that isn’t even what tipped me off, it just vaguely looks like AI, which is a tad strange for such a simple style

      • jackr@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 hours ago

        I did suspect it, but what confirmed was the not-really-crossed legs. I do not think anyone would draw that this way. The fingers are also weird. Humans would draw them too straigtt rather than too wavy.

      • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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        1 day ago

        AI seems to really love that extreme high contrast side-lighting on everything. Then the text itself is irregular in a very non-human kind of way, like there’s no natural processes that would result in an ‘E’ like the one in ‘BECAUSE’.

        Then you’ve got the person’s face, which if it were drawn by an artist of the skill level we’d expect from the rest of the piece, one would imagine they’d do a better job of conveying some sort of personality or emotion.

        AI Art is fundamentally antisocial because it’s the Art equivalent of the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle; it took less effort for OP to create that than it did to pick apart exactly why it feels so unsatisfying and unsettling in all the wrong ways. Always downvote AI Art.

      • x4740N@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        I just assumed they were thongs.

        american translation: i just asumed they where fIip fIops

    • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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      21 hours ago

      Because capitalism (and religion before it) told us it would come in the future. As long as we worked as hard as possible in the present.

      In the case of religion, this was after you died, until people figured out it was a little too convenient, a little too much of a blank cheque that leaves very little room for recourse if it doesn’t turn out as advertised.

      In capitalism, “defferred gratification” is sold as a virtue, a sign of good moral character, you are made responsible for your own happiness in a way that requires continual vigilence.

  • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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    22 hours ago

    The top 5 regrets from people that are about to die. Stop worrying and just touch the grass.

    Not having the courage to live a life true to oneself, instead of the life others expected.

    Working too hard and missing out on life.

    Not expressing feelings.

    Not staying in touch with friends.

    Not allowing oneself to be happier.

  • Dasus@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Eugh.

    If you have enough money to not worry about your next month’s rent, it’s rather easier to “live in the present”.

    This feels like a live laugh love vibe, no offense. I’m not just at a place to accept this… uh, “wisdom.”

    • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      My line of thought for this is that stressing about whether you’ll have enough money to cover rent won’t make it any easier to cover rent. Happiness is more about mindset than circumstances. It is easier said than done, for sure, but if one needed to have 0 problems to be happy, there wouldn’t be many happy people.

      Consider a millionaire who checks the markets one day only to realize their portfolio has dropped by 30% wiping out all of their gains for the past two years and leaving them with only 3 million. They’d probably not be very happy with that, despite still being in a position that many would trade everything to be in.

      • Dasus@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        My line of thought for this is that stressing about whether you’ll have enough money to cover rent won’t make it any easier to cover rent. Happiness is more about mindset than circumstances

        No… but if you don’t worry about it at all, you won’t pay it. You need to be able to pay it. Which means having to get money. Which means having to do things. Which means having to plan. Which means thinking about the future.

        I do not see how your millionaires explanation is in any way relevant, as they are still won’t be living from paycheck to paycheck.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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          21 hours ago

          My interpretation of the message in the meme isn’t so much a “present vs future thinking” as it is a “you don’t need to search for happiness because your brain determines your mood, not outside factors.” I’m not saying you should just ignore your issues (which would make things more difficult over time), but that you can be happy despite them. Happiness isn’t a goal, it’s a state of mind.

          As for the millionaire example, that they wouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck is the whole point. It was intended to frame happiness/unhappiness in a different context that was easy to understand (he lost money he had spent a lot of time getting) but was still left in a position that most would be happy to find themselves in, but instead he’s probably miserable about it.

          • Dasus@lemmy.world
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            21 hours ago

            Oh… so what you’re saying is that it isn’t quite as simple as the picture makes it out to be…?

            • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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              4 hours ago

              It is that simple but it isn’t easy. It’s like finding enlightenment from Buddhist parables. They don’t all click the same for everyone. Once they click, it can seem obvious, but before that, they can seem meaningless, trite, or misleading.

              From my pov, the image is accurate but not the clearest. It can only get you part of the way and only if it resonates with you. It doesn’t surprise me that it generates cynicism similar to the “gee thanks, I’m cured” responses to mental health advice.

  • archonet@lemy.lol
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    1 day ago

    Ah, what a marvelous idea, we should look to the present!

    [reads the news]

    Hm. I think I may have noticed a problem with this theory.

  • WaitThisIsntReddit@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    I value my unhappiness. I’ve always thought the monk nirvana “be happy sitting cross legged on the floor thinking nothing all day for the rest of your life” ideal is selfish and almost worthless. I have ambitions, and if I was just happy with the present I’d have little reason to pursue them.

    • fishy@lemmy.today
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      5 hours ago

      Yeah, always seemed so wrong that so many people just stagnate. Like they reach some imaginary milestone and just stop improving and float through life. There’s room to improve almost everything in life, why the heck would you settle?

  • Lembot_0004@discuss.online
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    1 day ago

    It is quite logical to search for something in the place where it might be (future) and not in the place where it obviously isn’t (present).