A Real Boy

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise. –Niccolo Machiavelli

A year ago, my credit card statement was getting a little high. In a fit of self-anger, I immediately cut my card into tiny little pieces. Gone.  A few months down the road, and there were some financial issues I needed to deal with. I called up my company, reported the card lost and got a new one. Soon I was spending a  little here, a little there, and yesterday I looked at my card statement. Needless to say, my card is lying in tiny pieces. 

I don’t get it. I promised myself this wouldn’t happen. I was so sincere that I’d keep my spending under control. So why couldn’t I keep that promise? At any given moment, we can have the most honest intentions that lead to real promises. Change a few circumstances, let time pass, and those intentions can sometimes be forgotten.

In another situation, I’m stuck. There are some promises I want to believe, despite a clear history against it. But when it really boils down, I think it’s the intentions that have me fooled. These promises are made with the best intentions. But things just seem to keep changing, and the follow-through can be easier said than done.