A few days back, at work, us colleagues were talking about some entrancing smells coming out off someone’s lunchbox.
I noted in passing that just because I was no longer partaking in certain foods or sweets, that didn’t mean I was immune to temptation. In fact, I went as far as to say that I do not like it when my girls are indulging in a box of chocolates.
I too would very much like to stick a decadent, suave, melting Lindt chocolate into my mouth.
But since I am diabetic, and I want to keep on losing weight, that means I cannot.
Now, did I forbid my girls to have chocolates? No, siree. That’s not for me to decide. And as my wife remarked, finally, after 18 years ensemble, I am one for Liberty. I do not impose anything to anyone. I am a live and let live absolutist.
However, that being said, in my presence, I do not care to be reminded of what I cannot have anymore. I am human, after all. And just because pork for instance, makes me put on weight, it doesn’t mean I do not crave a nice succulent pork chop steak every now and then. Or even better, some mean ole osso bucco a la Fiorentina. I am constantly repressing my old self, who would very much act like the cartoon character below.
I am just like Bruce the Shark.
The same can be said about almost everybody else.
Let’s take a reformed alcoholic. Would you put him in charge of an LCBO or SAQ liquor store?
Or let’s consider a former drug addict. Would you tempt fate by putting him in charge of a pharmacy or send him undercover inside a drug cartel?
Or a former bank robber now turned honest citizen. Would you make him a bank director, or Chief Security Officer?
Or anybody who was in power, abused it, became a tyrant, was deposed, served time & got out. Would you give them another shot at any position of power?
You see folks, few people have boundaries, know when to stop, when to say, “No more wine for I! No more food! No mas! No more money, I have enough! Not more power, I got too much already!”
Most people are the exact opposite. Their driving conviction tells them one thing only:
In our lives, we experience a certain amount of temptation willy nilly. No point exposing ourselves to too many stimuli.
Although, it is also true that the absence of any temptation renders one self-righteous and false. And that is why I shall endeavor to keep those jars of Spanish Apricots in Juice in the staircase. A little temptation never hurt anyone trying to do right by oneself.
Götterdämmerung 