Before I begin, I should state that I am, in every sense of the word a great hedonist. (not only that, but somewhat inebreated as I type this, so please forgive for any stupid mistakes. I think modern culture has been gradually pushing away from (IMO) a true, enlightened life of joy and harmony, towards a machined lifestyle, in which every member is only worth the part he plays in the greater corportae infrasructure. Many people consider a life of hedonism to be wasteful, and focusedonly on temporary pleasures, that soon fall away too mean nothing. I, however believe this to be drastically untrue. A favorite saying of mine is "The greatest truths of life can most often be found at the bottom of a pint"I am only 20 years old, and obviously have much to learn in the remainder of my life. But I can honestly say, athat in the short time I've walked this earth, I've lived a life that I would not trade for that of even the most "enlightened" individual. I've spent years dedicating myself to learning the arts of pleasure: sexual, intellectual, and spiritual. I've (please don't consider me to be bragging here) been very intimate with amny women, every one of whom, has had a profound affect on my life. To me, there is no greater, and no more sacred event than a night with those men I love as brothers. Drinking, smoking, indulging in pleasures commonly labeled as "evil" or "wrong" But I would have to say, that I learned more in those drunken orgies about love and compassion, than any preacher or bishop has ever shown me. When you let your mind go fully, and just enjoy the night and the company you're in, things will be made apparent to you, that weekly sacraments of bread and juice will never fulfill. I am twenty years old, a very young age by any measure. Yet, even at this infantile age, I feel that, should death come for me today, I would accept his hand, without fear our hesitation. I have lived, what I consider to be a wonderful life, surrounded by people who have loved me for a night, a month, or all my life. I feel complete and whole as a person. That is not to say I don't believe I have much to learn. But I know that that which I need will come to me. The universe has been exceedingly kind to me thus far, and I have no doubt that, as long as I hold myself strong, and do not let myself become corrupted by the temptations that surround me, I can find the greatest truth's of existance in the pleasures and indulgences that I make available to myself. I think many mock the paths of pleasure, saying that anything taht is this easy cannot be enlightening (do ot be decieved however, the pain that will inevitably strike you in this path, will be most cruel and severe) So while may say the path of hedonism, is merely a road to destruction, I wouldbelieve that the roads of pleasure and pain (something I have ot gone into nearly enough detail in this post) can bring about enlightement easily paralleling any church or philosophy, if it is followed by a strong individual, in a strong fashion. Any thoughts? BTW please forgive the typos I'm sure are rife within this post. Nnot only have I been drinking for some time.. but it seems every other key on my keyboard is sticky (prolly my fault :grin) so no doubt I missed a few letters.... peace..
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