Indulgence and Denial

For long I have heard both sides of the argument about leading life - one for denial and one for indulgence. I myself had difficulty picking one over the other in the past. But now I think I know. I choose indulgence - indulgence with life. If you have to live, indulge yourself. Aspire to do big things, dream impossible dreams, covet passionately that which gives you pleasure, have the courage to do something for the first time only for the thrill of it, dare to take risks and see if things work out, love as if you can never get hurt, listen to your heart and use your mental faculties to do what it asks you to. Denial is not for me - if I have to live, I shall live for small moments of happiness, for short happy memories, for physiological triggers which make the happy centers of my brain light up. I shall not live for some intangible entity called salvation, some elusive entity called everlasting peace, for ego boosts derived from self-imposed sacrifices, for an obscure promise of freedom from desires and the cycle of birth and rebirth. I shall make all those mistakes which you deny yourself with such difficulty, and I shall gather all those lessons which you preach about, but haven't taken yourself. I shall live life the way its meant to be lived - with prudence and wisdom gained from indulging myself, not with rules laid down by others.