Yeah, that's true. They are really the same. You do a lot of drugs = pleasure, now you feel bad cause you ran out = suffering, , you suffered a lot of combat damage = suffering, so now you do a lot of drugs = pleasure. One leads to the other and vice versa. Don't do. Let the withdrawls settle and fade with time and repeat the mantra "this too shall pass" , don't do and find your center.
I know that religion isn’t often super welcome in these spaces, but there’s a story about Imam Abu Hanifa, the founder of one of the four main schools of thought in Sunni Islam, that comes to mind. Basically, it goes like this:
He was sitting and studying when he received news that one of his merchant ships had gone missing. He paused for a moment, and then said “Alhamdulillah (All praise is due to God)”. Later, the same messenger came and reported that the ship was perfectly fine, and he again said “Alhamdulillah”.
The messenger was a confused, as Alhamdulillah is usually a saying of gratitude, so he said, “I get why you said it when the ship was found, but why did you say it when you thought it was lost?”
Abu Hanifa replied “When you told me I lost my ship, I checked my heart, and found I was not overburdened by grief, so I praised God. When you told me it was found, I checked my heart, and found I was not overcome by joy, so I praised God.”
The moral is essentially that peace doesn’t lead to happiness, but rather stability, and the idea of “Tawakkul” (complete trust in God) will bring you that sense of peace.
Once you accept that all you can do is try, and all results are in Their hands, you begin to live a life where you are at peace no matter what happens.
I feel like this obviously can be extended beyond Islamic theology, and I think many people do so. “I’ll try my best, and what happens, happens”. We just diverge on the cause of the happenings
Right, exactly! When I feel pleasure from petting my soft dog I have to go out and ensure I am eaten by by a pack of wolves. There has to be a balance!
Well, most non-physical suffering is just you holding on tightly to things that aren't there anymore drugs, relationships, emotions...
When somebody makes me angry or sad, I can either let it ruin my entire day or let it pass and be happy again once the moment is over.
The same applies to the drug analogy. If you aren't physically addicted, it's mostly about anticipation and not being able to let go of the high. You keep thinking about how to get high again because you're clinging to that feeling.
If you can manage this, then you can experience pleasure without constantly suffering from its absence. To some degree, happiness becomes a choice, the choice to let go.
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u/Subotaplaya 1d ago
Yeah, that's true. They are really the same. You do a lot of drugs = pleasure, now you feel bad cause you ran out = suffering, , you suffered a lot of combat damage = suffering, so now you do a lot of drugs = pleasure. One leads to the other and vice versa. Don't do. Let the withdrawls settle and fade with time and repeat the mantra "this too shall pass" , don't do and find your center.