Give it up!

Surrender
your addiction to sugar.
2% might be worth it;
the rest is not.
You have given yourself
over to an infatuation,
been duped that there was
content or satisfaction there,
and have unwittingly
become dependent
on hollow and salacious promises.
It is obscuring who you are.
You have unwittingly become
enslaved and must free yourself,
because bondage is not
your legitimate state.
Liberty however,
is your inalienable right.
Grab hold of it!

What matters most
must not be at the mercy
of what matters least.
Begin with the end in mind.
Fight for what matters most
and what you want in the end.

Focus on your ultimate ideals
regardless of a poisonous culture
that forces counterfeit sweetness,
hidden and brazen, at every turn.

What is truly sweet?
Purity, which is not complicit
with corporate manipulation,
corruption, and greed.
Self-immolation, which honors
obedience to a higher Truth.
Freedom, ushered in and embraced
by temperance and compassion,
with loyalty to
life and love itself,
instead of material substance.
These are exempt from penalty,
are never toxic, and always
lead to thriving.

Do you have what it takes?
You already include
everything you need.
You are sweetness itself, complete,
with no need of more sweetening!
So don’t get enticed,
lured, or tempted.
Give it up!
Until you can have it
only that 2% of the time,
while minding the dangerously
slippery slope,
that got you where you are.
Don’t return there.
Be devoted instead to meaning,
wonder, and magnificence.

by Polly Castor
8/9/24

(There are lots of reasons that sugar isn’t worth the price, culturally, physically, spiritually, and environmentally. And we all have different ideas of sugar that is “worth it.” These photos are a few of mine. However, they will become very rare, pinnacle indulgences for me. For now, I’m accepting a realistically broad definition of sugar, cutting out all grain, potatoes, corn, most fruits, and yes sugar, or anything that ends in -ose. So meanwhile, even a piece of sprouted bread, or a pear, will be considered a sugary indulgence to be savored seldom. Alas, right before I go on a bunch of vacations! But it is always a good time to behave as you should.)