Hedonic hotspots

Man, ye want more than thy fair valid need, Ye corner every craven mundane toy, Coveting vulture-like that grabs with greed, Indulging more, way far less to enjoy, Chasing false leads to squirrel more and more To gratify thy voracious desire, Fuelling a furious, virtual forest fire, To repent all life from thy very core. Pray, thou hast far fewer brain spots of pleasure— Those that fuel in thee a raging fire, But Nature has a unique erasure ‘Pon thy streetcar called a break-less desire That darts off more dots, driving thee to strive, Than in content can ye ever arrive. Beware O man, ye covet in excess, In hedonic hotspots’ frantic mad chase, Ye attempt to get more, enjoy much less, Amidst all world-wide bounties art thou blasé! Envoi To what our ancient sages so long knew, Science has only now endorsed its view. ________________________________________ Happenings | 01.04.2007 | desire, joy, pleasure Poet’s note: A scientific study shows that wanting and liking are separate spots in brain controlled by different circuits. Only when these urges occur in sync, is the impact on brain powerful. But there is a catch. Brain has fewer mechanisms for pleasure than for desire. Hence humans are susceptible to wanting more than they can actually enjoy. Alas, science is only now beginning to understand the Indic thought spiritually and philosophically divined long ago, that too much desire which always frustrates man is not good. Minimizing one’s needs is the key to happiness. This poem has four stanzas, progressively reducing in size— from eight, to six, to four, to two— the hedonic spots for desire must gradually reduce in sync with those to enjoy.