Table of Contents
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.
Eleanor Roosevelt
The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.
Leonardo da Vinci
Hedonic Bliss and the Pleasure Principle of Happiness
Am I the ghost in the machine, or is the machine a ghost in me? Can you remove the pleasure of happiness from the hedonic pain associated with its bliss? A dualism presents itself very quickly as I look upon the eyes of Dionysus, wondering what beautiful wine filled, drunken bliss is present at the moment the very moment in time where the aftereffects make their weary head present as the party ends.
You see, happiness is not a destination. It is work wrought with pain, satisfaction, sorrow, and joy. That may be the point. Can someone ever be happy when they don’t work to create joyful habits? As those two beautifully wise minds explain above, pleasure is a process of understanding, and happiness is never a goal to achieve, but a byproduct of the processes (work) undertaken to engage in a method of creating self-understanding, empathy, resilience, and realization.
Happiness shifts. But’s its effects are there, if one learns to attend to the moments when it arises. What are your happiness habits? Are they present, or have they been placed at the wayside a bit too long for the engagement of more trivial pursuits. It is the work of works, to learn about who we are. But it is the greatest work we will ever undertake.
May blessings find you, my friends, as you engage the shadow and enlightening work that guides your journey to advance confidently in the direction of your dreams.
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