I. Q&A
1. What does Charles Bukowski’s success try to prove?
Charles Bukowski's success proved that we don't need to set up some unrealistic determination, just accept who we are and be honesty to ourselves.
2. What’s wrong with the conventional life advice, which is fixating on what you lack?
The conventional life advice always make people focus on their shortcomings and the failures. Even this fixation the positive, it only serves to remind us of we are not good enough.?
3. Can you use your own words explaining what the Feedback Loop from Hell is?
In my view, the Feedback Loop from Hell is just like rolling snowballs. When we think about some unhappy things, it makes us very upset, but we couldn't make it stop. What's more, we could think about why we upset and why we cannot make those things to an end. The more things we cannot solve, the more things we cannot stop thinking. Finally, one tiny thing becomes a huge snowball which could destory us.
4. What are the subtleties of not giving a fuck?
Firstly, being comfortable with being different. Secondly, give a fuck about something more important than adversity. Thirdly, more selective about the fucks we're willing to give.
5. What’s wrong with being “perpetually entitled to be comfortable and happy at all times”? Can you think of an example to support your answer?
We should focus and prioritize our own thoughts effectively, figure out what matters to us and what does not matters. Giving to many fucks could make us neglect the more important things which is why we not comfortable and happy. For example, If we were hurted by someone, just try to do something to make yourself feel happy. You needn't bear it in the mind and care about what other people think about you. That's really doesn't matter.
II. Sentences
1. And as the stacks of rejection slips piled up, the weight of his failures pushed him deep into an alcohol-fueled depression that would follow him for most of his life.
pile up 堆積、堆放
the weight of his failures pushed him deep into……? 這一句中的weight 和push 十分形象，與前半句的pile up 對應
2. Stories like Bukowski’s are the bread and butter of our cultural narrative.
bread and butter ? 基本的生活資料? 在這里指Bukowski的故事就好像是隨處可見的雞湯文一樣。
3. Self-improvement and success often occur? together.? But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the same thing.
“自我提升和成狗通常一起出現，但這并不意味著二者是一回事。”
4. Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience.
surmount? ? get on top of; deal with successfully
5. To not give a fuck is to stare down life’s most terrifying and difficult challenges and still take action.
stare down? ? to look at (a person or animal) fixedly until his gaze is turned away
III. Thoughts
這真的是一本非常有趣的書，從昨天晚上開始讀第一頁起，就被作者的文筆深深的吸引，一個勁兒的往下讀。觀點有趣而新奇，用詞俏皮而生動，雖然偶爾有一些完全沒有見過的用詞，但查過字典后發現是很口語化很實用的詞匯。并且，作者討論的問題非常具有實際意義，當下我們處在消費文化與攀比之風盛行的社會，我們以為擁有了更多的東西、去實現遙遠的目標就會快樂，但事實并非如此。總結起來，作者的觀點十分明確——less is more 和 let it go。
對我而言，最能夠引起共鳴的是the Feedback Loop from Hell。在此就作者的觀念稍加引申，我們腦海中的“念頭”是念念相續、無有斷絕的，尤其是那些讓人煩惱的事情，由事情的本身想到原因，再由原因生發出去，想到其他看似不相干的事。事實上，困擾我們的已經不再是原初的事情了，更是像滾雪球一樣越滾越大的妄念。
在讀到這幾段時，我想到去年在導師課上做過的正念訓練，在幾分鐘的時間里觀照自己的思緒，結果發現在如此短暫的時間里竟然升起了如此多的念頭，并且它們還在不受控制地衍生出新的念頭。如何解決這一問題呢？首先我們需要意識到念頭的存在，其次，回歸到本初的念頭上。這也就是《金剛經》中所說的“降伏其心”——
“諸菩薩摩訶薩，應如是生清凈心。不應住色生心，不應住聲香味觸法生心，應無所住而生其心。”
何由而生清凈心？并非一念不起，而是心無所住。意識到心中會升起無數個念頭，但無論念頭升起或滅去，心并不追隨而去。我居于川上，俯視心念如水流，此即無所住而生其心。
