Despite what religions teach, YOU are the
master of your micro-universe. Thus it is up to YOU to make it a bright and
happy place. Don’t close your eyes to the darkness in our world. Like stated
before, use it as an impetus to make your existence better. Indulge yourself.
Hedonism, like sociopathy has also acquired an overused negative connotation in
modern times. But similar to the other term, I believe hedonism comes in many
forms, some more serious than others. My dictionary app simply defines it as:
“the belief that pleasure or happiness is the most important goal in life.”
What the hell is so horrible about that? If religion has a problem with this,
then I really don’t understand why people waste their time with it. (I don’t
anyway…) The pursuit of happiness. What can be more important than this? The
Founding Fathers even included it in their Declaration of Independence as an unalienable
human right. Above, I have repeatedly established what a cold, dark and harsh
environment the world is. So why not do whatever you can to make your own
existence more enjoyable.
I practice hedonism every day. Not in
excess, but in small micro-choices that make me happy and does not interfere
with other people’s happiness or affect my own health or wellbeing. After all,
why shouldn’t I try and make myself happy? Nobody else is necessarily going to.
And you know what? I am generally a pretty happy person. The negative sense of
hedonism is that when you make yourself happy you are simultaneously doing so
at the cost of others. (This is also a very Danish notion as I will discuss in
another post) But this should not take anything away from hedonism as a
concept. It is only as good as the people practicing it. Thus, if a pretender
practices hedonism, it could potentially involve hurting others, not because
hedonism is a bad thing, but because it is being practiced by a bad person. A
famous preacher of hedonism, Oscar Wilde, gave an example of this in his novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray where the
practitioners of hedonism in that novel do specifically cause hurt to others,
but also eventually pay the price. Learning from that example, it is obviously important
to practice hedonism within reason and consider the consequences of your
actions, not only to others but to yourself as well. Dying young because of a
bad diet, lung cancer or excessive substance abuse is not going to make you
happy in the long run, although it might give you a short period of happiness,
so of course being a hedonist does not mean shutting off your reason altogether.
After all, sometimes what makes you happy might not be good for you, so a
little restraint is necessary as well. The point is; you should not abstain
from doing something you want to do, just because some archaic text, societal pressure or cultural prejudice says
otherwise. As long as you are not hurting anyone, including yourself, why not
have a little fun? You certainly should not prevent yourself from taking
pleasure in life, which is seemingly what major religions preach.
Major religions are sometimes downright
anti-hedonistic by ordering people to keep all their desires in check and live
their life piously and without any temptation. What a buzzkill. It is perfectly
acceptable to be a hedonist in the appropriate doses. I was once told off for
offering a Muslim girl a beer on her 19th birthday because I could
see she wanted one, in other words for tempting her. Obviously, this could be
interpreted as culturally insensitive, but seriously, I am not Muslim. In my
culture, girls who turn 19 drink lots of beer and have a great time. Being in a
Muslim country I should of course respect the local culture, but what kind of
ambassador would I be if I did not try to spread my own. And how can you blame
the tempter when he is not Muslim and not the tempted that is. But extending
this point, maybe this girl is not Muslim by choice. Maybe she wants to taste
beer and enjoy herself on her 19th birthday. God forbid people
should have some f***ing fun. (Pun intended, and by the way she gladly accepted
the beer and drank it!)
Religion is the greatest buzzkiller of all
time with its guilt tripping anti-hedonistic preaching that only allows people
to be happy after they are dead. Hedonists embrace temptation and acknowledge it
as a natural part of life. Like Oscar Wilde said:
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to
it.”
This is very true yet does not mean you
should not consider the consequences of your actions. But how can drinking a
beer on your 19th birthday be considered a sin that will send you to
hell? Does that mean they serve beer in hell? Hedonism is only encouraged by
the onset of death, not hindered. Like another fictional hedonist, Don Draper
of Mad Men, preached early on:
“I am living like there’s no tomorrow, because there
isn’t one.”
Death should not be an excuse not to live a
happy life. Au contraire, it should encourage you to do so, and as much and
strongly as possible, but of course not at the cost of other people’s happiness.
Don Draper caused a lot of havoc in his surroundings, as did the characters in The Portrait of Dorian Gray so always be
mindful of the people around you. But a healthy appetite for life and allowing
yourself to be happy should certainly not be considered sinful. It should be
considered encouraged.
