Website owner: James Miller
I look around me and see everyone treating themselves. They
treat themselves to this and they treat themselves to that.
They treat themselves to ice cream and soda and candy and cake.
They treat themselves to nice clothes, expensive cars, big
houses, expensive vacations, pornographic movies, illicit sex.
You name it. They have thought of it and tried it. Me? I
don't watch TV, don't have a cell phone. I sleep on the floor
and walk 5 miles a day. I don't drink sodas, don't eat cake,
mostly stay away from sweets. I drive a 14 year old Toyota
truck and buy my clothes in Goodwill. And it is not because I
couldn't afford expensive clothes, big houses and fancy cars.
I could. Much more than the vast majority of people. But I
live as I do by choice. It is a personal discipline. I live
simply and frugally -- by choice. It is not because I am just
against pleasure. I am not. I think there is a pretty good
reason behind just about every habit and way I have. Most of
my ways and habits I have come to gradually over a period of
years. The truth is most of the pleasures in life have costs
and risks. I have looked at the costs and weighed the risks.
Most people would look at me, think I lead a very Spartan life,
and wonder if I get any pleasure out of life. They might
wonder how I could be happy. Well, I do get pleasure from life
and am happy. But the pleasures I get from life and the
sources of my happiness are different. What gives me pleasure?
Hard work. Accomplishment. The pleasure of doing a job and
doing it well. The pleasure of success in doing difficult
things. The pleasure of hard study and learning and expanding
my mind and horizons. The pleasure of thought and reflection
and the pursuit of truth and understanding. The pleasure of a
quiet walk in the woods. The pleasure of a cold glass of water
after some hard manual work out in the sun on a hot day. The
pleasure of life with a life companion that I care about and
who cares about me. The pleasure of talking to and dealing
with an honest and good person. The pleasure of a life lived
under a good conscience. These are the things that give me
pleasure. These are wholesome pleasures. They do no harm to
myself or to others. And they have the approval of God.
Sept 2007
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