Pleasure-less: An Excerpt from Eat, Pray, Love

There is far too much in this book, Elizabeth Gilbert‘s Eat, Pray, Love, to mention in one small blog entry, so over the next little while (just warning you) I’ll be sharing some passages in the book that resonated with me. Haven’t read it? You must. Really. Here’s one for today, from page 61.

“Generally speaking, though, Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure. Ours is an entertainment-seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one. Americans spend billions to keep themselves amused with everything from porn to theme parks to wars, but that’s not exactly the same thing as quiet enjoyment. Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today. But as Luca Spaghetti pointed out, we seem to like it. Alarming statistics back this observation up, showing that many Americans feel more happy and fulfilled in their offices than they do in their own homes. Of course, we all inevitably work too hard, then we get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating cereal straight out of the box and staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opporsite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure). Americans don’t really know how to do nothing. This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype–the overstressed executive who goes on vacation but cannot relax.”