I value diversity, a kind of narrative depth to raw experiences. But if I had to choose either sustainable, chemically induced unsophisticated pleasure or else diverse pain and misery with narrative depth, I’d almost certainly choose the pleasure.
Agreed. I also think people tend to underestimate the goodness of pure bliss: I have experienced such a state, and I’m here to tell you, the concerns about XXX become very much more minor than you would expect. They don’t disappear—if you like painting, you’ll still want to paint—but you suddenly understand how minor the pleasure painting gives you really is, in comparison.
Agreed. I also think people tend to underestimate the goodness of pure bliss: I have experienced such a state, and I’m here to tell you, the concerns about XXX become very much more minor than you would expect. They don’t disappear—if you like painting, you’ll still want to paint—but you suddenly understand how minor the pleasure painting gives you really is, in comparison.
Or at least that’s how I felt, anyway.