I am starting to read the latest book in my pile, the recently released “Living for Pleasure” by Emily A. Austin, which takes the philosophical teachings of Epicurus and teaches them in both an in-depth and often humorous way. Whilst Epicurus did believe in living for pleasure, there was a simple key to this. As the review of the book in The Guardian puts it:
Epicurus’s distinctive feature is his insistence that pleasure is the source of all happiness and is the only truly good thing. Hence the modern use of “epicurean” to mean gourmand. But Epicurus was no debauched hedonist. He thought the greatest pleasure was ataraxia: a state of tranquility in which we are free from anxiety. This raises the suspicion of false advertising – freedom from anxiety may be nice, but few would say it is positively pleasurable.
Still, in a world where even the possibility of missing out inspires fear, freedom from anxiety sounds pretty attractive. How can we get it? Mainly by satisfying the right desires and ignoring the rest. Epicurus thought that desires could be natural or unnatural, and necessary or unnecessary. Our natural and necessary desires are few: healthy food, shelter, clothes, company. As long as we live in a stable, supportive community, they are easy to achieve.
I have found that the less I want, the simpler my desires are, and the more I experience ataraxia, that sense of simply being at ease.
This morning I stepped out of the front door at around 7 am then was stopped and frozen in that moment by the sheer beauty of the sunrise from my doorstep. I took this photo, share exactly as I took it, with no filter. A moment of pleasure.