On Opportunity

It's interesting that, though I have not cut since June, and indeed have no plans to return to the practice, I still have not gotten out of the habit of looking at the things around me in terms of their cutting potential. I did this in Mendota as well, thought I was intelligent enough not to act on what I saw. There, I chuckled when they took my belt and checked my shoes for shoelaces but forgot that my roommate still had hers. That is beside the point, though. The point is that I can glance around my living room and spot several things I could use to cut, "if I needed to." (the quotes are what my brain says when I ask it what the hell it thinks it's doing.) From the razor blades in my Bible (yes, I was unable to resist that rather delicious irony), to a crinkled up soda can, to a glass bottle easily broken (and for that matter, every dish in my cupboard "if needed" [WTF, brain??]), to a cardboard box, to simple paper...the possibilities are endless.
This is why I used to laugh inside when people (I'm talking to YOU, Bradley James) put so much effort into trying to rid me of my "weapons"...because everything is, or can be, a weapon. No, what was needed, and has in fact happened, was not the removal of the opportunity to injure myself, but the desire. "Unless I need." (Yes, brain, we get it, shut up already.)
Cutting isn't the only area this principle applies to, you know. (Take heed, my alma mater, I'm thinking of you in this as well.) Which is better, to force a strict dress code on females so that males will not be tempted (knowing there will always be tempting females to look at)...or to teach males (and females!) to be "pure" even in the face of temptation? (I'm not going to debate a strict dress code or the concept of purity, that isn't the point here.) Which is better, attempting to remove every way by which a student might try to cheat (knowing students will always find a way)...or instill a love of learning or code of ethics so that they do not desire to? Which is better, to rant and rave about video games, or porn, or alcohol, or drugs, or sex (knowing that these things will always exist)...or to teach moderation and discernment in all things?
It will always be impossible to remove the opportunity of failing from my environment (not that I should be stupid - having a razor hidden away is debatable, but have one within easy reach would just be dumb), nor should that be the focus of my efforts. What I need to, have been, and will continue to focus on is removing anything which gives me the desire to take the opportunity in front of me.