If you are
who Ulysses is, its a Greek legend of a guy who wanted to listen to the sound
of the sirens singing. The sirens were mythical women who lived in the sea whose singing was so
beautiful that sailors would hear them and drown themselves in pursuit of them. So Ulysses had his
ship's crew tie him to the mast of the ship so that he could hear their singing without being drowned.
So by metaphor, I want to taste of all the real pleasures of life, no matter how dangerous they might be,
believing that I will be able to out-wit the danger. So smoking is something like the singing of sirens.
Yes, it may kill you, but only if you do not think on it carefully. The occasional smoke is actually fairly
enjoyable, and its only if you have an addictive personality that it is problematic. In fact I even read
somewhere (unsure of its validity mind-you) that people who have smoked and then quit have a
lesser chance of contracting psychological problems and even brain-disorders like Parkinson's disease.
This makes sense because people who have the willpower to resist the siren's song, and also the will
to experience the pleasure of it, may just have, or develop, a disposition that is more adaptable and
better at exercising dietary limits due to simply having a stronger will. Sugar addiction is probably
the most under-rated danger in health. This is likely the cause of many problems like Alzheimer's.
So being able to indulge and give up is highly beneficial to limiting potentially toxic junk food.
After all, nothing is dangerous if the dose is small enough, and anything that is healthy can be
dangerous in large enough doses.
Its also about understanding how addiction occurs. The body gives craving to anything it is used to,
so if you develop the ability to willfully ignore those cravings, then eventually they go away. This is
regardless of what substance we are considering. Even behavior like sex works this way. The trick
is to just focus the relevant psychological energy on something else each time you get a craving.
Swimming in the sea, chewing gum, playing a video game or musical instrument. The trick is to
find things to do that are interesting. After all, addiction really is just a habit caused by boredom.
The mind needs to explore and make things interesting for itself. The first step in any endeavor
is the most difficult; and fully appreciating that, is the key to any such accomplishment.