October 8th, 2021
Yes, getting your wish would have been so nice. But isn’t that exactly why pleasure trips us up? Instead, see if these things might be even nicer—a great soul, freedom, honesty, kindness, saintliness. For there is nothing so pleasing as wisdom itself, when you consider how surefooted and effortless the works of understanding and knowledge are.
Pleasure initially provides instant gratification. The rush of dopamine I receive from pleasure will often fade just as quickly as it appeared. The hubris felt after a roaring applause vanishes in short time.
Pleasures are amazing for the short time they are felt, but they will often lead me to make poor choices as I strive to repeat. To complicate matters, the pleasure is hard to match time and time again and leave me wanting even more. A cycle that is by all means dooming me.
What Marcus Aurelius says is true. "Freedom, honesty, kindness, saintliness" are far nicer as they are enduring. While they may not provide me with the rush or gratification of some pleasures, they do provide a delight that may survive me even beyond my life.