Reason Number Two: Pleasure VS Joy. A few years ago I knew a woman that was one of the most impressive people I have ever met. She was young (in her twenties) but already owned and ran a very successful business. Absolutely beautiful, intelligent, and incredibly feminine and sexy this woman was what every guy in the world is looking for. The problem was that the guy she was with was an absolute train wreck. He was bad for her on every level including drugs, violence, and every other trait a nightmare of a boyfriend should have. The last conversation we ever had was after she returned from visiting her boyfriend in jail, again, and she asked me if she should stick it out with him. I asked her why, after all the warning signs and red flags, was she thinking about staying? After pondering the question she said, as she had said many times before, that it was the sex. She said that the sex was just simply too addictive. As a society we have forgotten the purpose of pleasure. We chase after pleasures and have no idea what the purpose of pleasure really is. We have developed a mentality that the pleasure is the end result of what we should be searching for. Yet once we gain the pleasure, we move on to the next pleasure. This cycle never ends and at the end of the day we end up sick, broke, and in some cases dead. You may be asking your self if I have gone Quaker on you. No, I am all for the pleasures of this world. I love wine and think that sex is...well.. better than wine! What I am trying to get at is that if you are seeking after just the temporary pleasures of this world you are missing the point. Pleasure is nothing but a foot stool to what everyone really wants and that is joy. Joy is something that is not to be taken lightly. It is powerful and life changing. Best of all joy is remarkably intelligent. When you use pleasure to reach a state of long lasting joy, then the pleasure is being used correctly. If you are seeking pleasures that do not lead you to long term joy then you are leading yourself down a path towards addiction. Sure hooking up with the guy last weekend was fun for the few hours you were with him, but now a couple of days later when you are feeling bad about the whole experience, and even worse about yourself, can you really say that it brought you joy? Can you really say that your life is better because of the experience? As you go through this week judge the pleasures you are seeking after and if they do not end with an increase of joy in your life then stop doing it. Use the intelligence of joy to gauge the long term use of pleasure, it’s really that simple. Pleasure might get you through the week or the night, but real joy will get you through the rest of your life. Don’t settle for anything less. Seek Joy - Erin www.energyofromance.com

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