Happy Happy Joy Joy!
We live in a pleasure-centered culture. If you watch commercials, or listen to them, or whatever, everything circles around pleasure .. getting something and having the momentary flash of glee about it. But most of the stuff that we're told we absolutely can't live without doesn't actually bring us happiness. It drugs us for a second into pleasure, but .. pleasure is easily found and easily lost, leaving us to seek it again.
I try really hard to not get sucked into the pleasure-seeking game. (sometimes it works better than others - there are some REALLY cute clothes this season ... *g*) But it really is never enough. No matter how many clothes I have, they won't make me happy. No amount of chocolate or sex or other quick-passing pleasure will ever make me happy.
The real problem is, pleasure is easy. I feel down, I buy some shoes. Or have sex, or gamble, or have a drink .. These are seen as actual ways to solve problems. On paper, it looks rather silly, but we still all do it to some extent. If you think about it rationally, though .. do those shoes actually solve anything? (unless, of course, you were barefoot before or otherwise actually NEEDED shoes). Do they grant you happiness? Or do you just bring them home and stick them next to your other shoes and want to buy more the next time you feel down?
Happiness is hard work. There are so many things that can make a person UNhappy .. but finding a way to accept and enjoy what you have is hard. Our own culture strives against that .. after all, happy people don't bring in money as much, because they're not out buying shoes. Good little consumers need to be perpetually dissatisfied if they're going to buy more. Isn't that lovely? We want other people to be unhappy so they'll impulse-buy our goods/services/whatnot in an attempt to feel better. It's rather sick what we do to ourselves that way.
I choose to be a revolutionary. I seek long-term happiness instead. (and if I find pleasure along the way, that's good too).
Question time!
How does pleasure differ from happiness? Pleasure's easy and quick. Happiness takes work and maintenance, but can last for a lifetime. How do you balance wanting both? By accepting that I can't have everything. :) If something offers me pleasure at the expense of happiness, I just don't take it. (or, well .. when I'm good. I'm human too, ideals fall short of reality). But, y'know .. I might want the chocolate, but I'd rather feel good about my diet. I'd like the shoes, I'd rather have food for my son. Once you get into the habit, it's not as hard as you'd think to be responsible .. because as long as you think about it the right way, it feels better, too.
How do we overcome our desire for pleasure? Well, that's one of those conditional things. We're always going to want and like pleasure, and that's just fine. But we need to think first and indulge later, not the other way around. Pleasurable things are always resistable. That doesn't mean we should always resist .. but it does mean "I couldn't help it" makes a lousy excuse. We need to learn to be able to resist when it's detrimental, or get help if we can't do it alone. (there's no shame in getting help. It is shameful to continue to injure yourself when you could get help and don't).
How is happiness unselfish? I think a large part of it is because happiness doesn't cost anyone anything. My being happy doesn't hurt anyone. There are no limits of happiness, so that if I have some, someone else can't. How do I define being truly happy? Being content in what I am. Finding each day something to look forward to instead of something to dread. Celebrating my life instead of just living it.
And lately? I'd say I'm doing pretty well, too. :)
I try really hard to not get sucked into the pleasure-seeking game. (sometimes it works better than others - there are some REALLY cute clothes this season ... *g*) But it really is never enough. No matter how many clothes I have, they won't make me happy. No amount of chocolate or sex or other quick-passing pleasure will ever make me happy.
The real problem is, pleasure is easy. I feel down, I buy some shoes. Or have sex, or gamble, or have a drink .. These are seen as actual ways to solve problems. On paper, it looks rather silly, but we still all do it to some extent. If you think about it rationally, though .. do those shoes actually solve anything? (unless, of course, you were barefoot before or otherwise actually NEEDED shoes). Do they grant you happiness? Or do you just bring them home and stick them next to your other shoes and want to buy more the next time you feel down?
Happiness is hard work. There are so many things that can make a person UNhappy .. but finding a way to accept and enjoy what you have is hard. Our own culture strives against that .. after all, happy people don't bring in money as much, because they're not out buying shoes. Good little consumers need to be perpetually dissatisfied if they're going to buy more. Isn't that lovely? We want other people to be unhappy so they'll impulse-buy our goods/services/whatnot in an attempt to feel better. It's rather sick what we do to ourselves that way.
I choose to be a revolutionary. I seek long-term happiness instead. (and if I find pleasure along the way, that's good too).
Question time!
How does pleasure differ from happiness? Pleasure's easy and quick. Happiness takes work and maintenance, but can last for a lifetime. How do you balance wanting both? By accepting that I can't have everything. :) If something offers me pleasure at the expense of happiness, I just don't take it. (or, well .. when I'm good. I'm human too, ideals fall short of reality). But, y'know .. I might want the chocolate, but I'd rather feel good about my diet. I'd like the shoes, I'd rather have food for my son. Once you get into the habit, it's not as hard as you'd think to be responsible .. because as long as you think about it the right way, it feels better, too.
How do we overcome our desire for pleasure? Well, that's one of those conditional things. We're always going to want and like pleasure, and that's just fine. But we need to think first and indulge later, not the other way around. Pleasurable things are always resistable. That doesn't mean we should always resist .. but it does mean "I couldn't help it" makes a lousy excuse. We need to learn to be able to resist when it's detrimental, or get help if we can't do it alone. (there's no shame in getting help. It is shameful to continue to injure yourself when you could get help and don't).
How is happiness unselfish? I think a large part of it is because happiness doesn't cost anyone anything. My being happy doesn't hurt anyone. There are no limits of happiness, so that if I have some, someone else can't. How do I define being truly happy? Being content in what I am. Finding each day something to look forward to instead of something to dread. Celebrating my life instead of just living it.
And lately? I'd say I'm doing pretty well, too. :)
posted by Vieva | 9:26 AM
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