Post a response to this discussion thread
Wow - I think that was awhile ago (when I posted the Burroughs links) - glad ya liked 'em.
*
As for Mr. Huxley's quote:
Anyone that has used drugs knows that you *can* sniff or swallow something that will make life seem "divinely beautiful." We most certainly can induce extreme pleasure with a small pill or a line of powder. Mr. Huxley's final hope, though - that we can escape the dreaded "comedown" is an impossibility. It will never be possible, for everything in life is defined by its opposite. What is the meaning of pleasure if there is no pain? I know that sounds horribly cliched and sappy, but it's true. Many people (perhaps drug abusers especially) expect life to be one long stream of never-ending bliss.
As they say, though - you can't get somethin' for nothin'. Drugs are like credit cards - you can get a loan on happiness today, but it comes with a debt tomorrow (often in the form of a debilitating depression). And so the user takes more drugs, and so the cycle continues. And yet happiness continues to elude him because he doesn't realize that happiness is *not* an eternal state of bliss. The more we try to escape from pain and unhappiness, the more it follows us like a lost puppy. I honestly think that the secret to lasting happiness is *learning to be unhappy.* Or at least being comfortable with it and knowing that, 'This too shall pass.' Everything is transitory. The more we try to chase away our blues (via drink, drug, TV, or any other addiction), the more we become firmly entrenched in those blues.
[I might add that I am referring to drug addiction, and not simply the occasional use of drugs. I would certainly not compare one that takes an occasional mushroom trip to one that needs cocaine just to get through the day.]
Anyway, that's my little rant. Mr. Huxley's wish is flawed as it shows an innate misunderstanding of what "happiness" is. If everyone was happy with no pain or sadness, it would cease to be 'happiness' by definition. Any permanent state becomes mundane before long.
TCP
Post a response to this discussion thread