The Pleasure Principle

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

— Leo Tolstoy

I was reading a biography of Mahatma Gandhi.  Gandhi lived a very modest lifestyle and that's to put it mildly.  He was a vegetarian but as important followed Brahmacharya which advocated among other things 'controlling the palate'.  Avoiding spices, sugar and eating as much food in it's natural raw state as possible.  As Gandhi said "until we conquer our palate's desire we can't control other aspects of our mind's desires." 

Our western world is not about controlling anything.  We're encouraged to thrill seek, indulge, have it all.  The very fabric of our lives is built on our nation's consumeristic economy and we're fed a steady diet of fear and consumption.  All that consumption and fear is really just replacing or at least attempting to fill an unfillable void within ourselves.  How many material things and negative messages from an endless stream of direct TV channels can we put into that hole in our soul?  The answer, well there is no answer.  We keep stuffing and cramming and pushing all the materialistic, pleasure providing, fear evoking items in day after day.  And to what end?  Well, most of us are overweight, unhappy, and financially strapped but yet we continue to blindly throw caution into the abyss.

I propose another way of life.  Less is more.  I won't even attempt to tell you anything different than many a great mind have and continue to tell us today.  We are over consuming and I believe we all understand that on some level but the problem is we don't know how or if we did, even have the ability to moderate, much less stop.  Then the challenge isn't stopping or even moderating but redirecting ourselves entirely.  Please understand that there are external forces that will, at least for a time, temporarily slow us down or stop us momentarily.  But there is no external force that will bring permanent change.  It has to begin from within.  Some of us, unfortunately will never get off of the hamster wheel.  They will only live and not learn.  Sadly, that has been the way of world from time immemorial.

How do we save ourselves and those around us?  How do we ourselves change and help others change?  I propsoe we live quietly, love openly, care greatly.  By doing so you will see yourself change and also help those that are helpless to change as well.  Living by quiet example gives you time to think and observe. It strenghtens your meaning for living and helps you to define who and what you stand for.  Only then can you enjoy profound and lasting change for the better.

Aside from or within a given religion, I would encourage you to develop a prayer to meditate on and a set of principles to live by.  Question what you believe, what do you not like about yourself, the world or what you see in others.  Write out how you would like to live out your life.  Keep a journal or a blog and visit them frequently to collect your thoughts.  Good luck and let me know if I can help.