by Fran Mascioli

Created on: March 30, 2010   Last Updated: November 23, 2011

It is a beautiful melody... a subtle, sweet song. We willingly allow our hearts to listen to the soft music. When that tune is sung in the right key, we can be persuaded to do things that we normally would not do. Sometimes our heart feels the need to hear those soothing sounds sung again and again. It is only after the pleasant lullaby finally comes to an end, we will feel such betrayal.

The voice singing that song does not matter. No, the treason was rooted deep within our own hearts. We were seduced. We allowed it. No one has violated us, for we’ve managed to violate ourselves. The naked truth is that we submitted. We did this because of a need inside of us that could not be explained. After the damage is done, and the soul searching begins, we often still cannot put a name on the need. It existed because of some action that took place in another time, with another circumstance.

Even if a devious, vicious enemy sang that beautiful, tempting song, there is no point in blaming our failures or anyone else. The only way to repair our dignity is to accept that we made the human error that every one of our fellow human beings has made: we simply trusted the untrustworthy.

Each victim of temptation has had the power to give in or run from the object desired. If you had no desire whatsoever for a certain need, product, viewpoint, place, person (just insert your last heartbreak here), it would not have been a temptation in the first place. You needed, for whatever reason, to be offered that desire. It had surfaced BECAUSE of your need. Otherwise, you would not even have heard the music. The worst insult to temptation is to simply ignore its song.

You are human. You gave in to the unthinkable and you damaged your reputation, your way of life, and perhaps ruined a wonderful friendship, marriage or career. All you can do now is walk on a new road with a new destination. This will be the convincing argument to those you’ve offended. You have changed, period. Actions will speak louder than the music you once heard.

Once you have experienced the seductive trance of that song, you can understand how others are tempted.  As for those that you’ve hurt... well, now they may be listening to some melodic music.  They may want to reject you or ... even HARM you. And you cannot blame them. For they are now listening to . . . (sigh) . . . that subtle, sweet hauntingly familiar tune.

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