The Actor

The actor was alone at home. He just got back from a meeting with his agent who told him the actor would now work on the set of a major film that would bring the actor even greater fame and millions of dollars. Also, the actor’s new singer girlfriend looked even better in real life than she did on screen. To top it off, the queen herself would take time out of her busy schedule to knight the actor the following week.

Yet somehow, the actor was not happy. He got up from the couch, took off his fashionable scarf, then his designer sweater which he wore over nothing and stood in front of a mirror, looking at his exposed torso. The chiseled chest, the well-defined abs, and the bulging muscles were all staples of an actor. A requirement, really, and one which had cost him a lot of work and even more money. He stood there looking at himself and said:

“This is not me.”

Then, the actor contemplated the unthinkable. His muscles tensed at the very idea, but he could not get it out of his head. He knew his reptile brain would not stop until it made the body do the act. Through repetition of fantasy, the reptile part of his brain would finally ebb away his iron will and he would do it. “

Why fight? Why not just give up?” he said.

The actor went into the kitchen, and opened the fridge. It was empty, except for one item he had procured in secret. A big fat muffin, rich in sugar, gluten, and carbs beckoned him. And he heeded the call.

”You cannot stare into the abyss without the abyss looking back at you,” he mused, as he consumed the confectionery in front of the kitchen mirror.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk