Read the title. Read it again. Internalize it. Rationalize with it in whatever way you will, and if you want to continue reading, the journey begins:

You come into this world by no means of your own. You are merely a result. Time passes and eventually, you again, are a result. This time, it’s of your upbringing. These two things, rationally, set you up for the rest of your life.

Along the way, it will have been revealed that many friends were foes, many loved ones were acting, and your total count of people you truly believe you can trust will diminish.

“On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”

I am Jack’s crippling sense of rejection.

If you look at the timeline for all of the relationships you have, the chances are that they have diminished over the course of time. In my opinion, the only relationships that stand the test of time are relationships that are mutually beneficial. In Hobbesian terms, in order for one to avoid the brutish state of nature, individuals would only be rational actors if they preserved their lives.

This happens on a micro level with every single communication one has. Don’t believe me? Think about what the other person stands to gain from you prior to each confrontation and tell me you think differently.

Moms. Dads. Brothers. Sisters. Wives. Girlfriends. Brothers with different blood, people I would’ve died for, and people that stood nothing to gain. I’ve seen it all. It’s innate in human nature to maximize one’s capabilities of self-preservation, and lowering one’s neighbor’s capabilities of self-preservation makes theirs rise. That’s how fucked up and insecure people are.

Don’t look for other people to make you happy. My whole life, that’s been my problem. Even my lady in red. The idea that was attached to her is the same feeling a junkie attaches to drugs: fleeting, and fake. Understand that you will always be alone, no matter how loved you feel. It is one of the most painful, and most liberating things in the world.

“This is a chemical burn. It will hurt more than you've ever been burned and you will have a scar. Stay with the pain, don’t block this out.” / Tyler Durden