Purpose?
Since my wife was away for a fairly hefty part of the evening last night, I "lived life large" (sarcasm) last evening by indulging in a single bottle of a robust IPA while I ate my "leftovers" meal of a big salad and a bowl of Tofu Thai Curry and Chickpeas we had made a few weeks ago (We had frozen the remainder in single serving sizes after that meal.). I also had a side of onion-curry rice with it. And a heaping bowl of steamed broccoli & cauliflower.
I didn't feel much like watching any of the programs we had on our DVR, nor did not I want to read. And, I most assuredly did not want to do any additional cyborging work related to the U. So, I sat on the couch with the dog and gave her a few dog treats. I even contemplated giving her one or two of my curry tofu cubes, since she gobbled up some we had in a bowl too close to the edge of our kitchen island when we originally made this dish. But, I thought better of that idea, since she she experienced a slight bit of gastrointestinal malaise following her prior tofu-curry adventure, and I had just completed "poop-scoop" duty out in the yard for the week just the day before.
So, I sat, and basically contemplated my navel, I guess. In reality, I was thinking about my "purpose" in life. Not that I really do or accomplish a whole helluva lot, but I do attempt to live a life with purpose. I can see a "purpose" to my teaching and research, although my effectiveness in either is up for debate. I can see a purpose to my being a husband and father, although I wish I could figure out a way to be better at both roles. I can see a purpose for my running in that I know it helps me to dissipate stress so that I can better strive to live the purposes of my work at the U and my work for my family. I can see a purpose to my faith, and my following the tenets of my faith because doing so helps me better recognize how I should work to be, even though I often fail.
But then, I also thought of Pat's words yesterday as well, " How hard it must be to keep up your separation! And how wonderful you will surely feel when you end that separation!" and it made me contemplate if there is a purpose behind my refraining from smoking my pipes and pipe tobaccos? In theory my refraining has as a purpose, the possibility of improving or at least maintaining my current health. But, in reality that may or may not be a determiner. I do know that if I went back to them, I would truly enjoy the return. In fact, I suspect the very tempting reality is that restarting the effort of smoking my pipes now after this length of time away would likely have the experience be as rich and as utterly vivid as it was when I first started as a kid. It would be quite pleasurable. Hah, "quite pleasurable" is, I suspect, a bit understated. But, is pleasure itself a "purpose" or is it meant to be a reflection of hard work and effort? Nothing about pipe smoking is hard work, nor is it any sort of effort. It is in many regards pure, hedonistic pleasure. And, could it be that pleasure, without toil to attain it, is perhaps a short-circuit of how we are meant to live?
What is the purpose of my refraining from my pipes and pipe tobaccos? To me it is unclear. But equally unclear is the question, "What is the purpose of my returning to my pipes and pipe tobaccos?" I do not really know the answers to any of the above questions. I just know that I thought about these questions last night as the IPA permeated a bit into my cortex to re-sort my thoughts in a bit more philosophical way.
PipeTobacco
2 Comments:
Is there room in your philosophy for the idea that "pleasure" is a morally neutral category? The sadist who gets "pleasure" from beating a child is not in the same moral category as the teacher who gets "pleasure" watching a student excel in his studies. And the teacher watching a student excel isn't in the same moral category as the morning hiker who gets "pleasure" watching the sun rise over the horizon.
That hiker didn't "do" anything to make the sun rise. Yet, without hard work or effort, he received pleasure in carrying out his day's activities. The teacher, too, received pleasure for something that was only indirectly his work, as it was the student who took the initiative to succeed after receiving instruction from the teacher.
Professor, if pleasure "without toil to attain it, is perhaps a short circuit of how we are meant to live" then you had better stop appreciating sunrises and sunsets, had better not enjoy a warm shower after running in the cold outdoors, and had better stop feeing good about other people's successes of which you are only the observer.
Maybe a better question is whether your health has measurably and objectively improved in the years since you put down your pipes. Are you emotionally healthier, or have you mostly traded one set of worries for a different set of worries? Has the absence of your pipes helped you better achieve your purpose, or do you find yourself thinking more about yourself than about the other people in your life?
If your pipes are analogous to your running, you should probably go back to them yesterday, Professor. You have experienced that while running helps you dissipate stress, it also puts your knees, feet, and other body parts at some increased risk of injury. But if that risk is worth the reward, running is a wise choice, whether or not it is pleasurable (or let's say whether the feeling of accomplishment it brings is pleasurable). Similarly, if your pipes help you be the purpose-driven person you aspire to be, then you might consider the potential health risk well worth taking in exchange for the good they bring.
In the meantime, reflecting on such matters while enjoying a bowl of curried tofu and chickpeas sounds like a delightfully pleasurable and purposeful way to spend an evening. Nicely done, Professor!
Your evening sounds relaxing and the soup looks delicious! I have no answer about the pipes except that if you do go back to them, the decision should be free from guilt.
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