It is said that this is a book with a high turnover rate, and through the dialogue between the protagonist and the owner and the clerk in a mysterious café, we are told to think about the "meaning of people's existence".
When we find our "meaning of existence", we can break free from the whirlpool of confusion, anxiety and numbness.
What is the meaning of existence
The meaning of existence is abbreviated as "PFE", in other words, it refers to why you are in this world and what kind of person you want to become.
In the process of growing up, most people are catering to the expectations of others, repeating the path taken by others, pursuing the universal values of society, and the definition of so-called successful people, so many people are not clear.
What do you really want, so that you often fall into confusion and anxiety.
Find the meaning of existence
01. There is a very shocking point in this book: it is called "reverse wave".
The book tells the story of a green sea turtle, the coffee shop clerk is very fond of snorkeling, one day he saw a sea turtle swimming slowly, he decided to compete with him to swim faster, but what he didn't expect was that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up with this turtle.
When the waves swim in the opposite direction to the turtle, the turtle will not exert force, he will try to keep himself floating in the same place as much as possible, and when the direction is the same, he will try to speed up and ride the waves.
When I read this point of view, I feel as if I have been awakened all of a sudden, and the turtle never competes with the waves, but skillfully uses the power of the waves, follows the laws of the movement of the sea, and optimizes its efficiency;
In the text, human beings are struggling to move forward, swimming harder and harder, the more tired they become, and when the waves are in the same direction as their swimming, they don't have enough strength to move forward. So humans have not been able to swim faster than sea turtles.
What it means: if you're not on the same channel as what you want to do, you're going to waste a lot of energy. By the time you have the opportunity to do what you want, you may not have the strength or the time to do it.
The things that you do every day that you don't really want to do are actually reverse waves. We have to learn to resonate with ourselves. Once you've found your PFE, you'll be able to spend your time on things that will help you achieve your PFE and avoid being overwhelmed by reverse waves.
02. Improve life satisfaction.
Since childhood, our lives have been filled with all kinds of advertisements, conveying the message that the fulfillment of life is more than material.
And we are exposed to a lot of marketing messages every day, a little careless, we are pinning our happiness and satisfaction on a certain commodity, in order to buy these goods, we must find a job, if the job is not what we love, we will be dissatisfied with life, and in order to make up for these dissatisfaction, we will buy more things to reward ourselves.
The more we buy, the more we have to pay, the more time we need to spend on the job we don't like, and thus fall into a vicious circle of becoming a money-making machine altogether.
When we find our PFE, we don't need material rewards for working hard, but immediately start doing what we want to do, from an hour a day to slowly shifting all our energy to what we want to do.
When we are doing what we love every day, we will be very satisfied, and we will not be as attached to money as we are now.
03. Reduce the fear of death, death is one of the most common fears of human beings.
The reason why most people subconsciously fear death is that there are too many things to do in life, and people are afraid that they will not have the opportunity to do what they want to do, and they will have regrets.
If someone has figured out the meaning of their existence, chosen what they want to do, and realized their own PFE, then why should such a person be afraid of death?
If we have achieved our wishes, or are doing what we want to do every day, then there is no reason to be afraid of losing the opportunity to do those things, and we can do not fear death, but cherish every day.
How to find PFE
How to find the meaning of our existence, the book says that experiencing different things, being exposed to different ideas, and paying attention to our reactions to various things will help us find answers.
Meditate, listen, watch movies or read books, travel, communicate and share with friends and strangers, etc.
Of course, when we have new experiences or are exposed to new ideas, some of them resonate with them.
When encountering something, many people have a physiological reaction:
For example, the hair is upside down, the backbone seems to be electrocuted and crying with joy, etc., and some people will have a feeling of "it is him", and these feelings and reactions are all clues to find out the meaning of their existence.
Write to the end. In life, how many people spend their lives like this: they started going to school when they were young, and when they were in high school, they worked hard to get into college;I went to college and worked hard to find a job;After that, I go to work and spend my time trying to get promoted. Then it's buying a house, buying a car, getting married, and having children.
Life runs in an orderly but boring way like a programme.
How many people have really thought about what is the meaning of their existence, what is their mission, and whether what they do every day is what they really love and can realize the meaning of life?
When you work hard to achieve the meaning of existence, lucky coincidences will naturally appear, and they call this going with the flow.
Our own answer, the whole world only we can decide. That's why many people choose to be alone in their quest for the answer: life is inherently exciting. It's just that some people don't find out that they are authors, they don't realize that they can create according to their own ideas.
I'm thinking, maybe many people who have already met materially will pursue higher needs, and most ordinary people have the courage to think and choose the life they want
Or you can be like Anne and start with an hour a day to do something you love.
Change slowly, every time we change a little, we will find that it is not so difficult to pursue the life we want!Sometimes I think in a different way, in a different environment, to go for a walk, to go on an outing, to go sailing.
Find your own answers and do your best.