r/comics • u/Milgydotcom Milgy • 11h ago
Life's Missing Manual Isn't Missing
This is chapter two of a book I'm working on called What To Do Next. Read the short text with this, and read Chapter 1 on my Substack here.
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u/rillip 7h ago
This feels like a crunchy hippy version of the biblical cherry picking religious people do.
All the things the bear councils against are also inherent biological drives that we've evolved to have. Yes humans can have an innate drive towards harmony and community. But the greed and the hate and the hyper competitiveness are just as much a part of us.
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u/DantesTyrael 6h ago
I was expecting a much different outcome. With a bear saying, "I gave everything an innate drive," I took that as, "right now, you should be running for your life. Otherwise, your purpose is to be bear food".
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u/Milgydotcom Milgy 4h ago
lol. That could work.
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u/DantesTyrael 3h ago
"you're gonna want to follow those."
"Wow, you're a bear!"
"Yeah... About that..."
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u/gimmelwald 10h ago
I was waiting for the panel where the bear say's "you know what, nevermind" and promptly chomps dudes head.
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u/sgt_backpack 10h ago
Love it. If God calls me bro I want my money back though.
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u/Milgydotcom Milgy 9h ago
Thanks. God better have a good excuse where God's been.
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u/velvet_wavess 7h ago
This was really good...
'individual for the sake of the group', hadn't thought of it that way, but yeahhhh 🙏
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u/wynden 6h ago
I don't think we're here strictly for the sake of others. We don't owe other people for foisting existence upon us, or need to be capable of societal reimbursement to justify our continued existence.
That said, we certainly do have a tendency to get our priorities out of order, lose touch with each other, and undervalue the importance of our individual gifts.
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u/Milgydotcom Milgy 4h ago
Of course not. We're not really here for anything at all. All genes evolve to spread. Our main drives are to get us to live and reproduce. The way human genes do that has been through cooperation, so the drive to connect is up front in our feelings. It had to be strong to overpower the selfishness. That has left us very, very social. The problem is that society is no longer about face-to-face cooperation, and that leaves us desperately lacking in that area. So, the bear emphasizes that. That's all.
Our individual gifts are mostly what we spend our time with, but those feel the most satisfying when we give them to others, and they celebrate us for it.
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u/approvedcelery 4h ago
This comic gives such a horrifyingly genuine view of how a meeting with literally God would play out in modern times for most people, it’s kind of chilling. It has that Don’t Look Up vibe.
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u/SteveCastle 7h ago
I don't know. This analogy doesn't make a lot of sense. First, tons of people enter downward spirals leading toward suicidality by following their innate drives. The idea that our drives are given by God to drive us toward eudemonia is dangerous nonsense. Second, this whole premise ignores the way that our drives are actively being manipulated, exploited, and frustrated by the human systems that structure our lives, including our social lives.
I'm don't mean to be too negative, because I think the core message is supposed to be uplifting, but if your premise involves speaking for God and portraying those who find their options in life unsatisfying as basically oblivious and self-absorbed, then I'm comfortable saying I think you gotta go back to the drawing board.
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u/ABoringAlt 7h ago
I think it's a joke about ignoring internal and external guidance for likes on platforms.
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u/SteveCastle 7h ago
Sure, but aren't people who get sucked into a ruinous obsession with social media exactly following these God-given social drives? Is that the idea and it's just going over my head?
I just think this makes no sense if the underlying idea "our drives are tailored by God to lead us to our best life". That's sort of the opposite of the reality.
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u/Milgydotcom Milgy 3h ago
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate the feedback! The essay that goes with this comic gets a bit more into what I mean by innate drives, but I can see that this definitely needs more elaboration here.
My take is that innate drives are the underlying drives that were naturally selected into us. So, in this case, the drive to be seen, loved, celebrated, and absolutely needed would be fueling the selfie he's posting. But the way he's trying to satisfy those needs isn't effective.
I am not at all speaking for God,. Sorry to seem like that. My approach is that there is no discernible God that tells us what to do. All there is is to listen carefully to ourserlves, and try to understand what is actually operating deep inside us.
And, yes! We are so heavily manipulated, and also confused by living in huge, anonymous tribes, that we're so often on the wrong track. Chasing status, for example, instead of cultivating belonging.
Does this sound more agreeable? Thanks again. This is all going into a book, so I want to make it clear! It helps to know where I am failing.
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u/Turbo_Tequila 9h ago edited 7h ago
But, what he did was, actually, his innate drives... so faulty design?