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Selling Your Soul for a Soup Bowl

Monday, 7th of November 2022

Yesterday, I heard a very sad story of a senior manager from a reputed company who was planning to divorce his beloved wife, who was with him when he was no one. He began running after a beautiful girl in the office just for the sake of feeding two aspects, his ego, and his sexual pleasure. Illicit sexual pleasure is just like a bowl of soup, it becomes empty the moment one attains the pleasure of it. It is indeed sad to see many people selling their souls just so that they could acquire something which is equal to a bowl of soup. We, humans, come to this world with many weaknesses, if not a little child would not yell in jealousy when his mom loves another kid, he will not cry when another child touches his toys.

The weaknesses that are parceled in us are within us. Since I was a child I had a tendency to lose my temper very easily, apparently, my mom has a fiery temperament that makes her angry. Likewise, there are certain weaknesses such as sensitivity, anger, jealousy, pride, ego, and selfishness that we inherit from our DNA. They are in the form of a seed when we come out of our mother’s womb, if we continue to nourish them by grooming them, they will grow into bigger trees that can take control over our lives. Our weaknesses can be compared to the bitter sauce, the more you add the bitter sauce into the recipe of life, your entire life will start tasting horrible. On the flip side, there are things we have not inherited from our bloodlines such as illicit sexual pleasure, drugs, alcohol, gambling, popularity, and other similar aspects that we have purposefully purchased with our full consciousness at the expense of real joy.

The good news is even though you inherit or purchase weaknesses you could always change them if you possess an unwavering decision coupled with constant commitment. The saddest part is that some just like the senior manager I mentioned earlier sell their soul just for a bowl of soup. The love he experienced over the years from his wife was simply sold out to attain five minutes of sexual pleasure. Illicit pleasure achieved will make you feel miserable to death. Your soul is like a business collaboration, once you get into a partnership you are obliged to adhere to the decisions of the party which has higher authority.

I know of an entrepreneur who had a successful business yet out of greediness he opened his gates to a cunning investor who took 70% of control over his business leaving only 30% to the original owner who shed his sweat and blood to build up the brand. We, as parents ought to keep a close eye on our children as pornography is also like a killer investor who would one day take control of your children above beautiful family life. The aforementioned manager simply sold his beautiful family life and the smiles of two innocent children to attain sexual pleasure which was planted as a little seed within him that eventually grew into a large force that took complete control over him. He sold his precious soul for a bowl of soup.

We need to have a clear understanding that we are born with a nature of running on a hedonic treadmill, our senses keep on craving for extended pleasure. Just as we fence or build a parapet wall around our houses, we need to draw a boundary line on the pleasures that could destruct us if they are exceeded. Do we walk on areas that have a clear notice stating that it has claymore bombs? Likewise, we need to shoot brain alarming thoughts to our brains to witness what would happen if we stress pass those indicators. In order to evaluate this, first and foremost you need to identify your weaknesses.

Therefore, it is essential to be self-focused rather than focusing on others. We live in a culture of blaming, as our focus is always on the world and not on ourselves. I have come a long way in comparison to who I was twenty years ago. Yet, I possess my own weaknesses which I am constantly working on. The wisest method of avoiding temptation is by not tickling them and testing yourself with those temptations. The wise would flee away from temptations whereas the folly would attempt to test themselves. How many times have we fallen prey to temptations just because of our foolish overconfidence that we test ourselves with those juicy temptations? I do not know about you, but as for me, I have met with severe life accidents that have resulted in unbearable wounds as a result of my foolishness in testing my temptations.

Even in my second chapter in life, there were many times I slipped but I made sure not to fall as I was always well aware of where I must draw the borders of my pleasures. Therefore, gain full control over your mind by constantly practicing what is right. You cannot master a flying kick merely by watching the same movie repetitively, you will master it only by kicking a thousand times. If the doctor says that alcohol is not good for you do not be a fool to try it even once after being sober for six months. Even though you fool your conscious mind with a strong rationale, you cannot fool your subconscious which knows the temporary pleasures of alcohol.

That is the reason I advise youngsters who have overcome their addiction to drugs never to even attempt smoking a cigarette. The moment you expose yourself to the slightest pleasure your brain will pull you through the hedonic treadmill until it reaches the utmost pleasure that was once known to the brain. Even though we like to call ourselves rational and wise, to be honest, if we see our shopping cart on a day we are with a full pocket it would clearly depict who we are. We are overloaded with emotional decisions. The best form of analyzing yourself is to see what you buy on a day when you have a lot of money in your hand.

We do things that are clearly known to be unfit, we do not do things that are good to do. If we do what is right, there would not be a sale of over twenty million a month for instant noodle packets in Sri Lanka. We clearly know that they are not good for us or our children. I have seen supreme pundits who talk so badly on certain aspects yet they do the same secretively. This is what is called training yourself in the corruptive academy of self-deception. You have deceived yourself to an extent where you keep doing the wrong thing even after knowing what the right thing is.

Educate your child to treasure their values so they do not sell their souls in exchange for a bowl of soup. Many years ago I pawned all my gold and smacked heroin. This is exactly what many are attempting to do in their lives today. They sell their precious souls, cherished relationships, long-term goals and dreams, grateful spirits, honesty, and sincerity just to obtain the five-minute pleasure of a bowl of soup. Get over your blindness unless you are certain to lose immeasurably than the taste you will gain from an illicit bowl of soup.

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