Take Pleasure Seriously

I saw three words in a store window that made me stop. “Take Pleasure Seriously.”

At first, it almost feels like a contradiction. Pleasure is supposed to be spontaneous, playful, perhaps even a little frivolous. Serious is reserved for work, commitments, responsibilities, goals, and all the things we convince ourselves must come first.

But maybe that is exactly the problem.

We have become very good at taking our obligations seriously and treating our pleasure as something we will get around to later...after the work is finished or after everyone else is taken care of.

After we reach the goal, solve the problem, answer the email, make enough money, find enough time, or finally arrive at some imaginary place where life becomes less complicated.

Except life rarely becomes less complicated.

There will always be something that needs your attention, another responsibility waiting, or a reason to postpone the things that make you smile.

So perhaps pleasure deserves a place on the calendar too.

Not because we should abandon responsibility, but because pleasure is part of what makes all that responsibility worthwhile.

Pleasure can be a great meal with people you love, a ridiculous laugh that makes your stomach hurt, or music turned up louder than necessary. It can wearing something simply because it makes you feel fabulous, walking somewhere without needing to accomplish anything, or simply sitting quietly with a cup of coffee. Then there is traveling somewhere new, dancing badly, buying the flowers, calling the friend, or the peace of watching the sunset instead of photographing it.

Pleasure does not have to be extravagant to be meaningful.

Sometimes the smallest moments remind us most powerfully that we are alive.

There is a strange belief many of us carry that joy must somehow be earned. We work first and play later or we sacrifice now and promise ourselves we will enjoy life someday.

But someday is an unreliable promise.

I have learned that lesson more than once. Life does not guarantee us the perfect moment to begin enjoying it. It simply keeps moving, inviting us to notice what is here while it is here.

Taking pleasure seriously means refusing to treat joy as an afterthought.

It means recognizing that delight, laughter, beauty, and connection have value. Just as rest has and play do.

They are not distractions from a meaningful life. They are part of one.

There will be seasons when life is difficult and moments that demand everything you have. Taking pleasure seriously does not mean pretending those realities do not exist…it means refusing to let them become the only realities you notice.

Look for what still makes your eyes light up and notice what makes you linger a little longer.

Pay attention to the people, places, experiences, and wonderfully unnecessary things that make you feel more alive. Then make room for them…because you can spend your entire life being responsible and still miss your life.

So work hard, care deeply, keep your commitments, and do pursue the dreams that matter to you.

And somewhere in the middle of all that seriousness, remember to laugh loudly, love generously, play often, and occasionally do something simply because it brings you pleasure.

Take your responsibilities, purpose and life seriously.

And never forget to take pleasure seriously.