A list of equal pleasures~
Going to sleep at night
Waking up in the morning
Tea or coffee in the morning
Watering the plants outdoors
A peanut butter cookie and vanilla ice cream at The Cup Cafe in Tucson
The subtlest pressures and resistances of erotic give-and-take
Emotional connection during lovemaking
Walking in a high wind
Smelling star jasmine
Reading
Talking with my girlfriends
I could probably produce a book listing equal pleasures of mine, so I do not intend the items here to be definitive or even to designate categories of pleasures, such as sexual, sensory, or intellectual. At the moment what interests me are differences between equivalents.
While all the pleasures above are equal in the abstract, their value, impact, or intensity changes according to my exact experience of them. Was the cookie warmed up just right and the ice cream softened to a perfect texture? Was the conversation with a friend restrained or halting rather than fluid and forthcoming, which I enjoy more? Was a lover self-involved rather than reciprocating? Reciprocity offers increasing refinements of sensation.