Hi! I relate so much to you. I’m seven years older than you and I’m pretty happy with how my life is going, so although I’m no wise old sage, I think I can share some good advice.
I’ve also been involved in EA, Buddhism, veganism, minimalism, sustainable fashion, etc. from a young age, plus I was part of an Orthodox Christian community as a teenager (as I assume you are in Greece).
So, here’s my main advice.
The philosophies of EA, Buddhism, etc. are really really morally demanding. Working from the basic principles of these philosophies, it is difficult to find reasons to prioritize your own wellbeing; there are only pragmatic reasons such as “devote time and money to your own health so that you can work more effectively to help others”. Therefore, if you predominantly engage in these communities through the philosophy, you will be exhausted.
So, instead of going down internet rabbit holes and reading serious books, engage with the people in these communities. Actual EAs goof around at parties and write stories. Actual Buddhists have silly arguments at nice restaurants and go on long treks through the mountains. While good philosophies are optimized to be hard to argue with, good communities are optimized to be healthy and sustainable.
I’m guessing you don’t have strong EA and Buddhist communities near you, though. Same here. In that case, primarily engage in other communities instead. When I was your age (ha that sounds ridiculous), I was deeply involved in choir. Would highly recommend! Having fun is so important to balance out the philosophies that can consume your life if you let them.
In non-EA non-Buddhist communities, it might feel like you’re the only one who takes morality seriously, and that can be lonely. Personally, I gravitate toward devout religious friends, because they’re also trying to confront selfishness. Just make sure that you don’t go into depressing rabbit holes together.
Of course, there are nice virtual EA and Buddhist communities too. They can’t fully replace in-person communities, though. Also, people in virtual communities are more likely to only show their morally intense side.
I hope this helps! You’re very welcome to DM me about anything. I’ll DM you first to get the conversation going.
P. S. You’ve got soooo much time to think about monasticism, so there’s no reason to be concerned about the ethics of it for now, especially since the world could change so much by the time we retire! Still, just for the philosophical interest of it, I’m happy to chat about Buddhist monasticism if you like. Having lived at a monastery for several months and written my undergrad thesis on a monastic text, I’ve got some thoughts :)
Hi! I relate so much to you. I’m seven years older than you and I’m pretty happy with how my life is going, so although I’m no wise old sage, I think I can share some good advice.
I’ve also been involved in EA, Buddhism, veganism, minimalism, sustainable fashion, etc. from a young age, plus I was part of an Orthodox Christian community as a teenager (as I assume you are in Greece).
So, here’s my main advice.
The philosophies of EA, Buddhism, etc. are really really morally demanding. Working from the basic principles of these philosophies, it is difficult to find reasons to prioritize your own wellbeing; there are only pragmatic reasons such as “devote time and money to your own health so that you can work more effectively to help others”. Therefore, if you predominantly engage in these communities through the philosophy, you will be exhausted.
So, instead of going down internet rabbit holes and reading serious books, engage with the people in these communities. Actual EAs goof around at parties and write stories. Actual Buddhists have silly arguments at nice restaurants and go on long treks through the mountains. While good philosophies are optimized to be hard to argue with, good communities are optimized to be healthy and sustainable.
I’m guessing you don’t have strong EA and Buddhist communities near you, though. Same here. In that case, primarily engage in other communities instead. When I was your age (ha that sounds ridiculous), I was deeply involved in choir. Would highly recommend! Having fun is so important to balance out the philosophies that can consume your life if you let them.
In non-EA non-Buddhist communities, it might feel like you’re the only one who takes morality seriously, and that can be lonely. Personally, I gravitate toward devout religious friends, because they’re also trying to confront selfishness. Just make sure that you don’t go into depressing rabbit holes together.
Of course, there are nice virtual EA and Buddhist communities too. They can’t fully replace in-person communities, though. Also, people in virtual communities are more likely to only show their morally intense side.
I hope this helps! You’re very welcome to DM me about anything. I’ll DM you first to get the conversation going.
P. S. You’ve got soooo much time to think about monasticism, so there’s no reason to be concerned about the ethics of it for now, especially since the world could change so much by the time we retire! Still, just for the philosophical interest of it, I’m happy to chat about Buddhist monasticism if you like. Having lived at a monastery for several months and written my undergrad thesis on a monastic text, I’ve got some thoughts :)