I would like to re-address my first post, explaining my idea of "the purpose of pleasure is to repeat behavior." However this time I will try to simplify it all in one story, hopefully a better story then the last one.
As a reminder I don't claim this idea is true, just that it's a theory of mine. Use help from a professional for decisions, not this page. This page is just for fun, and to have something to think about.
The story is told in a fairytale style, and it goes like this:
Two monkeys are sitting under an apple tree. The first monkey tells the second monkey. "Hey, there is food up in this tree." The second monkey just ignores the first monkey. The first monkey repeats, "there's food in this tree, don't you understand me?" The second monkey says, "I don't need to, I have food." The first monkey looks confused, "what food?" The second monkey points down at the half rotten fallen apples under the tree covered in mud, bugs, fungus. "You eat those!?" the first monkey says. "Of course, it's food" says the second monkey. Disgusted, the first monkey replies, "try the food up in the tree."
"No" says the second monkey. "Why not, the food in the tree is better!" explains the first monkey. The second monkey feeling irritated by this waste of a conversation says, "I don't need to climb the tree, because I already have food." The first monkey being perplexed by the second monkey responses, climbs the tree and comes back down with a clean ripe apple, and hands the fruit to the now interested second monkey. "Eat", says the first monkey. The second monkey smells the sweat fruit, eats, and is very pleased. "This food is better!", the second monkey joyously says. Confidently, the first monkey says, "now you know what I mean, you can climb the tree and get food."
"No." Says the second monkey. The first monkey completely surprised, stares blankly as the second monkey continues to enjoy the apple. "You saw that the apple came from this tree, how can you not understand?" The second monkey looks confused, "no, I saw the apple come from you, you gave me the apple. I would like another now." The first monkey surprised yet again, says, "I didn't plan on giving you more food, I gave you food to show the tree has food." The second monkey changes it's face, to a hurt and disappointed expression.
"You will not give me more! I was fine with that I had, then you gave me a sweater apple, and it was better, I want better and if you don't give me better I will hate you, and I will hurt you!" The first monkey now feeling scared and confusion, ponders how it got into such a mess when it was trying to help. "Will I have to fight?" It thinks.
The second monkey begins it's attack, swinging it's arms and gnashing it's teeth. The first monkey flees, climbing the tree, and the second monkey stops it's pursuit. Under the tree the second monkey continues to eat the rotten apples, yet now finds them unacceptable. The taste of the sweet apple in it's memory, it's old food is not good enough. The second monkey feels many painful feelings, denial at it's loss, anger at the first monkey, confusion on what it all means, and finally, all those feelings turn to bitter sadness.
After some time, the second monkey looks up. The tree is full of thick leaves, little can be seen. The second monkey begins to reach up, garbing and feeling the branches, it clumsily tries to climb, it seeks to find a balance in the tree that it knew on the ground. Slowly, and with discomfort, it climbs the tree and finds the first monkey, hiding and respecting the show of anger of the second monkey. Upon spotting the first monkey, the second monkey also sees the color of a ripe apple, ready on the vine. Picking it, the second monkey tastes what it once had. Not by staying on the ground, but by climbing the tree. More then that, by learning from a friend.
The second monkey's face changes. It shows, regret, but more then that, admiration. The first monkey reading the monkeys face climbs to join the second, and the two friends enjoy apples.
The end.
No comments:
Post a Comment