There is a skate clothing brand called SMP, which has never stated what the acronym stands for and has been deliberately left undefined. Depending on what the marketing department wanted to do at the time, SMP in various as campaigns has stood for: Skate More Parks, Surf More Pipes, So Much Possibilities, and particularly useful for the purposes of this post Sex Money Power.
That last set of things which the acronym could stand for, are the three things that we would usually associate with what was classically known as the vice of Luxuria or in English is known as Lust. Lust for more Sex, lust for more money, and lust for more power, are generally seen as destructive.
What is curious is that over the centuries, the word Luxuria has become more associated with the concept of luxury and has been decoupled from the notion of moral hazard. On the other hand, Lust generally has narrowed in definition to the point where people's first thought about the word is almost always of a sexual nature and the other perfectly valid uses of the word require qualifiers.
In the first instance it would seem that the antivice would be things like chastity, poverty, and submission. However, while these might address the actions of the moral hazard, they do not of themselves address the underlying motivation of the individual generating them.
Probably the best word to describe this set of animal urges, physical desires, and material craving, is either Epithumia which mostly is concerned with how the appetitive parts of someone's nature are connected to the soul. This is the part of the soul constantly yelling and demanding the "Yummy, Yummy" thing with no regard for the context or the consequence, either with respect to the individual or anyone else.
In relation to unlimited unlimited wants, this is where a line is crossed into unlimited unlimited unsatisfiable wants; and where the gratification of those wants eventually consumes the individual.
The end of literally all desires in response to this is likely impossible. Wants and especially wants tied to needs such as food, shelter, clothing, warmth, love, peace, calm, et cetera, will always continue to exist as the individual continues to exist.
When all else fails, an interrogation of the wants and needs, must invariably lead one to the conclusion that the satisfaction of those needs and wants must fall short. When it comes to the falling short of wants that perhaps were destructive, or unrealistic in the first place, then it is good to ask "why?" of those wants.
Humans are limited beings in time, space, ability, and power. The answer to that question of "why?" in relation to why wants those things, is perhaps best met with Detachment and a deliberate choice to let go of those expectations or desires, especially in relation to the unlimited unlimited unsatisfiable wants of sex, money, power, et cetera.
Since Luxuria and Epithumia are tied to the cultivation of the inner life, then the integration and detachment of one's self is very likely to lead to inner freedom and peace, because if you're not carrying the burden of expectations they can not weigh you down.
No comments:
Post a Comment