This Friday's link up challenge: Gluttony - Eating and Drinking to Excess.
My first reaction? No thanks, I don't want to write about that. But after diving into the concept a little deeper, I decided I could do something with this.
My interest was piqued after reading the trusty Wikipedia history on the term. It made me think about gluttony in a whole new way. It expanded the concept of gluttony to include five variations.
1. Eating before the time of meals in order to satisfy the palate.
- 2. Seeking delicacies and better quality of food to gratify the "vile sense of taste."
- 3. Seeking after sauces and seasonings for the enjoyment of the palate.
- 4. Exceeding the necessary amount of food.
- 5. Taking food with too much eagerness, even when eating the proper amount, and even if the food is not luxurious.
- The fifth way is worse than all others, said St. Gregory, because it shows attachment to pleasure most clearly.
And of course, the definitions instantly translated into sexual terms for me as I was reading them. In my mind, I have combined gluttony and sex because to me, the intentions between the two are nearly identical. And I am all about intentions. And I also see a clear distinction between sex and lust but that is for a different post.
Let me explain the gluttony/sex thing. To translate the 5 specifications of gluttony into sex terms was almost too easy.
Gluttony: 1. Eating before the time of meals in order to satisfy the palate.
Sex: Having sex simply because you want to, not because it is the appropriate time in the relationship to do so
Gluttony: 2. Seeking delicacies and better quality of food to gratify the "vile sense of taste."
Sex: Always feeling the need to look for someone other than who you are with because of a sense of missing out sexually by being with one person
Gluttony: 3. Seeking after sauces and seasonings for the enjoyment of the palate.
Sex: Needing to constantly push boundaries, sometimes unhealthy ones, in the name of seeking greater pleasure
Gluttony: 4. Exceeding the necessary amount of food
Sex: Having sex almost compulsively, or being fixated on the "more" as opposed to the "enough"
Gluttony: 5. Taking food with too much eagerness, even when eating the proper amount, and even if the food is not luxurious.
Sex: Being needy and using sex to fill that need even if no other aspects of your needs are being fulfilled by it
And like it was stated that #5 was the "worst" in relation to gluttony, I also think that #5 is the "worst" in relation to sex because you are eagerly consuming something that provides no pleasure for the sake of having it.
I'm not sure if that was exactly what they were after when asking us to take on Gluttony, but I never have been one to follow rules. Plus, most everything I write comes back to what I know and right now, it just is what it is.
