Blog Dis
Too irresistible to resist...
2025-04-03
I've no issues whatsoever resisting the temptation to use instant messaging. But often what I think I want to do, and what I think I need to do, will paint a portrait of two different paths. Take for example, the instant messaging app with Facebook, which my extended family will use, and which I've used to place a VOIP call from another country, to someone at home, without having to shell out long-distance charges on my data plan. The app is handy, as it is to place video calls.
Then there is Microsoft TEAMS chat messaging, which has been adopted by many corporations that utilize the full MS platform: Edge browser, Outlook 365 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and the like, and this instant messaging platform is a gargantuan pain in the a** given that while you work, you are bombarded with emails (in excess of 150+ for me daily), as well as TEAMS chat messages that come in constantly. If I was given a choice from the outset, I'd have responded with, "I don't think so, my friend!"
We text all the time. We text to family, to our lovers, to our friends, and engage in online chatting, instant messaging (WhatsAPP) and so on, all the while not realizing that these methods of communication are less about communicating and more about drawing from our precious reserve of time which is parceled out now by the second. Honestly, I've zero issues with resisting the temptation to add even more APPs on my mobile to be able to communicate with more persons. I've toggled off receiving notifications from X, FB, IG, FB Messenger, and maybe Gmail is the one exception.
Where does it end? How many temptations are there?
Resisting temptations hasn't always been my forte. In the past, I was adventurous, which is a polite way of saying that I was willingly weak in character. I was prone to indulging in illicit things, dating back to the days of experimenting happily w/ various kinds of stimulants, allowing me to crash rock concerts and the like, which was all the rage in the late 70s. You'd think that as I aged, I'd have grappled with these demons and put them finally to bed once and for all. Not so, my wayward readers. Temptations are just that, a terrible temptation that leaves you with the impression if I don't give in, I'll go throughout my day, chiding myself for having missed out on the opportunity.
As one of my favourite writers said, "I can resist all things but temptation..." Oscar Wilde, an Irish writer who died in 1900, was a renowned genius, known for his cynicism and wit. He had a special knack for getting to the heart of matters, on any subject really, be it marriage, divorce, love, hate or you name it, but he was particularly adept at discussing temptation.
Eve never wanted to resist the temptation of eating that juicy, plump round red apple and look where it got her? Exiled from the Garden of Eden with her penis-toting pal Adam, looking blankly on like it was the right and only thing to do. So it all started with the apple hanging from the Tree of Knowledge [of good and evil]; not to be confused with the Tree of Life. An apple looks good, and in fact looks phucking awesome, so why should Eve resist taking one tiny bite?
From the very beginning, our desire has never really been held in check and we have, as a species, given in to our many temptations. I can't blame the human species, any more than I'd point the finger at myself. Eventually we all die and our bones whither to nothing so why resist those things that beg not to be resisted? You have your list and I've mine. Mine, of course, as you know, includes dark chocolate. I gave up psychedelic drugs some three decades ago, to include imbibing to the point of getting myself into trouble. Now, I set my sights on temptations that are simple and generally easily accessible without having to put my personal freedom in jeopardy. Am I a better person for this? Ask me on my deathbed.
For lunch, I often indulge in one of my favourite foods - a hamburger, my hamburger, made from scratch, rather than the fast-food variety of hamburger that isn't real and is loaded with fats. This is but one example where I give myself permission to indulge in a temptation without paying a crazy high price.
And, it might interest you to know that some female scholars are of the opinion that Eve was a progressive woman, a contemporary thinker. She chose to bite the apple because she could, or maybe because she didn't want to resist temptation. We'll never know the truth behind this story, because the story isn't real, yet the mythology persists, I believe, because it portrays Eve as a villain of sorts, while Adam is a divine creation of God. Or, you could blame it on the snake who sweet-talked Eve into biting the apple and, once the bite was taken, the punishment came in the form of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. Adam would forever have to forage and fight to feed himself and Eve, and Eve was punished with a monthly menstrual cycle that delivered pain. When is life fair?
You may interpret the morale of this story to coincide with your own views, as you should, because I don't feel qualified to tell anyone how to live their life. I can only speak from the perspective of my life because there are days when I make it up as I go along, and other days when I avoid any and all temptations, though I never feel the better person for it.
I love eating apples, and I eat them at least five days a week, only now I buy exclusively the organic variety. If I eat the non-organic variety my hands goes numb. And isn't this just the most interesting twist, that there's a continuing and lingering form of punishment for eating an apple? Perhaps this is why apples are very much still in style.
Then there is Microsoft TEAMS chat messaging, which has been adopted by many corporations that utilize the full MS platform: Edge browser, Outlook 365 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and the like, and this instant messaging platform is a gargantuan pain in the a** given that while you work, you are bombarded with emails (in excess of 150+ for me daily), as well as TEAMS chat messages that come in constantly. If I was given a choice from the outset, I'd have responded with, "I don't think so, my friend!"
We text all the time. We text to family, to our lovers, to our friends, and engage in online chatting, instant messaging (WhatsAPP) and so on, all the while not realizing that these methods of communication are less about communicating and more about drawing from our precious reserve of time which is parceled out now by the second. Honestly, I've zero issues with resisting the temptation to add even more APPs on my mobile to be able to communicate with more persons. I've toggled off receiving notifications from X, FB, IG, FB Messenger, and maybe Gmail is the one exception.
Where does it end? How many temptations are there?
Resisting temptations hasn't always been my forte. In the past, I was adventurous, which is a polite way of saying that I was willingly weak in character. I was prone to indulging in illicit things, dating back to the days of experimenting happily w/ various kinds of stimulants, allowing me to crash rock concerts and the like, which was all the rage in the late 70s. You'd think that as I aged, I'd have grappled with these demons and put them finally to bed once and for all. Not so, my wayward readers. Temptations are just that, a terrible temptation that leaves you with the impression if I don't give in, I'll go throughout my day, chiding myself for having missed out on the opportunity.
As one of my favourite writers said, "I can resist all things but temptation..." Oscar Wilde, an Irish writer who died in 1900, was a renowned genius, known for his cynicism and wit. He had a special knack for getting to the heart of matters, on any subject really, be it marriage, divorce, love, hate or you name it, but he was particularly adept at discussing temptation.
Eve never wanted to resist the temptation of eating that juicy, plump round red apple and look where it got her? Exiled from the Garden of Eden with her penis-toting pal Adam, looking blankly on like it was the right and only thing to do. So it all started with the apple hanging from the Tree of Knowledge [of good and evil]; not to be confused with the Tree of Life. An apple looks good, and in fact looks phucking awesome, so why should Eve resist taking one tiny bite?
From the very beginning, our desire has never really been held in check and we have, as a species, given in to our many temptations. I can't blame the human species, any more than I'd point the finger at myself. Eventually we all die and our bones whither to nothing so why resist those things that beg not to be resisted? You have your list and I've mine. Mine, of course, as you know, includes dark chocolate. I gave up psychedelic drugs some three decades ago, to include imbibing to the point of getting myself into trouble. Now, I set my sights on temptations that are simple and generally easily accessible without having to put my personal freedom in jeopardy. Am I a better person for this? Ask me on my deathbed.
For lunch, I often indulge in one of my favourite foods - a hamburger, my hamburger, made from scratch, rather than the fast-food variety of hamburger that isn't real and is loaded with fats. This is but one example where I give myself permission to indulge in a temptation without paying a crazy high price.
And, it might interest you to know that some female scholars are of the opinion that Eve was a progressive woman, a contemporary thinker. She chose to bite the apple because she could, or maybe because she didn't want to resist temptation. We'll never know the truth behind this story, because the story isn't real, yet the mythology persists, I believe, because it portrays Eve as a villain of sorts, while Adam is a divine creation of God. Or, you could blame it on the snake who sweet-talked Eve into biting the apple and, once the bite was taken, the punishment came in the form of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. Adam would forever have to forage and fight to feed himself and Eve, and Eve was punished with a monthly menstrual cycle that delivered pain. When is life fair?
You may interpret the morale of this story to coincide with your own views, as you should, because I don't feel qualified to tell anyone how to live their life. I can only speak from the perspective of my life because there are days when I make it up as I go along, and other days when I avoid any and all temptations, though I never feel the better person for it.
I love eating apples, and I eat them at least five days a week, only now I buy exclusively the organic variety. If I eat the non-organic variety my hands goes numb. And isn't this just the most interesting twist, that there's a continuing and lingering form of punishment for eating an apple? Perhaps this is why apples are very much still in style.
