This week I bought a 100 gram block of chocolate. The woman
at the checkout asked why I didn’t buy the bigger block because it was on sale
for the same price. I had considered it, but the simple answer was because I am trying to shed the
post-baby weight, and I didn’t want to eat that much chocolate. I was capable
of making the rational decision at the supermarket not to eat that much, but I
knew if I bought the bigger block and took it home, I’d eat the lot. Once I
tasted that sweet, sweet chocolate I knew my self-control would go out the
window.
Two days later, listening to a country song about broken
vows, I had an epiphany.
People often say to me there’s no harm in looking at members
of the opposite sex when you’re in a committed relationship. There are various
expressions around, like it’s OK to look over the menu as long as you don’t
order something.
My take on that has always been it’s a pointless exercise. I
wouldn’t sit and look at a piece of chocolate I had no intention of eating, so
why look at a man I have no intention of… ahem.
Perhaps more to the point, if I was looking at a
piece of chocolate, I’d more than likely eat it.
If I’m tempted, I need to exercise self-control to make the
right decision, self-control which is inevitably influenced by emotions (and
probably hormones), mood, the day I’ve had, and any other number of factors. If
I’m not tempted, then the question doesn’t ever arise.
So maybe, for some people, there is harm in looking.
Or not.
What would I know? I’m philosophising about chocolate.
 |
| Give me a block of chocolate, and that'd be me |
