Bought a bread roll the other day; chicken tikka I was told. It looked rather appetizing, so I bought two – one for hubby. Do I want ketchup, chili sauce and mayonnaise? Just mayonnaise, thanks.

Lunchtime arrives and with it, an expectation. I am looking forward to this bread roll! The tikka overflows the sides of the roll, the latter being an unusually large size. The lettuce leaves are fresh.

First bite – the biggest disappointment ever. The piece of chicken was a third of the size indicated by the size of the tikka. The outside covering, soaked in oil, was stodgy breadcrumbs mixed with spices. How they had managed to make it look so appetizing, I have no idea! And right now someone is rolling their eyes and is just about to stop reading… please hear me out for another paragraph. There is a lesson here!

How often do we look at things in this life, and with mouth-watering anticipation indulge in what, on the surface, looks attractive and pleasurable only to discover it to be putrid and distasteful and, above all, unsatisfying? This is a reality that affects us all. There is a nearly irresistible pull towards the promise of quick gratification, easy wealth, instant power. But even when we have ticked all of these boxes, the emptiness and aimlessness are still in abode. Because, being eternal beings, we cannot feed ourselves on short-lived diets. This stuff has an expiry date! Let’s indulge in practices that are the will of God which remains forever.

Coming back to the tikka – most of it ended up in the bin. Maybe that’s where our questionable desires need to go too!!