I feel enlightened. Six months in Cambodia was all I needed.

I think the first thing I realized is like, how rich and prosperous Americans are yet how foolishly we use our money in unintelligent ways. I think the average American has no idea how rich they actually are, compared to the house cleaner making $220 a month working full-time in Phnom Penh Cambodia.

So first, I feel like my insight is — whenever possible, just don’t buy nothing. Almost like 100% of the things out there, are unnecessary and maybe even detrimental to us? 

The privileges of America

Freedom of speech and expression, is very underrated. In America, you can say or do whatever you want, and not get a knock on your front door from officials.

Also, I think the big thought is that, the privilege of being American… this prevents self censorship.

What is self-censorship?

This is a big idea, if you’re living somewhere that does not have freedom of speech, you are just not stupid and as a consequence, you never say nothing bad about anything.

So this is the logic: you know if you publicly or online share a dangerous opinion, you could get a knock on your front door. As a consequence you start to self censor yourself, to keep yourself safe.

Overtime this is not good because over a long enough time of self censorship, you feel so “ddab ddab hae”, and oppressed.

the downside of freedom of speech 

The downside of freedom of speech is that honestly having too many opinions about everything makes people miserable. From a philosophical approach, the intelligent strategy is to be zen, stoic, and to simply focus on that which is in your control. Your own opinions, your own power, and not to engage in needless nonsense about nonsense.

–> don’t have needless opinions about nonsense.

Only have strong opinions about that which truly matters to you. 

now what

I encourage everybody to visit Phnom Penh Cambodia at least once in their life, spend about six months or a year living there. It’s like real life enlightenment.

If you want to be happy, just go there. If you want freedom come to America.

The true barbell or the hybrid or the centaur approach is to have your cake and eat it too which means spend some of the year in Cambodia and some of the year in America, have half 50-50. Like being a mermaid, or a merman (Zoolander)–>

Six months a year in Cambodia six months a year in America.

ERIC

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