... pleasure is no surprise. It is hunted down. The hedonist, then, is always working against the clock, and against the deterioration of his own body. He must find pleasure while he still can. And when he is dying, the hedonists about him wish he would get on with it quietly, so as not to trouble himself or them with complaints. "Get your sobs out of here, scoundrel, and quit your whining!"...
This explains a lot. I would say that a number of commenters that frequent this site are trapped in the Hedonist lifestyle, where only what is pleasurable is important. The hard, the uncomfortable, the painful are to be avoided at all costs. And those who say they are necessary for growth, that dying painfully can fulfil a greater purpose, that human life is more than what makes us feel good while we are alive; they are uncomfortable reminders that life in this world ends, and it ends very quickly.
Related link: The Cruelty of Hedonism ~ Catholic Education Resource Centre
Well, I guess you probably count me among the number of commenters that frequent this site are trapped in the Hedonist lifestyle
ReplyDeleteWell, to an extent, yes, as I try to enjoy life to the full. But I have also had my share of (t)he hard, the uncomfortable, the painful Don't for a minute think that suffering is the preserve of the religious.
However, I try not to focus too much on the suffering, preferring to have enjoyed my two children growing, and now watching my 3 (soon to be 4) grandchildren, plus 2 step grandchildren growing and making their way in this wondrous world.
And why should I be forced to "die painfully"; just what higher purpose is served by piling pain on to agony? Only those engaged in a death cult could percieve a benefit from a painful death.
Ssdly, for many of us, life ends to soon, but rarely too quickly. Far too many deaths are long drawn out nightmares, the suffering being denied relief, all to sate the appetites for horror of the religious and the warped.
LRO,
ReplyDeleteWhile I did think of you specifically when I wrote those words, but upon reflection, I do have to count myself as a Hedonist who is trying to change.
It's damn hard, but the goal with it is to not allow the body to rule the soul. The big things are easy, it's the little things that make overcoming it difficult.
There's a lot to be learned from dying, and yes, for some that dying is a long, drawn out process. But if you believe that everything we suffer now counts for what happens after we die, then any suffering we endure here is insignificant. And if you believe that your suffering can be united to the Cross and offered for others, then what you suffer then has infinite merit.
Until you die, you always have a choice at to where you will end up.