How about a life of nothing but pleasure?
(Check out the neighbor's kids, too)
To live in a world of nothing but pleasure, we must leave reality. As the Buddha said, "Life contains suffering," so to stay in reality, we must accept suffering. To leave that suffering, we must leave reality. But suppose it is possible. Suppose your experiences, to you, would be indistinguishable from reality and feel real, like The Truman Show. Would you do it?
Much ink has been spilled on thousands of pages about "Hedonic Adaptation." I just read a piece about it by Namrita Negi. I've mentioned it a few times in my work, too. So, for most, this is not a new concept. We know that no matter what we acquire, what goal we achieve, and what luck strikes us, we still end up in the familiar territory of baseline ordinary after the initial high we derive from it.
Getting used to a good thing usually leads to wanting more good things – the hedonic treadmill. The paycheck should get bigger, the next vacation should be better, the new car more fancy, the house must be upgraded, and so on. Our insatiable appetite for more of everything relentlessly drives us onward. We usually forget to be grateful for what we have because it becomes the new normal after a while.
Getting used to negative things is the same in reverse. Research shows that people who've lost limbs after an initial depression return to their pre-loss emotional states within a year. Humans, turns out, can get used to anything.
The messy person didn't become messy overnight. At some point, they left a sock on the floor. Eventually, that sock multiplied, giving birth to empty bottles, pizza boxes, random clothing, dirty dishes, and a disgusting carpet.
The fat person didn't become fat overnight. A massive heart attack was decades in the making, one bad health choice after another.
By getting used to things, we slowly boil in our negative habits, neglects, and bad choices. Also, by getting used to things, we build on our good habits and wise choices, reach higher goals, and check off more achievements. No arguing about that.
Implicated in all of this is pleasure. Sometimes, the short-term, instant gratification kind. Sometimes, the pleasure we think we'll get from delayed gratification.
We all want and seek pleasure like moths seek light at night. We often disguise it under self-care and tell ourselves we deserve something – playtime, another drink, binge-watching Netflix, or one more piece of cake. We mistake pleasure, especially the hedonistic kind, for happiness.