When I was just a little boy, I remember my Grandfather had diabetes. My mother explained that he couldn’t eat products with a lot of sugar. This would affect him negatively.
It didn’t make much sense to my five year old mind. From my perspective, candy was good. It made me feel good, and it tasted good and it also looked very good. What could be bad at all?
As I grew, I have learned about the danger of jelly beans and other objects that claim to be “beans.”
However, from time to time, I’ll have a jelly bean and then a hundred. And after wards, I’d feel bad, then have a sugar crash, become bloated and then end up eating more jelly beans with the rationalization that I already messed up. Dangerous cycle.
The real question is what happened? How could it be that’s something that once represented joy and happiness turn into something to “stay away from?”
The magic words: Heightened Awareness.
As I grew, it felt good to truly feel good i.e. healthy and energetic and bad to feel very bad i.e. overweight and lazy.
So of course what’s the lesson?
I have not met a perfect man i.e there are many of us still caught up in the dark side of life. Still trying to break out of whichever pit we’re digging in, no matter how wide or deep. And yet, we know, this isn’t where we want to be.
Good, next step. Where do we want to be?
In a place where we are utilizing ourselves completely.
It says the reward for a mitzvah is another mitzvah. Take a few minutes and think. A mitzvah allows you to utilize your full potential. An avera takes away that potential.
There is no greater pain than the loss of something that could have been.
So, rather than digging in a whole of jelly beans begin to eat actual beans that are actually good for you.
You’ll feel better.
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