Tantra, tightropes and cinnamon lattes: caffeinated musings

First, an announcement to those who may care that I plan to start a new blog (in addition to this one) within the next week or two on my other vocation/avocation, the more creative sort of writing. I think it's going to be called "Writing on the Side." It's meant to take the place of my Live Journal blog, which I will still keep but only for photos and that sort of thing.
It will be another "Eudaimonia" production, which brings me to the point that I doubt I have more than an elementary understanding of Aristotle's idea of that term, but something just occurred to me today as I was sipping the most delicious cinnamon latte ever while driving home from work (after a busy day, we were let out early.)
From a rational standpoint (obviously not a physiological one, in the case of the latter) pleasure and pain are easy to navigate. In the first case, what you want is more, right, ad infinitum? And in the second, less. Very simple. If it was diagrammed, I guess it would just look like an arrow pointing in one direction, as far as one's goals were concerned.
But anyone who's had a hangover (or drank one too many delicious lattes in a row) knows that ad infinitum is untenable.
Bearing just a little pleasure isn't pain, but it's not exactly pleasure, either. In fact, it's a rather odd state of mind for which no particular word comes to mind (I'm sure yogis and Tantrists know some, but let's stick with the cinnamon latte illustration for a moment :) Actually, it makes me curious about the less sensational aspects of Tantric philosophy, but that's another blog.
In any case, while semi-blissed out on cinnamon and the tempered joy of being released from work knowing it just meant coming in earlier tomorrow, I had a glimmer of why moderation, or my reading of it, is so prized: it's even more of a psychic tightrope than it's cracked up to be! On the other hand, maybe it's a lot sexier than it's given credit for as well ;)

Viva moderation...
(On that note, here's an article on "golden girls" living the moderately good life in a particularly long-lived region of France)