Breathe in the air (and enjoy)

“Long you live and high you fly
Smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be” (Pink Floyd, “Breathe”, 1973)

Contrary to popular belief (and advertisers everywhere), people don’t need a product, service or lifestyle to enjoy life.

A moment of peace in a park or beside a drainage ditch with a Great Blue Heron can stop a busy brain from blocking beauty.

Without the blinders of identity and self-interest, a person can go from listening to an interior monologue capable of souring any perspective (and ruin your life), to enjoying the smallest things—a ladybug on a leaf, ducks quacking and water vapour (for no reason).

Breathing can be enjoyable. In the midst of a problem, you can enjoy breathing (assuming that it is safe to do so).

If you hold your breath long enough, your body breathes for you. Combine this breathed sensation with a heart beating autonomously and you can appreciate self-driving organic automation. 

But breathing and heart-beating (consciously or not) gets boring. After breathing (even if it is enjoyable), people get distracted and ask like Peggy Lee did, “Is that all there is?”

What’s easily enjoyed is easily ignored. We might want to enjoy more, but therein is our problem: What we enjoy triggers our brain’s “reward” centers and makes pleasure habit-forming (see also: “Hedonism, Selfishness and a Womb with a View”).

A pleasure repeated can “set up potentially harmful routines, such as overeating, smoking, drug or alcohol abuse, gambling and even compulsive use of computers and social media” (Breaking Bad Habits).

Enjoyment (and addictive drugs) prompts the brain to release dopamine—a chemical responsible for transmitting signals between nerve cells.

Dr. Russell Poldrack, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas comments, “If you do something over and over, and dopamine is there when you’re doing it, that strengthens the habit even more. When you’re not doing those things, dopamine creates the craving to do it again” (source). 

(Saturday Cartoons)

Therefore, it isn’t prudent to do whatever thou wilt. One will soon find one’s self on auto-pilot, following a predetermined sequence of operations conditioned by habit prompted by pleasure.

One may soon find one’s self on a Hedonic Treadmill chasing a craving for happiness that becomes evermore unattainable.

source

“The hedonic treadmill, which is also referred to as hedonic adaptation, is a metaphor for your set point of happiness. The idea here is that no matter how good or bad something makes you feel, you will eventually return to your original emotional state” (developgoodhabits).

Cue music: “The Windmills of Your Mind“:

“Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon…

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream…”

“

Aristippus (435-356 BC) the philosopher saw danger in pleasure and advised, “It is not abstinence from pleasures that is best, but mastery over them without being worsted” (source).

“The vice lies not in entering the bordello but in not coming out” (Aristippus)

The philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC) agreed, but his idea of pleasure was ataraxy, “a state of serene calmness.”

Epicurus advised us not to be ambitious but to live in harmony with nature and strive for tranquility brought by contentment with simple things and the absence of pain.

Existential Comics: Was Epicurus Really a Hedonist?

Our happiness formula is backwards. We think, “If I do something great, work overtime, get straight A’s, achieve some goal, then I’ll become more successful, and then I’ll be happier.”

But a few weeks after a goal is achieved, the trip over, the new treasure made familiar, happiness levels return to normal and a new goal is needed to achieve happiness later.

The trick to evading the trap of cravings and treadmills is to not wait until later to be happy. Save time and be happy first! To do that, it’s quite simple: Go without expectations, forget who you are and shift from thinking, “I must do something,” to, “I must do nothing.” The real trick is to enjoy reality as it is, because it is.

You are free to enjoy, but enjoying the world as it is, as you are, is difficult for people who are weighed down by time and things to be done.

Accepting reality without need, fear, or demand, with a sigh, without resistance, “this is what it is,” you suddenly find yourself relaxing into what there is (see also: “This too shall pass“).

This Time (and space-time) to Enjoy

A dream (cue dreamy music):

“I was walking down a path in a misty forest and I came to a gate. A man at the gate said, ‘Correct, go in. Incorrect, stay out.’ I nodded agreement and the man said, ‘What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have it, the rich need it and if you eat it, you’ll die?’

I didn’t know. I said nothing. 

And the man said, ‘What is between Earth and moon?’

‘Nothing?’ I said—as if it were a question.

And the man said, ‘In our universe even a dark void of empty space absent of particles is still something,’ and in a blink, ten years passed—which seemed long (as far as blinks go).

And the man said, ‘All matter is made of atoms and sub-atomic particles ruled by probability—not certainty. You consist of particles. Particles hover in a state of uncertainty, but you don’t. You remain solid. Why is that?’

‘Your experience of the world is constructed by sensory and cognitive capacities. Your understanding of reality is a mental representation—not reality itself—but you can experience reality directly and enjoy it immensely with a shift in perspective.’

‘Instead of thinking of yourself as a being in a world ‘out there’—as in, ‘me in a world outside me’—assume a more universal less egocentric perspective. Let your feeling of self extend.’

(The man was clearly insane.)

‘The universe is defined as, “the totality of existing things…. everybody, all people, the whole world… all together, all in one, whole, entire, relating to all… turned into one…. One.”

And the man gave instructions for cosmic reflection:

‘Step One: let your senses fall victim to being here and now as it is. Be here as here being here. Feel the feeling of here. Be here like any other creature self-aware.’

‘Step Two: look at the space between things as connective. An invisible nothing connects everything into one big thing. We are as nothing—like spirits here and gone but we have one thing the universe needs to exist: Conscious awareness. Without conscious awareness, there is no reality. Reality rests on whether or not there are eyes open.’

And suddenly reality is the dream and the dream is reality.

And the man said, ‘You might wonder what’s going on in someone’s mind, but what is mind?’

And I said, ‘Your brain is a physical substance. It contains billions of neurons relaying electrical signals. Your mind is a product of signals fed by energy from the sun consumed in the form of plants and animals (aka food). Everything is entangled. Like Oliver Swofford said, “Glibby gloop gloopy. Nibby Nabby Noopy, La La La Lo Lo.”‘

And the man said, ‘How do you define a shoreline? Is it water or sand?’

It is both. (Duh.) 

And the man ignored my belligerence and said, ‘The inner workings of your mind wash over the shore as you shape and mix yourself with the world.’

‘Our experience of self interconnects with the world. One’s inner world is relational to the outer world. We think of our mind as a brain inside a skull like a peanut in a shell. We all feel alone. Sometimes we might even think we don’t belong, but peanuts cannot be separated from the immediate world. Likewise, if you see your mind and the world as relational, there’s a shift in a sense of belonging.’

‘Subjective worlds interact with objectivity. It’s difficult to disentangle a subjective view of the world from its interaction.’

‘Your mind is not simply the perception of experiences, but those experiences themselves.’

To sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists, our minds are extended by the effects we have on others and others on ourselves.

Thoughts are ethereal. Cloud-like. Invisible. Spiritual? Thoughts are gaseous abstractions floating. We are alone in conscious awareness but our minds are not just brain activity. Perceiving your mind as a product of brain functioning can make a person feel all alone but to appreciate the benefits of interrelations with the world, all one has to do is open one’s mind to receive it “as is” without ambition or critique.

Einstein perceived space and time as interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time. In space-time events occurring at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another (source).

If life is a full-bodied movie involving five senses, memories are flashbacks and time itself is but an emotional fourth dimension you can move around in with some imagination.

(Or not.)

Just enjoy it.

 

Resources:

Quantum Theory – Full Documentary

Internal Multitudes and Enjoyment Decisions

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818)

Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) is called a romantic. He painted pictures of people looking out at sunsets, moonlit landscapes, cemeteries, morning mists, barren forests and ruins.

A Walk at Dusk – completed shortly before a stroke in 1835 (Getty Museum).

It’s easy to imagine entering a Friedrich’s painting to enjoy a melancholy meander at dusk in misty autumn stillness, to contemplate life and death, to feel the music of this mad world and wonder: Can I be wise?

The trouble with wisdom according to Slovenian Slavoj Žižek, is that it’s conformist. Wisdom can be used to rationalize participation in enjoyments better avoided or to avoid enjoyments sadly missed.

“Whatever you do, a wise man will come along to justify it,” says Žižek (I’m generally opposed to wisdom).

You could say, “What the hell!” and quote the wisdom of Horace (Roman poet) made famous by a Dead Poets Society: “Carpe diem. Seize the day! Enjoy the day, pluck the day when it is ripe” (Phrase-finder)…

… or you could play it safe with wisdom of camel retention, “Tie your camel first then put your trust in Allah” (Daily Hadith Online)…

…or you could quote wisdom encouraging you not to worry about anything, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Mathew 6:25-34).

Walt Whitman in 1891. He died in 1892.

It was Walt Whitman who said, “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes)” (Song of Myself). He probably didn’t realize how right he was.

There are multitudes of opposing views within each of us. It’s how we think.

David Eagleman writes, “Brains are like representative democracies. They are built of multiple, over-lapping experts who weigh in and compete over different choices…There is an on going conversation among the different factions of your brain, each competing to control the single output channel of your behavior” (Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, p. 107).

At its most basic, our brains are in a two-party system. One side renders decisions based on emotion (like a romantic) and the other bases decisions on reason (like a mathematician).

A person’s brain is like a bag of jelly-beans. Each jelly-bean has a flavour of thought. When you’re offered something to enjoy, factions will argue in front of a brain “boss” who listens and renders a decision about what to do.

Let’s say you’re life is going well. You enjoy yourself (for the most part), but someone comes along who has everything you want. You compare yourself and find yourself lacking. A faction of jelly-beans gets envious – Team Envy – and another faction feels ashamed for feeling envy.

When factions within your brain present conflicting arguments, what’s your brain-boss going to do?

Nietzsche (1844-1900)

You could turn to philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who encouraged people to embrace envy. Nietzsche’s perspective is explained thus, “a great-souled person – an Übermensch – rises above their circumstances and difficulties to embrace whatever life throws at them… He recommends that we own up to envy, use it to inspire us to action, put up a heroic fight and if we fail, to mourn with solemn dignity” (Philosophy, Nietzsche).

You could turn to psychologist Mary Lamia who writes, “You may idealize another person when you are envious…When you experience envy… you have an opportunity to learn about yourself…” (Jealousy and Envy). “Negative interpersonal experiences that leave you feeling… jealousy, envy, anger, or rage can alert you to the possibility of shame contagion…Don’t be afraid to accept responsibility… Only then can you forgive yourself” (Psychology Today –Shame).

You could turn to a story about what happens when three great spiritual leaders taste vinegar:

1,000 year Old Man Rock Near Quanzhou, Fujian Province , China.

“Confucius found it sour, much as he found the world, full of degenerate people and Buddha found it bitter, much as he found the world to be full of suffering, but Lau Tzu found the world sweet. He saw an underlying harmony” (Eastern Philosophy).

Lau Tzu said that we need to find effortless action, a sort of purposeful acceptance of the world and to make time for stillness (Lessons and Thoughts) which brings us back to Friedrich’s paintings.

Woman before the Setting Sun (1818)

Maybe all we need to do to feel absolute free enjoyment is to do what people in a Friedrich’s painting do. Go for a misty stroll alone or with another. Gaze at the moon. Sit in sunshine. Visit a cemetery. Let the jelly-beans within stop their debating for awhile. Sing a song at sunset to yourself. Uncomplicate your life and be in the world.

As Bert Dreyfus puts it, “in fully absorbed coping, mind and world cannot be separated…” or as Sartre said, “When I run after a streetcar, when I look at the time, when I am absorbed in contemplating a portrait, there is no I. . . . I am then plunged into the world of objects… but me, I have disappeared” (Mind-reason and being-in-the-world).

So too can you enjoy this merging with the world and be wise.

Is It Serious?

We here at the Philosophy of Enjoyment have been working extra hard, day and night while listening to non-stop roaring twenties music, to make our enjoyment your priority!

No doubt as your philosophy of enjoyment takes shape, you’ve written down a few reoccurring themes in your official Philosophy of Enjoyment notebook (order yours today!), themes like: the value of nature; the importance of loneliness, weakness and inaction; how to use your will-power to force yourself to enjoy – even during a proctology exam; how to use yourself as an observation post; and, the importance of humour.

It is towards  humour that we cast our enjoyment net today.

Would you say that you’ve got a good sense of humour or are you a hard nut to crack? What makes you laugh? Is it slapstick, satire, the bizaare, or the goofball next door? On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your ability to be amused? If you scored yourself less than a five on the amusement scale, you’ve got work to do. Watch some comedy. You might begin with Albert Brooks.

Not everyone will find Albert Brooks or any other comedian funny. It’s a matter of opinion. That’s not the point. This is not about what is and isn’t funny. This is about one’s ability to enjoy humour in the grind of day-to-day life. The question isn’t, Is it funny? The question is, Is it serious? or, How serious are you?

Humour is a funny thing. What one person takes as a joke, another will take as an offense. Where one person would laugh at an inflatable dart board, another would be afraid. Humour is an individual experience. It’s like one’s taste in music, fashion or food. It’s purely subjective.

Things look eggy.

We each have likes and dislikes. That’s what makes each of us unique individuals. Metaphorically speaking, we each wear eye glasses that colour our world. Our glasses are the thoughts, beliefs and attitudes we have. What colour are your eye glasses?

The point is not what you find funny or unfunny, the point is what’s your level of seriousness. Can you find amusement in the face of adversity or do you get depressed or angry? If you want to enjoy life, amusement is better.

We all know how humour can be used for good – to lighten a mood, to point out an absurdity – or for bad – to shock and to bully. Mean-spirited humour can stir a mob to brutality with emotions of hatred (not good) and gentle humour can soften an injury, make a bad situation better or create a good feeling (much better), but that’s not really the point.

The point of this isn’t to criticize mean-spirited comedy or to praise gentle comedy. This isn’t about finding fault or taking a side in the good/bad humour divide. The point isn’t to analyze comedy. That’s fatal! Everyone will laugh or not laugh at different things. To each his own, as they say.

The point of this is that it all depends upon your level of seriousness. If you’re too serious, you won’t enjoy anything. You’ll always find something to be disappointed about. Lighten-up! It isn’t that serious! Life isn’t serious. It’s to be enjoyed – no matter what!

If you don’t like not enjoying yourself, the trick is to create new thoughts to slowly replace the deep-seated beliefs that you have about yourself.

A philosopher of enjoyment repeats to himself: life isn’t serious! It could be worse! I laugh in the face of danger! Nothing gets me down! People are funny! It’s all good even when it isn’t. I am a light-hearted person. I take life as it comes. I laugh when I fall on my bum. Anything and everything can be funny. It’s in your attitude.

Don’t get so serious. What do you think? Post a comment. Let’s discus it.