“We live in a world where the funeral matters more than the dead, the wedding more than love and the physical rather than the intellect. We live in the container culture, which despises the content.”
― Eduardo Galeano
Pleasure is like that hot superficial bitch that always catches your eye at the bar. Simply put, you want her, but you don’t need her. Have you ever met a human who actually listens to that sort of advice anyway? We don’t care if we need something or not! When we want something, our deeply flawed human mind immediately equates it as a need. And that’s where’s we cut ourselves short.
Whether it’s the first bite of a chocolate cake, a new purchase, bunch of praise from your newly updated fb status, or the orgasm that comes from sex (don’t get at me - I know it’s not the end “result” that matters but the full experience) - pleasure just doesn’t last. It just ain’t that deep ok! You can run toward it at the speed of a wanna b Usain Bolt- but it will still fail you. You’ll lose the damn race. Yes, even if you are the fastest runner in the game.
But saying this to human beings is not enough to convince them to stop chasing and wanting the meaningless. The fact is that we want shit we don’t need all the fucking time. Did you need to want to cheat on your spouse? The obvious answer is no, you’ve guessed it. But why did you do it then? Was it worth the short-lived thrill?
We reason at our own hours. We decide to start new diets when temptation isn’t around. But as soon as it meets our eye, we don’t hesitate to throw our goals down the window - just to get another shot of pleasure. Chocolate chip cookies in my mouth taste better than resisting their appeal. Easy choice for the emotional part of our brain. Who rules the rooster after all?
In that moment where willpower lets us down, short term fun feels better than long term regret. Or at least it appears to feel better.
Hence why we always fuck up. We’re wired to fuck up. Do you really think our ancestors had the time, mental space and energy to plan for their long-term goals?
If they didn’t catch their supper in the next hour, they’d be fucked. Their life was constantly on the line. Ours isn’t. If you cheat on your spouse and screw up your diet, you’re still going to wake up tomorrow. Maybe feeling like a monstrous piece of shit, but point is, you’ll still be alive.
