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/lit/ - Literature

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4486229 No.4486229[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

I have lived 22 years, and I have nothing to show from it. There is this feeling of directionlessness in every interest I attempt to pursue, and they all end at most a few steps from where they began.

To put it bluntly, I feel lost in life.

Any book recommendations for that?

>> No.4486241

kill yourself

>> No.4486246

>>4486229
Try fantasy, you can escape to another World and live vicariously through the heroic deeds of others.

>> No.4486250

Anything by Beckett

>> No.4486252

>>4486241

How about no?

I don't care much about myself, but suicide always leaves deep psychological repercussions on those close to the victim, and that's a big no no for me.

>> No.4486255
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4486255

Love in the Times of Cholera

>> No.4486271

>>4486255
+1

>> No.4486282

>>4486229
Embrace your mono no aware; embrace your own mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQklNpxP0D8

http://www.constitution.org/rom/epicdisc1.htm#1:01

>> No.4486296

>>4486252
that's kinda stupid. your mommy gets sad for a while. big whoop. she'll get over you. the misery you cause her from that will be short and sweet compared to the disappointment she'll have to deal with having such a failure of a son

>> No.4486310
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4486310

>>4486296

My mother is dead, but good try.

>> No.4486314

>>4486229

The Bible

>> No.4486315

>>4486314

That would be an option, but I'm not really religious.

>> No.4486316

>>4486296
Get a load of this guy

>> No.4486320

>>4486250

Anything in particular?

>>4486255
>>4486271

Adding it to my list.

>>4486282

Beautiful music man, thanks.

>> No.4486321

>>4486252
The thing is, once you're dead you won't care any more, you won't be able to.

>> No.4486322
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4486322

>>4486296
Thanks for the laugh, mate. I woke my roommates up.

>> No.4486324

>>4486315
Not him, but so what? Do you think you have to be already religious to get into religion?

The only meaningful answers you will find will be in the Bible, you need to read something inspired by a source higher than us.

>> No.4486329
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4486329

Read terrorist manifestos for life direction.

>> No.4486332

>>4486324

What I meant Is that I already tried that path, and it really wasn't the thing for me.

>>4486321

So? That I wont be there doesn't mean it wont happen.

>> No.4486336

>>4486320
>Anything in particular?

Pretty much anything. Start with Godot

>> No.4486343

>>4486315

You can read it with genuine curiosity. You don't need to be religious for that. Just read it and if something piques your interest you can read background-information on that. It's a big task and fills up quite a lot of time. Just get real secondary literature.

>> No.4486342

>>4486332
Here's some scriptures, the Bible says you need to fill your spiritual need and become friends with God.

Isaiah 45:18 For this is what Jehovah says,
The Creator of the heavens, the true God,
The One who formed the earth, its Maker who firmly established it,
Who did not create it simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited:
“I am Jehovah, and there is no one else.

Matthew 5:3 “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the Kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.

James 4:8 Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you indecisive ones.

James 2:23 and the scripture was fulfilled that says: “Abraham put faith in Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness,” and he came to be called Jehovah’s friend.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole obligation of man.

>> No.4486346

>>4486320
Waiting for Godot is really good.

>> No.4486361

The phonebook. Use it to find a psychiatrist.

I'm serious: when I was 22 I felt exactly the way you are describing all the time. That's a major sign of clinical depression. Please consider there might be something medically wrong that might make your thoughts distorted.

I finally got help for it then, and it was the best choice I've ever made. I'm not saying seeing a psych will solve all your problems. I'm 24 now, and have been through multiple psychiatrists, therapists, medications, and most importantly life changes to get where I am today. I'm not perfect, but I finally have a direction in my life and the willpower and mental clarity to follow through with it.

Some things you can't just think your way out of, especially when you have a problem that distorts your thinking. So please, consider getting help from a professional. I was resistant to the idea for so long, but in the end it probably saved my life.

>> No.4486363

>>4486229
Book of Disquiet
Ecclesiastes
Moby-Dick
Leopardi's 'Canti'

>> No.4486366

>>4486361

Began going mid 2013 actually.

I'm already in treatment, but I'm looking for reading material to complement it.

Hence this thread.

>> No.4486370

>>4486229

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.

Tough read, but definitely worth it. There's some glorious prose in there. And it just might encourage you to transform in your solitude.

>> No.4486373

I recommend looking into absurdism. Read the myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. It might help you look at this problem in a different way. Right now you don't know what to choose, but absurdism might help you see the choosing as an interesting facet of life itself. The journey is just as meaningful, if not moreso than the end goal. I know I've learned tons more during the journey in my life. You'll always spend more time during the journey than the achievement phase, absurdism will help you embrace it.

>> No.4486395

You're having an existential crisis, do drugs or become a philosopher.

>> No.4486401

>>4486366
Good for you, it's a great first step.

Adopting a regular meditation ritual has been a big help in my recovery. Mindfulness in Plain English is a good book that breaks down the details, but you really don't need to read a whole book to start a basic breathing meditation.

>> No.4486405
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4486405

And while you're at it, read The Stranger (same author)

You'll thank me later

>> No.4486408

>>4486342
>Fear the true God
Why the fuck would god want you to fear him?
What a shitty deity.
Best one out of all of the ones people have worshiped so far, but still such shit.

What an asshole.

>> No.4486423

I feel the same way. Try traveling.

>> No.4486427

>>4486408

Yahweh is basically a yandere Japanese girlfriend.

>> No.4486435

>>4486229
read this OP:
>I have lived 22 years, and I have nothing to show from it.
So? What do think you need to have "something to show"?
>There is this feeling of directionlessness in every interest I attempt to pursue, and they all end at most a few steps from where they began.
Life is pretty directionless. Pay attention to your feelings. Do you feel sad and like you can't enjoy anything all the time? You're depressed, go see a therapist. What do you want? What do you think will make you happy? What makes you less able to enjoy life, and how can you remove those things from your life?

Direction is found within, only your own heart can tell you where to go. I think you have problems deeper than you're willing to admit to here.
Ask yourself this: Why do you feel like this?
Happy people don't look for meaning.

>> No.4486613

>>4486346
+1

>> No.4486616

>>4486229
I'd say just read. It doesn't matter *what* you read, but you're on /lit so you obviously care about books. Pick up the nearest "Best 100 Books" list or you can find lists that writers recommend, and start there. Sounds like you're spending a lot of time alone - don't let the time go to waste.

>> No.4486619

>>4486616
And not just fiction. Try some philosophy - Kierkegard comes to mind - or whatever.

>> No.4486620

>>4486408

Why wouldn't you fear a god? Just seems pragmatic. If you're an ant and a human offers to promise never to stomp on your anthill so long as you bring him food in sacrifice, that doesn't mean you suddenly forget the guy can stomp on your anthill.

>> No.4487416

>>4486408
It doesn't mean to be literally scared and frightful, more fearful out of respect for his power and infinite wisdom.

>> No.4489243

so you still have another 50-60 years left. everyone's gonna die and they'll have nothing to show for it. just try to keep busy and not think about it.

>> No.4489253

Everything is better when the mind is settled! Try experiencing samatha-vipassana

>> No.4489260

You sound normal for 22 years old, to me.

Chin up.

>> No.4489377 [DELETED] 
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4489377

>>4486229
You should get rid of the notion that you need to have something to show like some kekky circus monkey.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34580?msg=welcome_stranger#Page_425

>> No.4489380
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4489380

>>4486229
You should get rid of the notion that you need to have something to show like some kekky circus monkey.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34580

>> No.4489394

>people genuinely recommending the Bible

I think you guys took this anti-fedora too seriously.

>> No.4489398

>>4486408
You're scared because he knows all about you. A wise man would live his life as if an omniscient deity can observe the very core of his soul and know the motivation of every action. I try to live by this as an atheist.

>> No.4489472

Do not try to escape OP. Live.

You've likely lived just one fourth of your life. It is never to late to change and become a great person. Love thyself and thyself shall be free.

>> No.4489474

Han Suyin's biography of Mao

>> No.4489511

>>4489474
>Mao
not even once

>> No.4489532
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4489532

>>4489511
>doesn't realize Mao was the greatest person who ever lived

>> No.4489575

>>4489398
>A wise man would live his life as if an omniscient deity can observe the very core of his soul and know the motivation of every action
Of course under the arrogant impression that surely such a diety would share his sense of morality.

>> No.4489606

>>4489575
That doesn't matter, I'm an atheist.

>> No.4489774

>>4486229
try some music instead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFLhE7VmJuw

or try weed / psychedelics, gotta care with your current mindset there tho

>> No.4489785

>>4489774

Then you should post music, not dial-up noise.

>> No.4489800

>>4489774
damn this is pretty sick.
i need to find a DL and hopefully one with the tracks split up.

>> No.4489805

>>4489800
>ruining the form of an album for split up tracks
pleb

>> No.4489808

>>4489805
no you damn idiot, it's just for a more convenient listening experience.
i listen to full albums.

and sometimes i listen to just a few songs.

>> No.4489812

>>4489805
>>4489808
Like /lit/ gives a nun's hymen. Go suck each other off on /mu/.

>> No.4489816

>>4489785
hm based on you liking this >>4486282 you could try these 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3FfvpczlT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY0wY0IdgAM
well just go over to /mu/ or somewhere else and grab an essential chart and see what you like
it's quite similar to literature, if you find sth that really suits you, it can be absolutely powerful

>> No.4489822

>>4489805
You should start an argument over on /mu/ about the album as an art form and how younger generations are ruining it with their short attention spans, undefined tastes, and unwillingness to sacrifice their dollars or download time on ten tracks as opposed to one. They push popular and/or younger artists to focus on singular tracks rather than a quality and cohesive album.

As for my novel: It's about how shitty people are, myself included.

>> No.4489826

>>4486229
You could probably relate to Hugh Conway in Lost Horizon