“If one oversteps the bounds of moderation,
the greatest pleasures cease to please.”
Epictetus
Moderation, temperance, why are these things so hard? We know
if we drink too much, we pay the price with a hangover. Too much
pleasure leads to pain and guilt. A few hours of “fun” leads to hours
of suffering and guilty feelings. Same when we eat too much or the
wrong foods or do something that we know is wrong or contrary to our
values. Just like sometimes the best way to make money is not to lose
it, the best way to stay healthy, happy, and feel good about ourselves
is not to go overboard on our indulgences and desires. Just like pain
is temporary, pleasure is temporary too. Some are OK, but it’s easy to
push a little too far and get out of control. The key may be not to start,
to begin with and take a different path. We should always be mindful
of temperance and moderation. Too much of a “good” thing turns out
to be a “bad” thing. Celebrate, have fun, be merry, but be aware and
mindful of enough is enough. We have choices we can control, but it
gets tougher to stop the further down the path we are.
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