These days, one of the things I hear time and again is how people ‘hate their job’. Along the way to where I am, there’s been plenty of jobs I disliked doing. The one I hated the most was being a telephone salesperson. Even though I hated it, one of the lessons I took away was the truism they taught me that “A salesman is the easiest sell”.
The shift leaders used that phrase like a mantra to ‘motivate’ us.. They repeated it often as the other grunts and I continued cold calling people from the phone book.
I wondered if that saying applied to other areas as well, and to my surprise, it did. I found my answer in a children’s book. The place where this jumped out at me was the ‘real’ story of Pinocchio. ( I say ‘real’ meaning the Carlo Collodi version rather than the Disney version of the story).
First, the ‘real’ Pinocchio is a brat who mocks people, kills small animals, has a temper and often takes advantage of those he meets. In the real story, Pinocchio kills the cricket with a hammer unlike the Disney version where it functions as his conscience.
One of the episodes that happens is that Pinocchio is cheated by the cat and the fox. They take advantage of the poor puppet by faking their handicaps, pretending to be his friend and stealing from him. Eventually a fight breaks out where Pinocchio bites one of their hands off. In reprisal, they hang the puppet, leaving him for dead.
Cheating often takes advantage of people. The cheater thinks they’ll get something, yet end up being taken themselves. If they’re lucky, all they lose is time and money. They could end up losing their marriage, job and health.
The cat and fox illustrate that ‘the cheater is often the easiest person to cheat’. Pinocchio was looking for a way to cheat at life and ended up being cheated himself. He also hadn’t learned his lesson about lying. He continued lying long after being cheated.
Divorce attorneys know that the ‘cheater is often the easiest person to cheat’ as well. They know that under the cloud of guilt, they are easy to manipulate and control.
The ‘real’ Pinocchio contains lessons for cheaters in terms of being cheated, lying, searing your conscience and general unruliness along with where it eventually leads. Cheating is destructive in many ways. It ends up taking more from the cheater than they ever imagined. It also takes you deeper into trouble than you ever intended to go.
I’m not your cricket, but I can help you and your cheater recover your lives after the affair. My “Affair Recovery Workshop” is a great starting point for repairing and undoing the damage that’s been done. The real Pinocchio was left hanging for dead by those who cheated him. Your marriage relationship can be rescued rather than left hanging.
Best Regards,
Jeff
2 Responses
Good article Jeff
Sadly it’s true that the sins God warns us about do indeed steal from the willing and intentional sinner even as they don’t realize their losses
What they fail to value as they “trade up” isn’t at all “up” because anyone that is willing to intrude into marriage covenant has many deficits that no one should want to have as a friend let alone invite them to destroy what the privrledge of marriage is
No character
It’s a trade of what is of value for what is completely void of value
Ignorant of the treasure offered from one soul to another to remain faithful for a lifetime they trade for “freedom” to discard one empty relationship after another
Loyalty is costly which is what makes it so rare and precious and moreso as the years go by
Adultery is
Vanity
Zaza,
Thank you for sharing your comments. “Adultery is indeed Vanity”. I like some of the images used by the poet Anne Sexton in addressing the topic. She likened the lover to being watercolor that washes off and uneven steps that you can’t count or depend on, while the wife is sure and dependable. She is also color that won’t wash off.
The myth of the ‘trade-up’ is just that…a myth. Lawyers and financial planners know the reality of that. Any move or change like divorce is a set-back, financially, emotionally and otherwise. There is no ‘trade-up’ benefit. The damage they don’t see is the ‘loss of potential’ for what could’ve been.
Best Regards,
Jeff