Life in modern America is centered around the obvious but unstated principle:  Pleasure -- the more the better.  If we observe our society we can see our infatuation with maximizing our pleasure and minimizing our pain.  With this unspoken principle underpinning our behavior, we are bound to create imbalance in our personal lives.  Why is this?  

When we pursue pleasure we invite disharmony and discord because pleasure is not an end by itself.  A human being can never be satisfied with any single pleasure or combination of pleasures taken through the senses. Inevitably, the pleasure will recede, be forgotten, and require a period of time before it can be repeated.  Moreover, although the experience of pleasure must wane, the desire does not. Herein lies the sticky enigma wedding pleasure irrevocably to pain -- the desire for pleasure continues to grow while the ability to satiate this desire diminishes. This is why the Buddha called life suffering. If we are alive we cannot extricate ourselves from this web of increasing desire and diminshing return -- culminating in our degeneration and death. The only rational solution is to gain control over desire and vigorously pursue that which pleasure and pain has no hold over.  

But first let's examine how pleasure and pain impact our quality of life.  A college student receives a package of homemade cookies from her mother.  She anticipates the pleasure of their taste.  Immediately, the thought comes to her mind, "How much of it should I share with my roomate and friends?"  She must "struggle" with her conflicting desires:  to eat the cookies herself or to share this experience with those around her.  If she chooses to eat them herself she forgoes the pleasure she would receive from both giving pleasure to others and receiving their acknowledgement and respect.  She also might suffer the consequences of too much pleasure --  an imbalance in her body resulting in stomach discomfort, etc.  From this simple example it is clear that when we indulge in a pleasure we effect many other variables which impact all-round well being. 

When we carefully reflect about our behavior we notice that to achieve self-development effort is required and especially the ability to delay gratification.  America's heroes or "stars" are most often given their status because they have achieved a distinctive skill.  These heroes/stars had to marshall their efforts and most often work tirelessly to hone their skills.  Certainly, they had to delay short term gratifications to achieve their long term goals.  We admire this ability yet we continue to propagate through our media that the more pleasure, the better.  You don’t have to wait.  

Perhaps, with careful reflection, we may observe that that which brings us joy is not the most direct simple pleasure but something more meaningful.  We tend to appreciate and enjoy at much deeper levels, the feeling of mastery and accomplishment as well as ability to give to others.  Essentially, we will forgo the simple physical pleasure to improve our all-round well-being which we enjoy even more than the physical pleasure.     

We must reject the principle of simple physical pleasure, that is delay gratification, to pursue a greater enjoyment.  When we move from crude enjoyment to subtle enjoyment we move beyond the scope of physical pleasure and pain. We find that the scope for enjoyment increases as we move from the world of the senses, to the world of ideas, and eventually to the world of consciousness.  This movement from crude to subtle, from physical pleasure to greater and greater joy, culminates with the process of meditation. 

In meditation the thought process is suspended, the mind is quiet and focused onthe essence of this creation -- the Creator. This is the ultimate act of subtlety as well as the ultimate enjoyment -- that we may feel part of our Creator.