Indulgence: Essays by readers
We gave our readers a one-word writing prompt: “indulgence.”
In response to our request for essays on indulgence, we received many compelling reflections. Below is a selection. The next two topics for reader submissions are call and promise—read more.
One look at me will tell you that I love my indulgences. Ice cream, cookies, caramel, chocolate: these are a few of my favorite things. I carry my extra pounds fairly well, but both my doctor and I know that it’s not good for me in the long run. I must consider giving up my indulgences. Sigh.
My indulgences aren’t without their reasons. For too much of my life, I was altogether too good at delayed gratification. Long hours of hard study and very little play, long years of scrimping and saving, depriving myself of wanted pleasures—these sacrifices gave me the possibility of indulging now. Now in my autumn years, I am letting myself have some immediate gratifications, even to my long-term detriment. I give generously to others, but I also try to break the habit of never spending on myself. I do not live to eat, but I also do not deprive myself. I eat!
