Eadarian Network

Hello my friend,

Welcome to the 63rd installment of The Creative Journey, the experience of one Charles Yerkes, Eadarian Poet, perpetuator, and otherwise mildly creative and excessively modest personage.

Good vs Best Part 2:

It is interesting that the attainment of this smaller and instant fun often makes the child very unhappy with the results caused by that attainment. The joy he had in eating the cake is turned into a hurtful or sad memory, in light of what he then lost the ability to do. And even more interesting is the fact that if he had chosen to wait and not eat the cake, to not do that which is immediately satisfying but instead, wait for the best to arrive, then any unhappiness he experienced by not being able to eat the cake is quickly replaced, more than replaced, by the joy, excitement, and thrill of seeing the Giant Pandas. This joy dwarfs any frustration, ill ease, pain, or consternation that saying no to the chocolate might have caused. And this satisfaction will stay with him for years, he may even proudly tell his own kids and grandkids about thrill of seeing the amazing Pandas. The cake… is less than a forgotten memory.

In many ways our feelings are the same as the child who chooses the chocolate cake, opting to trade that which would truly make us happy for an immediate short-lived delight. And again we are not talking about right verses wrong, good verses evil, or anything like that. That is a discussion for another day.

There was nothing wrong with the child choosing to eat the chocolate cake, to get the cake instead of a trip to the zoo. Nothing wrong with it what so ever. But the good taste of chocolate satisfaction was the enemy of the best source of long lasting joy, seeing the wonderful Giant Pandas. Sad or not, it was an okay choice. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, we are not talking about not being satisfied, but of choosing and hanging onto the deeper and longer lasting sources of joy and satisfaction. The attainment of which is something… not to be missed.

Which does give a whole new (or at least a very interesting) spin to the both the “deny yourself” and the “self-sacrifice” thingies.

It is not about denying yourself joy and satisfaction but rather, that by learning what the deeper sources of joy are and choosing them, you deny yourself being cheated out of them by opting for the shallow and easy, the ‘good’ gratifications.

Yes, it will not always be fun to tell yourself, “No.” But remember, you are really telling yourself, “Yes!” Yes to the fuller, richer, more meaningful, and more abundant satisfaction and joy by waiting for the best. And, your lack of fun in the “No” will be more than made up for in the thrill found in the richer “Yes”.

Do not allow ‘the good’ to be the enemy that defeats you from knowing true joy, true happiness, and the deepest most wonderful satisfactions. In short do not let ‘the good’ keep you from the best.

Grow in peace.

Charles Yerkes
Eadarian Poet, Perpetuator, Photographer, and Fiddle Player

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To choose a past installment(s) of The Creative Journey click here. To view a Quote of the Week, click here.

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