pleasure

Posted: February 11, 2011 at 11:47 am

Oh, pleasure! You gotta love those little moments of pleasure that sneak up on you.

Like…Braedon only waking up once last night!!! He slept all the way until 3:15! That is huge for his age. 7 hours straight for him? 5 hours straight for mom? Pleasure!

baby b headshot

Or how about…a delicious bowl of oats to start your morning. The simple fact I don’t get sick of this mixture and it makes mornings easier is pleasure in itself.

strawberry oats

I can’t forget…my jeans fitting noticeably better than when they first did, like in the picture below. It very well could be the stretch factor of the pants but either way it feels good and gives me a bit of pleasure.

pre-preg jeans 1st fit

And of course there’s…Makenzie looking up at me with the biggest smile and saying the four most beautiful words – “I love you, Mommy”. Pure pleasure.

mommy and m

I must not leave out…getting fabulous blogging news and opportunities. Yea. That’s pleasurable.

team4all1

All of those are fine and dandy. But you know what? Pleasure is temporary. Joy is what we are really after. There is a distinct difference in my opinion. Pleasure comes in moments…joy is an overall descriptor of our demeanor, our lives. If none of the above happened – if Braedon slept terribly all the time; if Makenzie pitched temper tantrums hourly; if this blog hadnot grown at all since it started– if none of that existed, I would still have joy.

I would have joy in being a mother and loving my children. I would have joy in the physical health I have, regardless of shrinking sizes. I would have joy in the chance to share my thoughts and connect with others through blogging, no matter where it leads. I would have joy in the blessing of having food available to nourish my body.

For awhile there I confused the two. Or at least I thought pleasure and joy were interchangeable. I would pursue actions that brought me temporary joy (aka pleasure) – binging on sugary treats, partying too much with friends. physical experiences with guys I didn’t care about, spending money, etc. I would feel any number of things in the act of pleasure: satisfied, desirable, powerful, exciting. Then, I would come crashing down with nowhere else to go than seeking temporary pleasure again. I didn’t have JOY in my life.

I certainly still like eating dessert, having a drink with friends, “connecting” with my husband, or buying a cute new outfit. Now, though, they are simply moments of pleasure that add to a life full of joy. No longer do I need to turn to pleasure for a short term high in an attempt to pretend to have what I lack. Pleasure = good. Joy = great! They are both worth experiencing, but NOT worth confusing. I don’t know what path brings joy into your own life, I just hope you know that is where your focus should lie.

Question of the Day – What’s something that brings you pleasure? How does it fit into overall joy? And do you think there’s a difference between the two?

**This post is part of February’s Self Discovery Word-By-Word series. Check it out if you would like to participate with your own post!

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62 Comments to “pleasure”
  1. Mandy says:

    Your posts are always so thought provoking! I definitely get pleasure from pb cups and DQ blizzards, but I get JOY from doing Zumba and working out-they go hand in hand! I also get pleasure from having drinks with friends, but I get pleasure from socializing with them and growing our bonds by laughing, dancing and having a good time!

  2. Mac says:

    Breadon is absolutely adorable!!

  3. jassy says:

    your kids look adorable and i love makenzie’s smile 🙂

  4. Heather says:

    Oh wow, this really made me think! I guess I’ve never really stopped to think about the difference between pleasure and joy, but you definitely have a good point. I’m at a point in my life where I am still trying to figure out what brings me joy. Being recently divorced, I am now seeing what it is like to live life for myself and discover my own independence. I guess I would say that blogging and all the things that go with it (creating recipes, taking pics, making new friends) brings me pleasure on a daily basis which in turn adds to my joy in life in discovering who I am and what I love in life.

    Thank you for helping me see that! I swear I learn more about myself every time I read your blog! Thank you for all that you do Tina! You are such an inspiration!

  5. Thanks for providing such information. jfgoiprjg

  6. […] Tina @ Faith, Fitness, Fun: PLEASURE […]

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