Pleasure in joy but no joy in pleasure

The difference between joy and pleasure comes at a relationship to the present and past. Too often we accept pleasure as a substitute for joy in living, and I wish to uncover the difference for me in order to embrace the truly good in my life. Pleasure has a repetitive and lethargic relationship to change. Pleasure allows us to be content with our lives, it accustoms us to being where we currently are. To be pleasured, pleased with something implies a judgement of the activity/item, and then an acceptance of it as good for you as such: neither you nor the object must change. Joy concerns a process that transcends a particular moment in time. Joy relates to events that involve and transform you into a new person, something that pushes you to discover what is good. There is a stronger correlation to thought with joy in my experience – a joyous event challenges me to discover something about myself or the world in the process of living it. This is why joy can come from unpleasurable experiences, as they often challenge me to find something new by fact of my unhappiness with a situation. So is it good to seek pleasure? Yes, but to be pleased is not an end, and joy often brings pleasure as a result of self discovery.

Duncan