2. possess and benefit from.

As stated previously, the etymology of the letters en means “inner ” or “within.” Joy is defined as ” a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” So in my mind, enjoyment SHOULD mean that pleasure and happiness comes from within. Nothing external is giving us pleasure or happiness if we are enjoying something. Am I correct?

Why is it that when we talk about enjoyment we refer to something outside of ourselves? Damn English language!

We have to go to an amusement park to find our enjoyment…

We have to eat a slice a pizza or fried chicken or ice cream to find our enjoyment…

We have to watch the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, etc. to find our enjoyment…

We have to go to the movies, go out to dinner, play video games, or even reading a book to FIND our enjoyment. (If you’re reading for knowledge/information that’s different.)

And the list goes on and on…

The common denominator is that these are EXTERNAL influences. We are only consuming. Gross overconsumption. Throwing our precious money away to ENJOY ourselves.

What does that say about us black, melanated folks (or people in general?) Are we really that empty inside?

Our joy should come from within; the fact that we have life and breathe and a fluid state of mind should give us all the enjoyment we need. Why is it that we need more than that to sustain our happiness? We should bring that joy from within ourselves into the world, not vice versa.

We shouldn’t just be witnesses to other peoples’ (Caucasians) idea of enjoyment. We shouldn’t take what is given to us because we are greater than that. We have to be the creators of our own universe, our enjoyment. This “MATRIX” is set up to feed off the unhealthy appetites (not just food) of the common man and woman.  Once we realize that we are not in need of any pleasure or happiness from the establishment, then the system will cease to exist.

If we keep perpetuating this current idea of seeking our joy outside of ourselves, we will continue to perish.

Peace and love to the melanated family,

The Melanated Man