The infinite escape chamber

When I was a youngin reading science fiction there was this idea of a dream pod. It simulates a perfect world, and so many people became addicted to it that they stayed within these chambers until their bodies withered and decayed, and they died.

As a child this is a horrifying scenario. That there could be something so pleasant, that you would indulge in it until you died.

Is it a Christian notion, that following your pleasure will lead to destruction?

I feel checked out today. The stresses are so powerful, the pressure so enormous, that I want a holiday. I know when I am on summer break, I want the rigidity of work or school again. I don't like to imbibe forever. So I don't think people who stood to have something to lose out of real life, would be so tempted by infinte happiness as to lose something precious. I think of children who have already suffered so much, and would rather be numb going forward. I think we are meant for short, brilliant lives. If the slings and arrows of fortune have found us again and again, aging our spirit, does that spirit not deserve a peaceful retirement?

I would get up from the infinite pleasure machine eventually. After a month or two. If my experience in the real world was one of pain, it would be nice to have a reprieve from that pain. I think if people have suffered a lot in their lives then they deserve a vacation for their spirit for as long as they want. it's the least society can do for them after failing them.

What I was afraid of as a child was to lose the potential for a happy, tangible existence, with the withering away of my real body. But real bodies are in pain and bondage everywhere. I don't think there is intrinsic value in them, if we can free the spirit.