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Narcotics and narcissism draw from the same root word referring to numbness.
To retreat from reality is to close yourself from the inputs of the world, to become a closed system. Narcissism (self love) refuses reality in the same way the addict anesthetizes their senses.
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When someone says they "gave their whole life," it is obvious hyperbole.
They received much in return, even if it was painful negation they were seeking. More pointedly, in their phrasing, they reveal the narcissistic tactic of martyrdom.
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Without a frontier to push into or against, self-discovery is not an exploration of the new but a redefining (retromodification) of the preceding.
In mining the past (nostalgia) the unreality of exhumation offers only abstract context, leading to affectation.
Is regenerating affect non-effectual work? If so, without new frontiers, we risk assuming the labor of dilatante style is indeed substance.
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We can point at a "why" to explain when we do things.
When we fight we can claim family (or a friend) provoked us. But knowing "why" allows us to misuse the stated purpose for the real reason: the real reason is never the stated reason.
Often a fight is a means to be close, get attention, to feel intensity and release, only to revel in the bonding of the aftermath.
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Viktor Frankl says to make the pain of life bearable; you must find meaning: a purpose by looking into the future.
Yuval Noah Harari says fantasy provides meaning for suffering.
We can conclude that the only way to bear the absurd pains of existence is to have a rich fantasy that you genuinely believe in.
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There must be a word for when you lie and exaggerate in a humble fashion to make others feel better about being around you. It is placatory to a level of derangement.
It isn’t a humble brag but a "double humble" of negative denigration; the politeness cancels out politeness and shifts into pathos.
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The response to an event is often predetermined. (You will applaud or agree with the leader.)
The content becomes secondary to the context of being seen appropriately collaborating in the spectacle.
When appearance trumps consideration, we live a political/performative existence, not one of truth.
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When presented with the “sinking of the titanic” or the “reign of the pharaohs” in a museum, you encounter protected, curated historical artifacts and detailed, digitized storyline renderings.
When you encounter alien museums, they appear cobbled together by an amateur, often using a Xerox machine and hot glue. The budget craft leans into kitsch, undermining credibility.
Would enhancing the display to align with high-budget blockbusters create easier acceptance through a mainstream aesthetic?
Or is homemade production the key to alien culture’s resilience? By eschewing the mainstream, it opens itself to outsiders, using its cheapness as camouflage to maintain a joking persistence over short-lived seriousness.
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We tend to map our reality, values, and principles onto our situations. We project onto others what we wish, which often blinds us to the fact that a person, business, or politician has operating principles of their own. We actively deceive ourselves into living in the world we wish: this can be beautiful and dangerous.
