Serious man's Adventure

Dear George,

What a strange few days it has been.  It feels like it has passed as some kind of dream.  The weather outside is a muggy 13*C with lots and lots of rain.  My train was on time this morning, first class stamps are 46p and I’ve been thinking a lot about philosophy and psychology, which makes a pleasant change from boobs, cartoons and racism.  I recently watched a documentary that discussed the idea of “objectivism” the notion that the most logical way to live is to be selfish, and it is irrational and immoral to act against one’s self-interest.

    My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

—Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

For some reason I’ve not been able keep these ideas from my mind.  Is the only way to have happiness is to be selfish?

I’ve been reading up on it for a few days and using the philosophy in conjunction with events in my own life.  I really try not to be selfish and if I’m honest I will often put others before me leaving myself at disadvantage.  I not mind really, but maybe I should.  Are actions like that stopping me from being fulfilled? Is taking the moral high ground or patting myself on the back just a way of giving me a quick fix of joy because ultimately I am unhappy and unfulfilled.

I have an example.  It’s something I’ve never really given much thought until now but maybe it’ll help explain where I am in life.  Every morning I’ll have a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal.  That is, however, if there is enough milk.  I don’t mean enough milk for me, but enough milk for everyone in the house.  As you know I live with 2 lovely ladies, and if I think there won’t be enough milk for each of us to have tea and cereal I will go without and eat toast and drink juice.  Not the worse compromise I’m sure you’ll agree but I’ve been doing this since I can remember, all through my working life, university and high school.  Should I do this? I love tea, we all do, but I give up my precious live giving cup if there’s not enough milk to go around.  Some days I’m pissed off of course, especially because I’m the one who always buys it, but I never make a fuss and never say a word.  Is this wrong?  It’s really not a big deal… or is it?

According to objectivism, this is wrong and this type of behavior will lead to an unfulfilled miserable life.  By denying myself even this simple thing I am somehow denying myself the right to be happy.

I know this isn’t like my normal bad observational comedy I like to litter my blog with.  Situations, both social and professional, have been getting right under my skin of late and I have found myself asking what has happened in the chain of events leading to these moments.

In other news, on hearing that one of the Australian Girls who dances in the show I’m working on has to go back to Australia next month because of her visa, another actor announced backstage that 

“She works really hard! It isn’t fair that she has to go back to her own country.  Especially when there are Asians here who don’t do anything…”

Quite.

Take care buddy,

Yours,

Little Dave