Food-for-Thought: The Mystery of Seduction

Look at you.

You saw that title and you just had to read.

Get your mind out the gutter.

This post is about seduction. But ain't nobody trying to snatch your panties off over in these parts, honey. And ain't no tips on how to seduce your man. NERP.

This is a seduction of a different type. Something more subtle. A post I snatched, like I like to do from time to time, from the Original Oldgirl Lovebabz. She like to bust out her Original Oldgirl Platinum Plus card and use that sucka.

And she did it here.

Enjoy. Parts that left me thinking are highlighted by me in red... and you know I have a super duper LONG commentary and thoughts on the subject matter. You don't have to read that part. That part is for me.

So enjoy... and ponder.

Saturday, April 30, 2011
THE SEDUCTION OF WANTING MORE....
by LoveBabz

I have all that I need at this point in my life. But, I want more! Now here's where it gets tricky....the wanting more. What is wanting more? and what do I mean when I say I want more?

Do I want more love? Money? Free Time? Prosperity? Great Friends? What is the wanting more? I believe I waxed poetic about this a long time ago, and now I am revisiting it. I hear myself saying all the time I just want more. And honestly I can't really explain what the more is.

Maybe it's not that I want more, but perhaps there is a balance and sense of peace that I am after. Maybe it's wanting what I already have and moving my mind to embrace that thinking. What is wanting more? and what do I want more of ? Am I really mindless in my declarations of wanting more? Am I saying that by having more is a sign of success? Does having more give me the security I so desperately want?

I am easily seduced by the worldly messages of Get More, Have More, Want More, More More More!. The more I want the less I think I have. This train of thought keeps me rooted in lack. As long as I see myself with less and the desire for more grows, I remain trapped in a cycle of dis-ease, chaos, worry, over indulgence, greed and selfishness. I am not being overly critical, just standing in my truth. And in standing in truth you got to turn over and put down all the lies that keep you mired in madness, unhappiness, depression and mess. I find myself measuring my happiness by the things I have and acquired. That is a false sense of peace and pride. I know it...or at least I am learning it.

Overcoming the seduction of wanting more will require me to pay closer attention to my heart and mind. To be more conscious of what I say and how I speak it in prayers and everyday conversations. If there is more to be had, then I have to redefine that from a grounded spiritual, loving and God focused place. If there is more for me, then it has to be used for the greater good of serving and not just receiving for the sake of having more.

I am thinking and feeling my way forward. My birthday is coming and the kind of woman I want to be is right there on the horizon. I am walking toward her.


LadyLee's commentary.

Man oh man... I tell you. I sure would like to sit down with Babz and talk about life over a good cup of coffee. She's like a treasure chest of wisdom. I'd love to pick her brain on a few things.

That Oldgirl KNOW she be dropping some knowledge. She know she knows how to make me ponder... and wonder.

And here she go with a most poignant post.

You know, there's a lot going on in that post. Not only does she fully examine the problem at hand, but she puts forth a most viable solution. And if you can't discern what she's saying... man oh man, you missing something extra special.

I'm going through a time right now where my spirit is firecracker active. Don't know how to explain that, and I won't explain that here. Certain situations bring up scripture in my spirit. (It gets a bit annoying at times, lol). But when I read that post, one verse immediately came to mind. I went and looked it up with the quickness. It was I John 2:16. I read several versions of it, and the Amplified version seems to ring strongest for me.

For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

Whenever I see "the world" in the Bible, I always like to replace that with "society". Just me. Helps me understand it better.

And another related verse comes up... one which seems to be indirectly connected to the verse above, and one that I just can't get away from. It's not my favorite verse, but it is one that I remember. Proverbs 4:23... And I've posted several versions of it so you can understand the full scope of it.

Proverbs 4:23 AMP Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 NCV Be careful what you think,because your thoughts run your life.

Proverbs 4:23 CEV Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.

Proverbs 4:23 GNT Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it.

Interesting...

And here comes my girl Lovebabz, with her own personal treatment and thoughts on seduction.

Now when I think of seduction, one thing immediately comes to mind: getting lured into some sex.

Oh yeah. I've been trapped quite a few times. Done got to fighting with my man. Messed around and left something at his house and gotta go get it. Then end up getting talked out of my panties. Then having to look for my panties...much later.

(CowgirlCre had preached the "one carload rule" to me numerous times. If you fight with a man, you want all your stuff to fit in one carload, so you don't have to come back for NOTHING - no furniture, no clothes, nothing!)

Yes, I was seduced. And I've done some seducing my ownself.

LOL.

When I think of seduction, I think of that.

But this is different.

I'm not the most learned oldgirl in the world... so I went and looked up the word seduction.

Seduction: the act of being led astray, as from duty, rectitude, or the like; the act of being corrupted; the act of being persuaded or induced into having sexual intercourse; the act of being led or drawn away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance.

Seduction means a lot of things.

And when reading Babz' post and thoughts, I'm drawn to the meaning of seduction meaning "the act of bieng led or drawn away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance."

And I'd like to add to that, seduction can be defined as the act of being led away from thinking soberly.

I live in a society where everything is very fast, very cool, and I gotta have it right now! I better be running with the crowd real good if I want to fit in. I better be doing what the crowd do, in total agreement from start to finish. Now I'm taking alllll this in, watching it, seeing it, doing it, speaking it, etc...

In effect, I have been seduced... subtley. Almost without me even realizing it.

No wonder it starts to affect my thought life, my thoughts about myself, and I get confused and not well grounded in discerning what I really want or need out of life to be truly happy.

Just looking at I John 2:16, my world encompasses what I see in other translations of the verse:

CEV Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father.

NLT For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.

Can't say I like that. But it's true. Look at everything that's on TV. Listen to our popular music (highly sexualized indeed!), and how we gotta keep up with the Jones' because they got more than we got... And all this pride we take in what we have, in our degrees and all that.

"Stop preaching, LadyLee," you holler.

Ain't nobody preaching. I aint' the most religious Oldgirl in the world (you know I don't really care for religiosity and legalism). I do and have done much of the same thing you do. I'm getting older now, and the older I get, the more I ask myself the questions that LoveBabz is asking of her ownself...

And certain questions aren't ones you ask yourself when you got your hands raised in the sanctuary, doing the *church shouts*. Looking all good, all smiles!

But certain questions you ask when you are alone with your thoughts, late in the midnight hour, when it's just you and the darkness... when there are no "hallelujahs", no church shouts, and you and I are being our true selves... who we are when no one is looking...

"I have all that I need at this point in my life. But, I want more! Now here's where it gets tricky....the wanting more. What is wanting more? and what do I mean when I say I want more?...What is the wanting more?...Does having more give me the security I so desperately want?
"

I myself have asked myself these questions, because like Babz, I understand that I have been seduced... as she says "by the worldly messages of Get More, Have More, Want More, More More More!"

Where does it always get me? Still wanting more.

And never satisfied.

Get More, Have More, Want More, More, More, More!!

Sets up a vicious neverending cycle, much like a mouse running on a running wheel... getting nowhere fast.

Now there's nothing wrong with wanting more. As long as it's coming from a good place. When I see myself as always not having enough, not being satisfied and thankful for where I'm at and not being mindful of how far I've come, that's where the problem starts... that's when I start to believe lies, and lack begins to take root in me...

And the fruit of such is produced... as Babz says above: madness, unhappiness, depression and mess.

And that ain't good.

And so an interesting solution has been brought forth by Babz. And she is confirming something that I have been thinking and praying about. She's definitely confirming a few of the answers I've gotten in my own prayers concerning this type of thing.

1. Pay closer attention to my heart and mind
2. To be more conscious of what I say and how I speak it in prayers and everyday conversations
3. Redefine my wants and needs from a grounded spiritual, loving and God focused place.
4. Use what I obtain for the greater good of serving and not just receiving for the sake of having more.

Man... If I can wrap my mind around those 4 steps right there... I'd be something special.

Better yet, I'd have something special.

Personal peace.

A sense of purpose.

Rest.

Thanks Lovebabz. You were talking to yourself, but you sure do know how to talk to this Oldgirl through your words.