Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Insurance Executive:
People with fetishes or those with a particular mental illness
deliberately seek the opposite of what is normally considered
pleasure, and redefine it for themselves with misery, discomfort, and
pain. The rest of us, however, seek what is ordinarily considered
pleasure in our health, food, relationships with friends,
partners/lovers, hobbies, and work.
As a martial artist, I take pleasure in training. Does it mean I wasted
all those years if I’m never called upon to apply my skills for real?
Absolutely not. The act of training for its own sake, the resultant
fitness, friendships, discipline, and the satisfaction of knowing I
succeed when the going gets tough, grueling, and sometimes
painful, is a pleasure that is immeasurable.
My husband and I dine out often. We do it because it gives us
pleasure (and we don’t have to do dishes). It doesn’t have to be fine
dining with a bill close to the national debt. In fact, some of the best
meals are reasonably priced, inexpensive even. Many of the food
carts so popular in the cities nowadays have incredibly delicious and
hard to find food. Pleasure from the dining experience isn’t about the
tab but about the food, the surroundings, the conversation, and the
sense of satisfaction we feel after.
I design jewelry. It can be tedious work, a strain on my eyes and on
my patience. Still, I derive great pleasure from the often microscopic
physicality of it, the creative process, and the final product. When I
sell my work, that too is a pleasure.
I enjoy many things from the perfectly brewed cup of freshly ground
coffee, to smooth nitro beer, deep meditation, and a movie that
makes me think about it long after the credits have ended.

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The commonality in all these things is the moment, that is, being in
the moment, right here, right now. If I were to think about
Wednesday’s workout in the middle of the one I’m doing on Monday,
or if I were to think about Thanksgiving while eating sushi in July, or
if I ponder my next creation while working on the jewelry project right
in front of me now, I would miss the pleasure of being totally and
completely present in the moment.
There is no harm in looking forward to experiencing pleasure—as
that too can be a pleasurable experience. Likewise, there is no harm
in deliberately planning “seeking pleasure”—a weekend at the
beach, a finished project, meeting new people. But I don’t think this
type of seeking is what Musashi was referring to, anyway. I think he
was telling us that pleasure is not just in the future; it is right here,
right now. In other words, he is telling us not to spend all our time
remembering past pleasures or longing for futures ones.
Buddha said, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Mark Twain seemed
to paraphrase Buddha when he wrote, “Don’t live in the past, don’t
ponder about the future, stay at the present moment, now, always.”
Writers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wayne Dyer, Thich Nhat
Hanh, and many others say the same thing. Happiness is found
where you are right now. The past is gone and the future is, well, in
the future. Therefore, enjoy and thus benefit from this very moment.
Take pleasure where you are and with what you have right now. Take
pleasure that you can read (there are millions who can’t). Take
pleasure from where you’re reading this: home, car, work break,
commuter train, or in a park. Take pleasure in what you have: your
health, your possessions, your job, your clothing, your family, and
your friends. Many, many people don’t have these things.
Go ahead and plan for the future and go ahead and reminisce on
past pleasures. Then return to the moment and enjoy all you have at
this very minute.

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