Balance

One of the key ingredients to a healthy life I’ve decided.

Too much of a good thing (or a bad thing) can really ruin you. Make you lose your sense of reality.

Without pain, there is no joy.

A few years ago, sitting in my philosophy class (which was a huge waste of time) we were discussing this machine that would give you any experience you wanted. Any experience ever felt by the human brain.

You can read more about it here (it’s the first google link I found):

http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Valu/ValuRive.htm

In the class, I was one to argue for plugging in. To give myself the ability to experience things I’d probably never experience in this lifetime. That alone was worth the ability to plug in.

But just recently, my view point on being for plugging in changed. Of course there were the kids in the class who felt they should live their own lives, and they’d prefer their own lives over plugging in. However, from what I recall of the class part of their reasoning was that they would know it wasn’t real life; it was just your brain fooling you in to these experiences.

I had a good enough imagination, so I didn’t go along with what they were saying. If you were stuck in a machine and didn’t know any better – how could you have known any better? You wouldn’t know what real life was like because you had been attached to the machine. Our example was based off of being attached to the machine since birth – not given the opportunity to get plugged in after living in the real world for some time.

But now I’ve realized that I would miss out on all the pain. All the bad things in my life that affected me – changed the person I am – if I had plugged in. Why would anyone in their right mind, hooked up to the experience machine choose a bad experience? One that caused them physical or mental pain?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve felt minor physical pains. I know this is silly, but whatever. About 3 weeks ago, I got this huge cold sore on my bottom lip. Thinking back, I don’t think I’ve ever had a larger cold sore. And it was painful. And annoying. I am a lover of citrus and salt unfortunately, and every time I’d eat something of that nature I was cringing. After using some hydrogen peroxide over the past week it’s finally subsided and I can eat normally again. I was chewing on my right side only for some time – or avoiding foods that I normally love because of this stupid cold sore.

This past Thursday I slid into 3^rd base abnormally during our softball game and received the biggest raspberry on my hip that I’ve had since either 3^rd or 4^th grade. I’ve been hobbling around since then and every few minutes I’ve got to pull my boxers off of the wound because they start to stick together. And every time I do it’s about half as bad as pulling a band aid off. It’s hard to sit, I’ve had to lay only on my right side while I sleep, and getting in and out of cars is the worst.

And because of these two things, I’ve realized how grateful I am to be in such a good condition (only compared to myself in minor pain). My mouth is almost fully healed now. Tomorrow I’ll be able to drink orange juice and brush my teeth without cringing. I’ll be able to eat foods with barbeque sauce on them, or even French fries with salt without it killing my mouth. So I learn to appreciate – and be grateful for the state I’m in because of that pain.

I’m sure by next week my hip will be healing nicely, and I’ll be back outside and running again with full motion of my leg. There won’t be pain when sitting down, or while I’m riding in the car around corners. I won’t have to pull my boxers off of my oozing wound and will be able to toss and turn in my sleep normally.

And that is exactly what I am getting at. In the machine I would never choose pain for myself. But in the machine how can I really understand joy and pleasure when I would never choose pain and sorrow? The steak would not taste as good, the emotions I felt would not be as strong, and I would never feel as grateful as I do for the things I have – or how I am after what my real life has put me through.

So I’ve changed my answer now. The machine sounded good in theory and still to this day I’m a bit of a hedonist, but I’m beginning to realize now in life that both sides of the coin are needed to have a fair toss.