The Spell Breaks the Moment You Have Her

Forbidden fruit always tastes sweeter because it carries no regulations that could make it bitter or spoil its flavour. It remains tempting precisely as long as it stays out of reach. The moment it becomes attainable, the spell breaks. Human psychology is a strange cocktail of wonder and absurdity. We want what we cannot have. And once we have it, we don't know how to treasure it. This has been true since antiquity. Religious texts and human history are littered with examples of it. And yet, until we grow old enough to introspect and wise enough to accept what that introspection reveals, we never quite learn how to value anything. Treasuring what you have demands active effort — it doesn't arrive on its own. You have to remind yourself, repeatedly, that what you hold is worth holding. Hence the necessity of constant gratitude, which itself cannot exist without contemplating its absence. It's easy to be grateful for the food on the table when you picture the one who has none. Sobering,…