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Opinion | Why Am I Reading Apocalyptic Novels Now?
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Turning to apocalyptic entertainment
We may be finding that our taste in books and movies is taking an apocalyptic direction these days. We may even identify with the stories and the characters.
This sounds a bit like torture because we use fiction to imaginatively aggravate our wounds, instead of to soothe them.
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A form of self-flagellation
We usually seek to experiment the good, but we also want access to the bad.
While we are quarantined, we want to be distracted and cheered up. But we also want to be fully present in what is happening to us. And so we use fiction projections of the bad to reflect the evils of our outside world. Because this is a form of pain we are willing to accept.
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Zombie Economics
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Key Ideas
“What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? If you don’t understand this,..."
Lao Tzu
Take every experience as a lesson
Whenever you find yourself in an unpleasant or difficult situation, try to see what you can take away from this very experience.
Try to perceive your experiences as lessons and to understand them, so you can feel at ease with the others and with yourself.
Read between the lines
Whenever you deal with difficult people, take into account two aspects: you should not let their actions affect your life in a negative way and you may want to try first to understand them, rather than just to judge them.
After all, they might be fighting a battle you know nothing about.