A leisurely life that begins with the possession of a game character

(This chapter does not advance the plot, so you can skip it)

Don't think too much about it. People have the instinct to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Once you often give yourself hints, you always tell yourself that you will do something when certain conditions are met.

In fact, this "something" is something that you don't like to do. When you give yourself such psychological hints about what conditions are needed to do something, it will form a physical subconscious hint over time, and you will basically never be able to do it.

There is a special reward system in the brain, and the activation of certain neurons in the brain is a kind of "reward".

The brain automatically prioritizes actions that activate these neurons. Between two possible actions, people will spontaneously choose the one that offers a greater reward, that is, the one that stimulates the reward system more.

Under the influence of this mechanism, people will spontaneously "seek happiness", and when people feel pain, escaping from pain is a kind of happiness, so "avoiding pain" can also be regarded as "seeking happiness."

Seeking pleasure and avoiding pain are like two sides of a coin: if you pursue something, you will avoid something; similarly, if you avoid something, you will pursue something.

If something makes people feel happy, the brain will prompt the body to approach it or continue this behavior. If something makes people feel distressed, the brain will prompt the body to move away from it or stop this behavior.

Since happiness and pain are direct experiences of present feelings, and experiences are usually immediate, this behavior of seeking happiness and avoiding pain tends to be a short-term behavior.

Seeking pleasure and avoiding pain is an instinctive behavior, but people do not always seek pleasure and avoid pain. Sometimes they abandon pleasure and embrace pain, giving up the temptation of happiness and embarking on a difficult journey.

For example, studying late into the night before an exam, working frantically to advance a project, and exercising for health reasons. This shows that people can transcend the behavior pattern of "approaching pleasure and avoiding pain" and enter the behavior pattern of "abandoning pleasure and pursuing pain."

There is an executive system in the brain, which is a neural network composed of several brain regions. The executive system of the brain can remember the rules of the task, coordinate actions with other brain regions, evaluate the attractiveness of the target, select targets, arrange the priority of tasks, plan tasks, etc. It can also control impulses and has the ability to inhibit automatic reactions, that is, the ability to delay gratification.

With this ability to organize and plan, the brain's executive system can handle things from a more macro and holistic level, and plan and design actions from a more global perspective. This allows people to transcend the immediate local suffering and pursue longer-term happiness under the guidance of a long-term perspective or goal. This is the behavior pattern of "abandoning happiness and pursuing suffering." This behavior pattern can also be seen as a long-term pursuit of happiness and avoidance of suffering.

Whether one pursues pleasure and avoids suffering, or abandons pleasure and embraces suffering, one is ultimately bound by pleasure and suffering.

There is happiness and there is suffering, there is no happiness and there is no suffering. Why do I say this? Because suffering and happiness are born from yin and yang. Where there is yin, there must be yang, and where there is yang, there must be yin.

If you pursue pleasure but cannot obtain it, you will suffer the pain of not getting what you want. If you avoid pain but cannot obtain it, you will also suffer the pain of not getting what you want.

If you pursue happiness and obtain it, since everything has birth and death, happiness will also perish, so when you lose it you may also feel pain.

If you want to pursue happiness, you will have to face suffering. Only by not pursuing happiness can you avoid suffering. Another way to put it is that if you want to pursue happiness, you must be prepared to endure suffering. If you want to avoid suffering, you must be prepared to give up happiness. So, there is happiness and there is suffering, and there is no happiness and no suffering.

Furthermore, if one pursues "no suffering and no happiness" as a goal, then if one does not achieve "no suffering and no happiness", one may also face "suffering of not getting what one desires". As long as one is still chasing or escaping, suffering and happiness will occur. The process of chasing or escaping is the environment that produces suffering and happiness, and suffering and happiness will in turn promote chasing or escaping. This is a cycle. On the contrary, when one's mind no longer chases or escapes, the bondage of suffering and happiness will disappear.

The reason why there is suffering and happiness is because one seeks suffering and happiness; if one does not seek suffering and happiness, how can suffering and happiness affect oneself? Because one does not seek suffering and happiness, one is self-sufficient at the moment.

When one's heart is restricted by suffering and happiness, the world is a wall built of suffering and a road paved with happiness. It seems that one must follow the map of suffering and happiness, pursue the road of happiness, and escape from the wall of suffering.

When one's mind is not restricted by suffering and happiness, the wall and road of suffering and happiness become non-existent. One can go straight through the wall or road of suffering and happiness without having to follow the path defined by suffering and happiness. One can advance or retreat, fast or slow, move or stop, hide or appear, freely and unhindered.

The walls and roads of suffering and happiness are like a dream bubble, like an illusion. The mind does not cling to suffering and happiness, and suffering and happiness do not hinder the mind. The "Dharma Bloodline Theory" says: The saints are free in both adversity and prosperity, and no karma can bind them.

It is very painful for people to accept this truth, that is life.

The more people close their eyes and ears, the more they feel that they are unique, and that no one in the world is more miserable and pitiful than this, or that there is no one in the world who has a harder life than this.

In fact, if you go out and see that everyone is like this, this is the true face of life in the world. If it is a symptom of everyone, it is not strange, and it is not enough to show off.

When the uniqueness of the self that was originally flaunted is actually the commonality of all ordinary people, rather than the personality of a certain person, the self that was originally insisted on suddenly has no meaning and necessity to insist on.

When the self suddenly disappears, what you realize is not the self, but human instinct and the true nature of life. Then all the ego attachments are not worth clinging to, because what is ordinary and not rare is not me.

When you think you are the only one who has an apple, you will tell everyone you meet that you have an apple. But when you find that everyone has an apple, the apple in your hand disappears from your sight.

The reason why there is an apple in the eye is that it is because the eye does not see that others also have one, so it thinks that the apple represents life. Scarcity makes things valuable, and the self of a person is always looking for something that can show off the self in the mirror.

Scarce things will gradually become commonplace. If the mind does not keep up, common things will be regarded as scarce. This is the principle of cherishing one's own possessions.

This broom has received too much projection of the owner's personality and has become a part of the owner's narcissism. Therefore, it has a value beyond the ordinary.

When the original scarcity is gone, the owner's narcissism makes it detached from the market value and becomes scarce in the owner's meaning.

The most scarce thing for only children who are expected to be successful is their own emotions. It is very rare for their emotions to be seen and understood, and for them to be allowed to be alone without being overly concerned.

When a person is not allowed to lie down, express his or her emotions, feel sad, be negative, or have negative energy, his or her emotions become the most precious treasure in life, a sense of self that is cherished. (End of this chapter)