In response to not giving a shit aka giving zero fucks: awesome concept with a couple of important distinctions.
From an anarchist perspective, which involves adherence to the nonaggression principle (NAP), people have the right to do whatever they want so long as there is no threat of force or violence towards another.
This complicates not giving a shit in a good way, in my opinion.
The issue with not giving a shit is that many of us aren’t always tuned in to the part of us that thrives on us not giving a shit. That part of us is our higher consciousness/infinite awareness/however you like to refer to it. That part of us actually works best when we don’t give a shit about most of the shit we usually give a shit about.
However, we are often tuned in to ego or fear, in which case, not giving a shit may mean not giving a shit about the well-being or safety of others. For example, “I’m really drunk, but fuck it, I’m going to drive anyway” or “I’m worried I won’t be able to pay my bills, so I’m going to break in to someone else’s house and take their money.”
I agree wholeheartedly that many of the reasons we worry are not valid reasons. If I’m worried my friend will be mad because I choose not to go to her house and instead to go to an event about which I’m exhilarated and excited, I’m giving a shit for an invalid reason (I’m not responsible for the way my friend feels, and I have the right to pursue what makes me happiest). If I’m worried about the “legal” consequences of doing “illegal” drugs, I’m giving a shit for an invalid reason (rules that infringe on my pursuit of happiness, so long as I’m not causing harm to others, are not to be given a shit about).
It’s very different to not give a shit when acting from the place of connection to one’s higher self in comparison to not giving a shit when fear and ego are running us.
Not giving a shit, in its purest form, is a practice of utmost value. It is a practice of tuning into the higher self, which by definition is beyond the constraints of “social norms” and the arbitrary resulting expectations and judgments that we impose on ourselves. For instance, beliefs like: “I’m only a good person if: I have a steady job, I have a nice car, I have a significant other, I work 40 hours a week, I pay my taxes, I donate money to X charity” and so on--are fear driven motivators. In fact, fear driven motivators often drive us to not give a shit about OURSELVES and what is best for us.
Connecting with our higher selves and choosing to act out of love for ourselves and others leads to a natural reduction in shit giving and an increase in the number of decisions made from a state of mind free of artificial limitations, which is essentially not giving a shit; if you are not allowing artificial limitations to cloud your decision-making, you are cutting the shit right out of your experience, which means you are free from giving it, which is the primary focus of your piece here. Thanks, and looking forward to Part 2!
With that, may we all go forth and give zero fucks and prosper!
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, I will respond more thoroughly this evening.