The Travails of Chocolate

Today's post is all about one of the greatest joys of my life that is also one of the banes of my existence. Of course, I am talking about that sweetest temptation, that greatest of culinary siren songs, chocolate. Now, I know there are some, like my childhood best friend Lily and my close friend Betty, who could turn a cold shoulder to this delectable treat. However, for me, enjoying a huge, multi-layered, fudgy, icing-filled piece of chocolaty wonder is about as good as it gets. In fact, watching food network challenges involving chocolate sculpture can send me into waves of ecstacy. So, one might ask, if you love it so much, why call it a bane of your existence? Ahhh, that's the question and the conundrum of life. Anything as wonderous as chocolate has to have a down side. That down side is sugar, which, when eaten in bulk (and I mean a gluttonous journey involving cookies, peanut butter cups, hershey kisses, etc.), leads to many health complications not to mention the amount of cellulite created. Chocolate is the reason I am in Weight Watchers.
You may be asking yourself what this commentary on one of my favorites of God's creation has to do with self-evolution? Well, that's just it. Part of what holds us back from realizing our best selves is the bad habits in which we engage. For me, the bad habit is overindulging in the "sugariness" of it all. For others, it could be smoking, drinking, not exercising, shopping too much, etc. One thing I have had to do is not have chocolate in the house and only let myself indulge a little. If I cross the line just a little bit, I can set off a fire-storm of chocolate consumption the likes of which Hersheys, Nestles, Girardellis have never seen. It also emphasizes my need to learn how to treat myself in non-caloric ways.
Self-nurturing is a huge part of self-evolution and leads to greater resilience. What makes something self-nurturing is completely dependent on the individual. For me, reading, writing, drawing, and listening to music are some of the healthy self-nurturing activities that I enjoy. It is not a perfect system; however. Last night, I ravaged a giant Hershey Bar and hid the remnants in the freezer (so John, my boyfriend, would not know). I just finished said remnants right before I wrote this post. That's ok, though, because I do not believe in the concept of perfection. But that is for discussion on another day.