Choose Your Poison

poi·son

NOUN

poisons (plural noun)

1. a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed.

VERB

poisons (third person present) · poisoned (past tense) · poisoned (past participle) · poisoning (present participle)

1. administer poison to (a person or animal), either deliberately or accidentally:

   "he tried to poison his wife"

There are seven specific poisons that our society has labeled as the "Seven Deadly Sins". And sadly we all probably suffer from one, or many, at one point in our lives or another. To each their own, I suppose... but I think that this is something that we need to reconsider as a society. No one seems to think that these Seven Deadly Sins are too much of a problem anymore. And sadly, that is getting passed onto our youth. It's terrible and a sin (no pun intended). I can honestly say that I don't know too many people in my generation that really focus much on keeping themselves out of this kind of trouble... and rather than the people around us trying to correct the issues, they turn the other cheek and try to turn it into a "teachable moment". The only problem with this is when you combine these teachable moments with the participation trophy mentality we have today, you end up with a mixed message and turn the whole concept into mush. NO, not everyone wins. NO it's not always ok. And NO there isn't anything you can do but pick your ass up, dust yourself off, and try again.

First we have Gluttony as well as Greed.... which I personally think tend to go hand in hand. These are a HUGE issue today. Nothing is free and all time is money. No one does anything just because they care anymore. Even friends charge friends for favors. There is no such thing as an IOU anymore. It's either pay me for what I'm doing in one way or another, or don't even bother to ask me at all. This is something that I have faced many times as a single parent. It was a lonely road when you are away from the small village that you do have and then you need someone to help you so that you can work in order to put a roof over your head and a food in your family's belly. But when you ask someone you thought was a friend to help out and spend just 3 or 4 hours hanging out with your already very well behaved child, but they want to know how much you'll pay them.... well, that just goes to show that some friends aren't truly friends. To top it all off, though, everyone wants more and nothing is ever enough. We want more money, more food, more time, more weekend, more vacation, more love, more, more, more, more, MORE!! People today live for more (and free) everything!

Next we have Wrath... which is extreme anger. This is also a huge issue with todays people. This is the reason we have these ridiculous far rightist and far leftist groups who insist on putting on a big show. I'm talking about the Black Lives Matter, Police Lives Matter, Pro Life, Pro Choice, Pro Trump, Pro Hillary, Anti Gun..... blah blah blah blah... These exremest attitudes lead to huge feuds that are just so out of control! They seem to view the world as a black and white only place and never entertain the idea that there are any gray areas. But you know what.... the whole world is one great big gray area. More of the population is living in those gray areas than there are people living in the black and the white areas. But you don't see the mainstream news reporting on any of that crap.... mainly because that stuff just doesn't seem appealing.

Which leads us to Pride. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins that more people suffer from than we probably realize. We have a high population of people who believe that they are right and that everyone else is wrong... again, we return to the participation trophy mentality. The problem is that the child who isn't skilled... at all... in writing was lifted up and told that he was "a great participant" in the writing competition now throws a full on grown up fit when he goes to a job interview as a professional editor but isn't good enough to get the job. NEWS FLASH... you suck. Get the hell over it. There is someone out there who is better than you, more qualified than you, and well, just a better writer/editor than you. You didn't make the cut. Here's your pat on the back and participation trophy, now get the hell out of my office. Get off you high horse, look at yourself in the mirror, and make a damn decision. Is this really your passion? If it is, you keep working harder. But if it isn't, but someone told you 12 years ago that you'd be good at it... well find out what your passion is, and work at it. Just don't be an arrogant bastard about it. BE HUMBLE!!!

Now that we addressed that, don't fall victim to Sloth... or what would be known as laziness. This is one that I myself often fall victim to... in many ways. I'm too lazy to fold the laundry, but on the flip side I end up having to work twice as hard when my coworkers are too busy and wind up passing the buck. Don't be that guy at the office. Don't be the one who throws their hands up and says "that's not my job". Because what ends up happening is some poor soul out there will end up with that work and you will get no thanks, will go unappreciated, and that is when you see people get more and more depressed. Everyone should work hard and work together. Stop trying to get out of things because it is not fun or entertaining. Get off your lazy ass and do it!

Next is Envy. Now, I think that some level of envy can actually keep a person in check, but I'm not sure you would actually call it envy. What I mean is, when you see someone with something that you want, it can give you motivation to work harder to get it. However, there is another version of envy that can lead a person down a dark path. This version is the kind of envy that makes you ignore all those great things in your life and drop them like a hot coal in order to pursue something else.... something someone else has.

This leads nicely into my least favorite of all the sins, Lust. This deadly sin destroys more people yearly than homicide. This will break people down mind, body, and soul. It will destroy you inside and out. This sin is the one that breaks the most amazing and bright people down to just a pebble in the ocean. You can lust for many things, but the most horrible form that that of human connection. It is a rare feat these days to find and maintain an honest, loving relationship. So many people walk through life with a misconception that it's ok to trade in on one quality relationship for something else... even just short term. And one day these people who chase after these temptation will wake up and realize that the one person who was the right person got tired of being walked on like a floor mat so they left for someone who cared. Have dignity people. BE with someone... don't just use them.

So we have been through all seven... now the big thing we need to realize is that we all suffer from one or many of these things at one point or another in our lives. What we need to do is make sure that we come back from it. Come back to honesty, humility, generosity, etc. Be the better person. Be bigger than these deadly sins. It's not easy. It's work... but if you wake up and look at yourself in the mirror every day and promise to work on yourself every day to improve and be better. Don't let yourself be ruled by the poison that you've chosen. Seek out the antidote and work to heal yourself.