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Helen's avatar

"Without some measure of consideration, we are swept up in a vacuous and unintentional hedonism, buffeted this way or that by our drives to avoid pain and seek out fleeting pleasures devoid of lasting fulfillment. " This, bingo. An old music teacher of mine -- God rest his soul -- made very clear distinctions between pleasure, happiness, and joy. He said the pleasure is mindless, cheap, and not worth pursuing; happiness is harder but attainable with the right mindset and good intentions, while joy is supreme and requires hardwork and sacrifice and is the most worthy of human experiences. Predictably, he lamented that hedonism was destroying our capacity to endure and strive to finally find joy. What you said reminded me of his little talk :)

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Rick Lewis's avatar

"It seems to me deplorable that so many go through the motions of daily life without zest or verve." Me too!! And can't wait for this. ". . . in the next edition I will argue that life is fundamentally worthwhile. Heaven and hell are here, not elsewhere."

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