On Temptation
Above almost all others, there’s one kind of person I truly admire.
I admire those people who have a weakness, and refuse to give in to it. I admire them from a moral point of view, they’ve clearly learned well; but more than that I admire them from a personal point of view. It’s not easy to live with a temptation and never give in to it. You can ask any recovering alcoholic, ex-smoker or junkie gone clean how hard it is to live after an addiction. But many of these people live with the constant craving of an addiction they’ve never had the chance to become addicted to.
I’m talking about the paedophiles who never were, the druggies who never became addicts, the violent who never lifted a finger. These people have a deep, horrible craving and must live in constant denial of it. It must be hard, I know not just because there are so few who succeed in never giving in to temptation, but because the temptation isn’t something offered to them by the outside world. Some people can’t reject temptation at all; these people are an advertiser’s dream. Some can reject the temptation offered by the outside world, the attractive strangers with enticing smiles, or the special offer on doughnuts. Others can reject the temptation that comes from within, and these people I find incredible.
They live not only in constant denial of the one thing they truly want, which is hard enough, but they do it while hating the part of themselves where that thing comes from.
It’s pretty hard to go through life denying yourself what you know you really want, and hating yourself all the while.
So here’s to the resisters of temptation, may we all have their strength.