Chapter 26: Self induced Pleasure

When the day is said and done, what is important? Did you learn something new? Make someone feel better about their day? Help the world become a better place? Everyone one those things make people happy. If I go to class and learn some cool piece of knowledge that allows me to do Integrals faster and better than ever before, that makes me happy. If my friend goes down to the homeless shelter and serves soup for 4 hours, and returns feeling like she really helped people, which probably makes her happier. But if someone plays a computer game all day, one they’ve already beaten twice, does that give them any less of a right to be happy? Happiness is such a personal thing, so deeply intertwined with everything we hold dear and believe in, that once we find what makes us happy, then that is the thing we should strive to do. I am not saying we should serve soup in homeless shelters, not all of us, but if that is what makes you happy, then that is what you must do. If your day is not complete without mooning the neighboring dorm, while it may be twisted, it is your path to happiness. Every good thing we do, everything we are praised for, is done for our personal gratification. Mother Theresa, while I don’t actually know, undoubtedly enjoyed helping the many people she did. Masturbation is generally used in the perverted sense, but it can also be used in a more general self-induced pleasure. If you set on purpose to make yourself happy, by helping others, is that substantially different than jerking off for hours on end, if that makes you happy?