Denial is For the Birds
I’m not very good at denying myself things; I can’t say no to any of my myriad compulsions. I’m a slave to them. While it’s a close race, my most powerful of cravings is my need for Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie. If the idea sneaks into my mind, the idea must be eaten. Maybe because I can’t see the point. Why shouldn’t I have what I want? Why should I try to deny myself what my base instincts so desire? What’s wrong with pleasure? I believe in pleasure. However, thanks to my Hebrew upbringing, I also believe in guilt. And where there’s guilt, there can be no pleasure. So, in defiance of my upbringing, and to see if I could deny myself something – anything – I decided to give up ice cream for lent. I almost made it too. The Wednesday before Easter Sunday, I caved. And it wasn’t like I was so craving Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie that I couldn’t live one more hour without it, it was that I couldn’t remember why I was ...