Procrastination

I have been reading a very interesting book The Road Less Travelled, (A new Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth) by Dr. M. Scott Peck. It is not a new book as it was published in 1978, but it is still very pertinent, and it was a national best seller for four years.

With every subject that Dr. Peck deals with, I could relate either to some people or to a certain situation. On ‘Discipline,” I could just see my grandchildren, and how much easier life would be if they just put things in their right place and did things on time. On Holding the truth,” I remembered how tough our teachers were in boarding school that we would be scared to death to tell them the truth and what we were up to. But on “Delaying Gratification,” I could not but relate to the political situation. It was a very interesting chapter. The author was writing about a thirty-year-old financial analyst who was complaining to him over a period of months about her tendency to procrastinate in her job. And in spite of all the psychoanalytic work he did with her, she continued to procrastinate as much as ever.

He eventually solved her problem by asking her if she liked cakes? And when she answered in the positive, he asked her which part of the cake she ate first. “The frosting” was her answer. From her cake eating habit he discovered that she would spend the first hour of her work doing the more enjoyable chores, and the remaining six hours were left for the unpleasant part of her job. He helped her see that six hours of hard work followed by one hour of enjoyment is much better than one hour of enjoyment followed by six hours of unpleasant work. Her problem was solved and she no longer procrastinates.

The peace process with Israel was the first thing that came to my mind after reading that chapter. All the tough issues were left till the end. Whether it was in Oslo or in Sharm El-Sheikh, we were given the dessert at the beginning of the banquet. It was not even a good dessert, so we could not handle the main meal. We thought a digestive might help, so we accommodated with more than one, but our situation became much worse.

It is high time that the negotiators and the architects of the Road Map realize that Israel has a completely different agenda. But then we are told we have no choice because we are weak. People who have justice on their side cannot be weak, and should not continue to accommodate for more digestives. Enough is enough. Unless this brutal occupation comes to an end, it is futile to attempt another meal, with or without dessert.