A Chocolate Cake
Moments of impulses
Once in a while, do you hear an inner voice urging you to be mischievous? These are what I call moments of impulses. Moments when you feel compelled to act “out of the normal”, without thoughts of consequences or the future.
I remember one day, on one of the weekends nearing my 21st birthday, I ate an entire chocolate cake in a single setting all by myself.
Back then, I was living in a small rented apartment in Beijing.
After lunch, I decided to cross the bridge to do some window shopping at a shopping mall nearby. As I walked past a bakery shop, I saw that they were selling cakes at a discount of 30 RMB, which was the rough equivalent of 6 SGD.
My mouth watered. I squinted my eyes and tilted my head as I pondered exactly how long ago it was that I had last tasted chocolate. I couldn’t remember.
Maybe it had to do with the thought that I was going to turn 21 soon. I felt my fingers twitch and a wave of generosity rushed over me. I then decided to treat myself and purchased the chocolate cake.
As I carried the cake in a plastic bag, crossed the bridge and strolled back to my apartment, I thought naughtily about my plan to eat the entire cake for dinner. Nobody would have to know about it.
I could already imagine my mother’s disapproval if she saw me gobbling an entire cake all by myself in a single setting. She would say, “Tsk tsk. It’s heaty! Not good for your body!”.
Brushing that thought aside, that night, I enjoyed the pleasure of filling my watering mouth with bites of the entire chocolate cake. It was sinful but pleasurable.
I believe there are many moments of such impulses in our lives.
They usually arrive unannounced and go away quietly.
As long as the impulsive acts are not harmful or wrong, I believe it’s alright for us to indulge ourselves once in a while.
So, do you have a secret wish to do something that’s different from your usual routine? It can be as simple as binge eating or just booking that flight ticket to a dream destination. It can also be buying that item, such as that hair curler, which you think may spark joy in you.
Just do it! We can’t be a goody two-shoes 👠 all the time.