Finding the Divinity of Pleasure…

Part One: Suffering

It is said that suffering brings us closer to God — that in pain, we are made closer to that which is Sacred and Divine… It seems that a lot of people believe that we can only find the Divine through said suffering: that suffering, in and of itself, is Divine.

Our society moralizes suffering — paints it as “noble”. And there’s a lot to be said about how viewing suffering as “noble” and “divine” hurts people. There’s a prevalent mindset in our world that suffering is “character building” and that therefore, it does people a disservice to help alleviate their suffering. After all, suffering brings them closer to God, right?

Beyond that, many people view denying themselves pleasure as noble. That the willpower to deny oneself joy makes them better than those lesser beings who seek pleasure and joy. It often seems that many seek that suffering out — through dieting, through painful over-exercise and forcing themselves to do things that are neither needed nor pleasurable simply because Suffering is Divine.

But life will bring us suffering on its own. Suffering is, after all, inevitable. Just as death is inevitable. Just as the sun rises in the morning and sets at night, we will experience suffering.

So then, why do so many seek it out? Wouldn’t it make more sense, in the face of this inevitable suffering, to seek out things that bring us joy? To bring joy to others and alleviate their suffering when we can? To spend a life in search of that which makes us feel good instead of hurting ourselves to become closer to the Divine? The gods, after all, gave us Joy as well as Sadness, Pleasure as well as Pain. Happiness as well as Suffering. Why not seek joy?

Part Two: Pleasure

It is my fervent belief that the purpose of life is to seek out joy, pleasure and fulfillment… That we should all strive to create a world where others may seek and find these things more easily — and that to deny others these things or to hurt others for your own enjoyment is morally abhorrent.

There is something transcendental in pleasure, something sacred in joy. Even in the tiniest moments, there is a hint of the divine.

You walk down the sidewalk on a warm spring day. The sun shines down on you, not too hot or too cold. You feel perfectly comfortable. A faint breeze lifts your hair, blowing past you. It carries with it the unmistakable scent of apple blossoms. You breathe deeply, the scent filling your being — the moment filling your perception. For one beautiful moment, you are pure sensation. The sensation of the sun upon your skin, of the breeze blowing through your hair, the sight of petals floating on the wind, the scent of spring in your lungs.

That moment of pure happiness as you experience something joyful is sacred — divine.

I don’t believe in the elimination of all suffering as that is both unnecessary and entirely impossible. We humans are creatures which need some balance in order to be our best… But like stated above: the universe supplies its own suffering, we don’t need to seek it out or make it worse. People will still do bad things, loved ones and pets will still die. We will still have to change the litterbox, take out the garbage or wash the dishes.

Those things will always happen. As such, we should seek out moments of joy and fulfillment to balance those pains as often as we can… And we should share those moments with others as often as we can. The sharing of pleasure is sacred.

And yes — this includes sex. All sex is sacred: kinky sex, queer sex, sex in a relationship, sex out of a relationship, one-night stands, casual sex. All of it is sacred because the sharing of pleasure is sacred.

Part Three: Unjust Suffering is Immoral

This also means that we should do our best to unlearn bigotry and hatred. It is our duty as humans to strive to create a world where others can more easily seek pleasure, joy and fulfillment. When we are bigoted and hateful, we create a world that impedes not only upon the ability of others to seek joy and fulfillment, we create a world that impedes upon their right to basic well-being.

Bigotry and hatefulness impedes upon the ability of others to live fulfilling and meaningful lives by stripping them of well-being. By filling their lives with fear, suffering and death.

Unlearning hate and bigotry is painful, difficult and ultimately not at all pleasurable — but the end goal is not simply our own pleasure/joy/fulfillment: it is the pleasure, joy and fulfillment of everyone*. To ensure that peoples’ basic needs are met (safety, freedom from oppression, housing, food and clothing) so that they are free to seek joy.

(*with the exception of violent bigots like Nazis and those who hurt others/deny others their basic needs for their own pleasure)

This is not to say that you shouldn’t seek joy and pleasure while we build this world. You should absolutely seek joy and pleasure while we build this world — as long as you don’t hurt others to gain that pleasure…

Of course, in our current system, that is technically impossible — as nearly everything we enjoy in our world is obtained through the exploitation and suffering of others. Which means that systems which require this suffering (such as capitalism and fascism) are also morally abhorrent and must be dismantled for the well-being of all people.

Part Four: The Basics of “Transcendental Hedonism”

The crux of this whole essay has been to introduce you, dear reader, to the concept of Transcendental Hedonism — my personal life philosophy. So, what are the basics of this personal philosophy?

1. My wants do not outweigh the needs of others. My right to pleasure does not supersede their right to safety or well-being.
2. To harm others without good cause or to purposefully deny them well-being for my own gain is morally abhorrent.
3. To share pleasure is sacred. Pleasure is the domain of the Divine and it is good to spread pleasure/joy/happiness whenever and wherever I can.
4. The ultimate goal of life is not simply to seek one’s OWN pleasure, but to strive towards the creation of a world where all peoples’ basic needs are met so that they may freely seek what makes them happy without fear of starvation, homelessness or oppression. As such, transcendental hedonism requires the unlearning of bigoted or harmful thinking/behaviors.
5. Systems that rely upon the suffering of some for the pleasure of others must be eliminated so that all humans are free to seek pleasure equally.
6. Life will bring us suffering on its own, there is no reason to seek it out.

Final Thoughts/Notes

There may already be a philosophy which covers these things and this is by no means a comprehensive look at my personal ideology. I have lived since the age of ten with suicidal depression and multiple traumas alongside childhood poverty, parental abuse and isolation.

My belief that joy is the point of life is in part due to these experiences of suffering as a child and the suffering I undergo now as an adult suffering from severe chronic pain and mental illness. I do the things that make me happy while I can because I might not be alive for all that long — whether illness, an accident or depression kills me — so it’s best to do what I can to be happy for the short time the gods have afforded me.

I think it’s best for everyone else to do the same, but then…

I’m a hedonist!