Hedonist

 

The technical definition of the word "hedonist" is a person who believes that the pursuit of pleasure is the most important thing in life; a pleasure-seeker.

To me, the idea of being a "hedonist" seems very chaotic and rather challenging.  Do not get me wrong, though.... I greatly enjoy pleasurable things.  I believe the enjoyment of pleasurable things is an innate facet of our physiology.  I believe this enjoyment is hard-wired into the neural network of any animal... well, at least any animal with a neural network.

But, to have your life's actions, your life's "work" be pursuing that which is pleasurable seems so chaotic, because there are so many different ways to experience pleasure that it would take considerable energy to be continually seeking pleasure.  

In how I have seemed to live my life, I think I have experienced many pleasures, but they have not so much have been sought out..... but have occurred in an ancillary fashion, perhaps a "happenstance" fashion.   I am not sure if the previous sentence makes sense, but what I think is that my life has been about trying to DO good things, and that through this effort to TRY to do good in life, I stumble upon and experience many beautiful pleasures.  

Perhaps, however, the one thing I have done that could potentially be considered "hedonistic" in some fashion is my pipe smoking.  Before this current fast from pipe smoking, I would participate in smoking my pipes just out of the sheer pleasure it would provide me.  I would smoke with other pipe smokers, I would smoke my pipes alone, and I would smoke my pipes (politely) anywhere it would add joy to my day.  I smoked my pipes not because it was good or bad to DO SO.  I smoked my pipes because anytime I did, the world seemed "better":

• If I was happy, I would feel happier.  
• If I was sad, I would feel less sad.  
• If I was angry, I would feel less angry.  
• If I was relaxing, I would feel more relaxed.  
• If I would be trying to focus, my focus would be stronger.  
• If I was feeling love, my love would feel deeper.  
• If I was feeling anxiety, my anxiety would decrease. 
• If I was feeling restless, I would feel calmer.  
• If I was feeling motivated, my motivation would persist longer. 
• If I was feeling ebullient,  my good cheer and energy would increase.
  

I am not sure if this was a valuable exploration, but it has given me food for thought.  Maybe these thoughts mean nothing.  Maybe it suggests why I should refrain from my pipes.  Or, maybe it suggests why I should return to them?  

The image above is one of a statue of Epicurus, a philosopher who is considered a "hedonist" but not in the modern-day, excessive sense.  Epicurus thought pleasure and pain were at the center of human morality. His view was that pleasure and pain are so important to human existence that all our actions are governed by seeking pleasure and trying to avoid pain. Epicurus also saw the absence of pain as a pleasure in itself. Epicurus emphasized the idea of being ‘untroubled’ over the positive experiences of pleasure. He thought the good life could be achieved through satisfaction that both body and mind are at peace. Is that perhaps what my pipe smoking provided me, a trajectory TOWARDS an untroubled state, or a state of peace? 

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