Rules for pleasure
Rules for pleasure
Let’s assume that I need to put up a few nights in a hotel within a city, away from my home, to attend a conference. I may wish to explore the city and have a little drink. I may even feel tempted to visit the red-light district with a few friends.
During these period, I need to be mindful of my boundaries/limits. I need to know that certain activities may be pleasurable but it may hurts the feelings of my spouse.
Well, there are indeed guiding principles on experiencing pleasures in life.
F.W. Boreham described three rules for experiencing pleasures.
1) Whatever that refreshes us but does not compromise our final goal/purpose in life is a legitimate pleasure.
2) Any pleasure that jeopardize the sacred rights of another person is an illegitimate pleasure.
3) Experience pleasures in moderate amounts and do not indulge.
Rule No. 1 :
Simple pleasures which help us to relax and gives us joy are legitimate needs. However, it should not compromise our value system or lead us away from our desired purpose in life.
So what’s the catch here? We need to discover “What is our final goal or purpose in life?”
Rule No. 2 :
We need to experience pleasures within the boundaries of mutual respect and observing the dignity of our loved ones as well as our fellow human beings.
Rule No. 3 :
We need to enjoy pleasures in reasonable and moderate degree and amount to avoid indulgence or addiction.
Pleasures without conscience are illegitimate pleasures
Mahatma Gandhi
Talk on Depression and Suicide in Penang, Malaysia
I will be giving a talk on “ Understanding Depressive illness and Suicide “ in Penang, Malaysia.
One of the guest speaker will be Mdm Irene Tan who has written a book entitled “ My Battle with Depression”.
It is better to light a candle
During my college days, I came across this monthly newsletter by an organization called The Christophers. The newsletters were entitled Christophers News Notes. Indeed I have learned a great deal from all their small brochure-like news notes. I still remember one of the news notes entitled ” Saying it with love” .
And the motto of The Christophers is ” It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”.
A Beautiful Mind
Here is a section from the movie “ A Beautiful Mind” . A story about the life of Professor John Nash, a famous Mathematician, who battled Schizophrenia and later won the Nobel Prize for Economic Science in 1994.
Personally, i find the following section from the movie very meaningful and touching.
Excerpt from the movie : “I have made the most important discovery in my career, the most important discovery in my life. That only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reason can be found, …….you are the reason I am , you are all my reason.”
