Pleasure refers to anything that can give us happiness, satisfaction and gratification. It can either be good or bad. The principle of pleasure is that to gratify ones “immediate needs and wants” and to “avoid pain.”We humans are seeking for pleasure. It is our very nature as human beings. We seek for pleasure because it can make us happy and can give us enjoyment. Who among us don’t want to be happy? Who among us don’t want to be satisfied? Who among us would rather choose pain than enjoyment?’
The first concern of all beings (including animals) is “survival. It is our most basic need. Part of our survival is the food to eat, water to drink, clothing for security, shelter for security and belongingness and last but not the least, relationship for love and belongingness. These things are our most basic needs. They can give us satisfaction. Without these things, for sure we are not secured and we cannot survive. “Not to be in pain” is part of ones “survival.” Humanas we are, we don’t want to get hurt, to be in pain and to be uncomfortable in state. As much as possible, we want to be happy and satisfied always. We want to have a big house, wide lands, cars, gadgets and a beautiful wife. We want to achieve and fulfill our dreams in life.We want to be the best that we can be.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, we learned that all things are vanity. All things are fleeing and nothing in this world is permanent. This is a reality. All our possessions, our state in life, our loved ones and our very self will pass in God’s time. That is why, there are times wherein we wonder and would ask God, “What is the purpose of my life?” and “What am I here for?” If all things are vanity, why will we do good? The suggestion of the book of Ecclesiastes for us regarding to the reality of the vanity of all things is “to enjoy life.” For me, this is a good suggestion. Since all things will just pass, let’s just enjoy life. In that way, we will not feel the meaninglessness of living. Let’s just enjoy every moment of our life and never mind the reality that all things are vanity.
To enjoy life is a good suggestion but we must also consider our ways of enjoying our life (HOWs). For us humans, it is as if that our best solution always in order for us to enjoy life (if we will just follow our senses) is to seek for anything that can give us pleasure. What I mean pleasure this time is not the ordinary pleasure but more on the pleasure that when it is in our front, we cannot say “NO”; we cannot control our self anymore. One of the best examples is to have “pre-marital sex.” Humans like animals are sexual beings. There are times wherein we have the tendency to be sexually aggressive. I believe that it is natural in us especially in the ages 14-29 (Not sure). That is why, there are times wherein we cannot use our reasoning anymore and just follow our instincts. To have “pre-marital sex” is against the will of God. Yes, we can enjoy life in that way. The act itself (sex) is not sinful. What is sinful in this case is the fact that it is not in the right time (marriage) and not in the right person (wife). Sex is made only for married couples and not just for enjoyment purposes (expressing love or erectionto the person we feel we love or somebody we are erecting of).
All things are indeed vanity. All will just past in God’s time. Ecclesiastes’ solution to the reality of the vanity of all things is “to enjoy life.” In this way, we will not feel the meaninglessness of our life. We can enjoy life but we must also consider our ways and “HOWs” in enjoying life. As a suggestion, let’s enjoy life through good ways. We must know the boundary of our actions (good acts only). In enjoying life through good ways, we will not only be satisfied (human level) because there is something “greater” waiting for us. It is the “eternal life” wherein nothing in that place is vanity. In that life, all things are permanent and we will not ask for more. We will feel satisfied and always in the peak of our happiness. There we will also have the chance to live with our God, Jesus, Mary, Saints and good souls and the Angels and Archangels. So what are we waiting for? Enjoy life but always remember to be good!
The first concern of all beings (including animals) is “survival. It is our most basic need. Part of our survival is the food to eat, water to drink, clothing for security, shelter for security and belongingness and last but not the least, relationship for love and belongingness. These things are our most basic needs. They can give us satisfaction. Without these things, for sure we are not secured and we cannot survive. “Not to be in pain” is part of ones “survival.” Humanas we are, we don’t want to get hurt, to be in pain and to be uncomfortable in state. As much as possible, we want to be happy and satisfied always. We want to have a big house, wide lands, cars, gadgets and a beautiful wife. We want to achieve and fulfill our dreams in life.We want to be the best that we can be.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, we learned that all things are vanity. All things are fleeing and nothing in this world is permanent. This is a reality. All our possessions, our state in life, our loved ones and our very self will pass in God’s time. That is why, there are times wherein we wonder and would ask God, “What is the purpose of my life?” and “What am I here for?” If all things are vanity, why will we do good? The suggestion of the book of Ecclesiastes for us regarding to the reality of the vanity of all things is “to enjoy life.” For me, this is a good suggestion. Since all things will just pass, let’s just enjoy life. In that way, we will not feel the meaninglessness of living. Let’s just enjoy every moment of our life and never mind the reality that all things are vanity.
To enjoy life is a good suggestion but we must also consider our ways of enjoying our life (HOWs). For us humans, it is as if that our best solution always in order for us to enjoy life (if we will just follow our senses) is to seek for anything that can give us pleasure. What I mean pleasure this time is not the ordinary pleasure but more on the pleasure that when it is in our front, we cannot say “NO”; we cannot control our self anymore. One of the best examples is to have “pre-marital sex.” Humans like animals are sexual beings. There are times wherein we have the tendency to be sexually aggressive. I believe that it is natural in us especially in the ages 14-29 (Not sure). That is why, there are times wherein we cannot use our reasoning anymore and just follow our instincts. To have “pre-marital sex” is against the will of God. Yes, we can enjoy life in that way. The act itself (sex) is not sinful. What is sinful in this case is the fact that it is not in the right time (marriage) and not in the right person (wife). Sex is made only for married couples and not just for enjoyment purposes (expressing love or erectionto the person we feel we love or somebody we are erecting of).
All things are indeed vanity. All will just past in God’s time. Ecclesiastes’ solution to the reality of the vanity of all things is “to enjoy life.” In this way, we will not feel the meaninglessness of our life. We can enjoy life but we must also consider our ways and “HOWs” in enjoying life. As a suggestion, let’s enjoy life through good ways. We must know the boundary of our actions (good acts only). In enjoying life through good ways, we will not only be satisfied (human level) because there is something “greater” waiting for us. It is the “eternal life” wherein nothing in that place is vanity. In that life, all things are permanent and we will not ask for more. We will feel satisfied and always in the peak of our happiness. There we will also have the chance to live with our God, Jesus, Mary, Saints and good souls and the Angels and Archangels. So what are we waiting for? Enjoy life but always remember to be good!