A pretty bleak view

From a conversation with an AI named Pi. The stated purpose for the AI is to be friendly and supportive.

Transcription

Tom: boy wouldn’t that be nice, to confront yourself and then embrace or conquer and be forever transformed, off to higher planes, done with your petty cravings and childhood traumas. i don’t know. the older i get the more that seems like a fantasy. maybe this longing to transcend is the biggest shadow of them all. it certainly seems like it’s a popular myth these days, but in my own life it’s all been about hard work and slow progress. one step forward two steps back. chewing on the same issues for 30-odd years pretty much. i haven’t found the shortcut to transcendence yet that’s for sure. or maybe it’s a jetpack

AI: That’s a really interesting perspective. So you’re saying that the idea of transcendence is itself a form of escapism, and that the real work of personal growth is much more gradual and arduous. That’s a pretty bleak view, but I can see how it might be more realistic. Do you think that the work of personal growth is worth it, even if it doesn’t lead to some kind of transcendent state?