American Pleasure - What is it really?

Posted by rjhmoore at 8:44 PM 2 comments

Elizabeth Gilbert, in Eat, Pray, Love, raised an interesting opinion in chapter 21. She says that "Americans have an inability to relax into seer pleasure... Americans don't really know how to do nothing." She says we are an entertainment-seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one. In fact, alarming statistics show that we actually enjoy working more than doing nothing. Of course this leads to working too hard and, which Elizabeth puts nicely, leads to "[getting] burned out and [having] to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating cereal straight out of the box and staring at the TV in a mild coma." This may not be working, but it's not fulfilling either.

Do we know how to do nothing for pure happiness? Sure, you can sit down and stare at your feet for a half hour, but does that come across as pleasurable? Can we convince ourselves that we deserve the enjoyment and relaxation from a blank to-do list? Elizabeth remarks on how Italians seem to be masters of "the beauty of doing nothing," or "Il bel far niente" as they say. Their personal goal in life is to... do nothing. Amazing. What a goal. If you asked the average American for their personal top goal, would you expect that answer to be on your list? Most likely you'll get, "Become top CEO! Be the next American Idol! Go to college! Have a family! Travel the world! Write a book! Become the next great painter! Work! Work! Work!" Is it too hard to ask yourself for just one moment of stillness in your life? The point of doing nothing is to free yourself up for doing what you most enjoy, what makes you happy. If one or more of the above ideals are your heart's absolute desire, then go for it, but for the others who just want to have them, do you really want it for yourself or only for the bonus point it gives your ego?

Personally, I believe that extracurricular activities, such as meditation, are the definition of "doing nothing" in the American life. Of course you must schedule your yoga class the Tuesday you don't need to help out with the community garden or the afternoon you have to rush over to give blood before you pickup the carpool group from school, but it is a scientific and statistical fact that people who rest their minds and bodies and/or participate in volunteer activities, are generally happier and healthier people. Who would want anything less that a long, enjoyable life? I think Elizabeth's observation is insightful on how Americans live. Perhaps we should do something about it.

What do you think? Do we work too hard or do we need to observe "il be far niente" more often? If we should do nothing more frequently, what should we do to bring it about?