"Do you know they remove rust with that thing?", my colleague says incredulously
"So what, at least my insides will be rust-free. Rust is not a good thing you know?", was my flippant reply.
The topic under discussion was Diet Coke which my colleague couldn't believe that I even touched. An intelligent, sensible guy like me? Drinking Diet Coke? Ugh! That was the gist of his reaction.
And this same guy doesn't count 2 beers as drinking, actually he just doesn't like to count when he's drinking. I wondered what they remove with that!
The point I am trying to make is that none of us is free from addiction, though we do have our own choices and we think that those are okay while the rest of the world has gone mad.
Now that I have given up Diet Coke and all other sources of caffeine, (mostly because of my biphasic sleep) I don't understand how people can have those big glasses of strong coffee! And I have always wondered about how can people smoke when there is a clear warning right on the pack! Even some doctors smoke! I mean, come on!
But I still eat sugar, love ice cream and oh chocolate..mmm, don't even ask me about chocolates! I don't drink alcohol at all and try not to judge the people who do drink.
The funny thing in all this is that while we all have our sinful addictions, we don't usually give them a second thought and are very quick to judge others who are also human like us.
Reminds me of an old joke,
A political leader is delivering a speech in a college and he says: "...so my dear students, you must resolve to stay pure and serve your country...repeat after me, you will not drink and smoke."
Students repeat: "We don't drink and smoke."
Leader: "Repeat after me, you will not gamble."
Students: "We will not gamble."
Leader: "You will not chase girls."
Student: "We will not chase girls."
Leader: "And you will give you life for your country."
One student: "Sure why not, what's left to live for anyway."
The whole point is that we need to find a balance between an addiction-riddled life and a meaningless existence. I am sure we are smart enough to figure out a way to enjoy life without ruining it completely with our weaknesses.
Think about it, having an icecream once a weak could be something you could live with but how can you tell your teenage son to not smoke when you smoke a packet a day?
There are harmless (less harmful) alternatives available for most of the common addictions these days, caffeine-free drinks, menthol cigarettes, non-alcoholic beverages...everything is there, but somehow because it's not sinful, it doesn't taste so good. I think we are tempted not by the actual product but its allure as a guilty pleasure.
Enough lecturing, let's finish with a sher:
ए शेख न कर इस तरह रिन्दों को नसीहत
सब नेक बनेंगे तो खता कौन करेगा?
हम तेरे मिटाने से तो मिट जायेंगे लेकिन,
फिर तेरी अदाओं पे मिटा कौन करेगा?
शेख is teetotaller, रिंद is a kind of bad guy, addict, नसीहत of course, means advice.
The second sher has nothing to do with addiction but is one my favourite sher and belongs to the same ghazal so why not. :)
4 comments:
yes, you are right. There needs to be a balance between 'addiction riddled life' and 'meaningless existence'.
I drink a lot of coke and eat ice creams too. :)
I have actually made both as my guilty pleasure...I have diet coke once in a while especially if I go out and ice cream..well if I go for a run I feel justified in having an ice cream of icecream milkshake. :)
Have you tried caffeine free diet coke?
It tastes the same and also removes rust from your insides just like the caffeine version. But at least it's without the caffeine!
Hi Ana, since you posted that comment I have tried the caffeine free diet coke. I like it. It tastes the same but yes, still strong like the normal rust-removing stuff so I ration it the same.
But I have to say it feels good to be bad sometimes. And since I can get that feeling just by drinking Diet Coke, I save money on alcohol. :)
Post a Comment