Indulge is sexy word.  Implying temptation and satisfaction.  Indulge a word that implies illicit behavior, as if you are getting a free pass on something you'd normally pay a price for.  In short you may define indulge as excessive gratification less retribution.

Last week I wanted to explore this word but I couldn't find the right words.   Sometimes it helps to just take time and let life define things more clear.  For instance I've gone the past month without eating a donut.  If you've read any past articles, you may be aware I've wanted to kick the donut habit.  I believe I have.  I had gone as far as to be very hungry and had skated miles and worked out and still not indulged in having a donut.  Finally I debated the thought of having one in my mind today and figured that I would "indulge" and have two donuts with a coffee at breakfast time.

There is something about going some time without something and then partaking of it (that first taste of the donut was ecstasy - LIL).  Actually it goes beyond that example, it can be a difference in lifestyle and suddenly you try something or do something you normally would not.  From having sex after abstinence to buying a article of clothing outside your expected fashion sense the list goes on.  You could hang out with a group of people you wouldn't normally be with. Here is another example.  I was skating one day on my own (when my boys were away) and I ended up with a large group of skaters that smoked, dressed in tattered clothing and rode motorcycles simply because they offered me to join in a barbecue.  It was a different experience but I did indulge in a cultural experience I had not understood before.  But hey, we all the same under our skin.

When you mature you become practical.  You highly consider what you can and cannot indulge in.  You consider when you can indulge, there are many factors that come into play before you indulge you decide many factors. 

As we mature what we indulge in is controlled by the grown up inside us.   You unconsciously weigh maturity against verve for life.  For example we have movie night once a night at my home. I've cut off many movies before they ended because they run past bedtime.  On the rare occasion when I let the boys stay up past bedtime so a movie may finish watching a late running movie they express special satisfaction.   Responsibility generally leads to appreciation in indulgence.

Which leads me to my last point.  Sometimes indulgence is measured irresponsibility. The above example makes my point.  The movie they get to see that is ending past bedtime is the movie that will run 10 or 15 minutes late, not one that keeps them up an hour more.  The donut I eat is the one I know won't affect my diet or health.  The race you pause to rest under a tree is due to the fact you have a healthy lead and despite your break, you are not in jeopardy of being passed.  You can indulge in taking a rest because it won't cost you your lead.  

For most indulgence is a form of gratification.  Perhaps another definition could be measured irresponsibility.