Embracing Pleasure Without Guilt - Jane's Mindful Musings

Jane Witherspoon is a Canadian expat adventurer, yoga instructor and passionate rambler who recently relocated from Panama to Denia, Spain.

Our intention this week is to embrace our pleasures without guilt.

Where did the stigma of guilt get attached to the enjoyment of something that brings us joy? How many times have we all used the words guilty pleasure? In the dictionary, it is defined as “something pleasurable that induces minor feelings of guilt”.

So what are these so-called guilty pleasures that we are supposed to feel ashamed of? Well, as I was preparing this post I did a little research and here are some of the activities that were consistently listed as something we are supposed to feel ashamed to indulge in. Sleeping in until noon, binge watching a TV show or rom-com movies, having a glass of wine after work, eating greasy food, spending all day in your PJ’s or reading a romance novel just to name a few.

For me, ever since I was a child, I have loved chocolate. Not chocolate cake, donuts, pudding or any other chocolate confection but I love chocolate bars. To this day there is nothing that brings me joy like lounging with a good book and a chocolate bar to slowly savour.

As an adult there has always been these feelings of guilt about eating them and I even tried to switch to dark chocolate for my indulgence. But here is the thing, my palate does not enjoy bitter flavours and why should I not feel happy enjoying a sweet, milky chocolate bar?

We need to stop attaching negative connotations to things that give us pleasure. If we start out by defining it in a negative way, we will likely feel regret, remorse or self-reproach when we indulge in it. This type of language perpetuates the idea that we are doing something wrong or bad for us.

Emotional and intellectual release valves are healthy. They provide important mental health breaks which help reduce stress, create a balanced lifestyle and help with our productivity. Consider these activities as “self-care”, and turn the narrative around.

Practice finding happiness in your life and acknowledge that you are worthy of it. Shouldn’t we be free to enjoy whatever we like without shame if we're not hurting ourselves or others?

I would be remiss if I didn't note that we are talking about finding enjoyment in moderation, whatever it is.

And so my Sole Sisters, as you ramble through your week let go of the guilt and enjoy what brings you pleasure and happiness.