LUIGI MANGIONE, CURRENTLY the internet’s main character, probably isn’t who you think he is. Main characters are like that. As soon as someone achieves main character status, they become the screen onto which the world’s opinions and preconceptions get projected.
Equally remarkable, this timescale will also be pivotal to answering a different set of questions about life and our planet. After so many generations as mere passengers on Earth, humanity has now fundamentally altered the world and its function.
WE ARE FINALLY back with the fifth instalment of our popular series, Talking Points, after a very long hiatus, and this week, we’re looking at the concepts of core values, false ideals, and hyperreality.
Are you flourishing? Not “just getting by” or “making it through,” but truly thriving? In the last two decades, the field of positive psychology has embraced the concept of flourishing, the pinnacle of well-being. Distinct from subjective happiness or physical health, flourishing is the aggregate of all life experiences when every aspect of your life is going well.
In a world full of intractable problems such as war and poverty, one tempting response—as a way of protecting your own happiness—is to stop paying attention. With good reason: Just following the news can invite a sense of powerlessness and be associated with lower mental well-being, and one of the reasons folks avoid the news is the anticipation of anxiety, perhaps because the bulk of what you see and hear is negative.
WE’VE ALL SEEN them before: internet aphorisms⏤those pithy observations containing a general truth⏤floating about on Instagram and tumblr. They encapsulate commonly shared sentiments, observations, or offer pieces of advice, and we sometimes repost them or save them because we relate to them, and sometimes they make us think about things in a different light.
Product placement is over. It’s so lame. Why smuggle an item of merchandise into a movie, like contraband, and have people snicker at the subterfuge, when you can declare your product openly and lay it on the table? Why not make a film about the merch? That was the case with “Steve Jobs” (2015), which unfolded the creation myth of Apple; with “The Founder” (2016), which did the same for McDonald’s; with “Tetris,” now on Apple TV+; with the upcoming “BlackBerry,” which is not, alas, about the harvesting of soft fruits; and with “Joy” (2015), which gave us our first chance—pray God it not be our last—to watch Jennifer Lawrence trying her hardest to sell mops.
Whether you are digital nomad looking to set up a new home base in Lisbon for the next 6 months, a boomer looking for the perfect retirement spot in Italy, or a millennial dreaming of a European adventure, you will need to research the feasibility of your move. Finding quality accommodation within your budget will be one of the most challenging aspects of your move.
Where we choose to live will have a profound effect on many aspects of our lives, including professional opportunities, quality of life and the people we meet. Arguably, where we live is as important a decision as choosing a partner or career, yet for many of us, where we choose to call home is just a matter of happenstance.
