Like a Virgin (satire)

One popular white lie is to say you're still a virgin. Originally, the word "virgin" meant only "unmarried".

Today, its meaning refers to a person who is innocent of carnal knowledge, both of the heart and in the flesh. However, the original meaning still applies to all unmarried single people, as born-again virgins.

Yet the ideal of the virgin is to remain pure and innocent of carnal desire and all temptations of the flesh by dedicating yourself to a worthy cause, be it a religious theology or a political ideology or even a humanist philosophy.

This virginal ideal shall be accomplished by being of service to the cause of your choice, provided you remain free of desire and temptation, all for the common good of society.

By maintaining a chaste mindset, the dedicated virgin is able to sublimate desire into service for her chosen cause.

Since such a path is only an ideal, few of us are able to remain a virgin unless we are free of desire in the midst of the temptations of the modern world, be it television and other forms of technology.

Though a lesser man might succumb to carnal desires in the midst of temptation, the superior man has made the worthy cause noble.

Yet dedication to the noble cause requires the strength of will to purify the mind until it becomes virginal, and thus free of desire.

Desire thus is sublimated into unconditional love for humanity.

This may be sought through meditation and prayer, be it through yoga and/or other spiritual means. However, such dedication also requires each of us to reduce the use of alcohol, cigarettes, illegal drugs, and even meat, depending on the circumstances.

For the purpose of reducing consumption is to dedicate ourselves to the goal of the pure mind and the pure heart that remains free of desire.

Ultimately a person by sheer will and determination will become like a virgin, free of desire to consume and ready to act for the greater good.

Thus the ideal of the virgin is to free yourself from crass materialism, and consciously choose to be of service to the greater good in society.

Such service can be found through work, volunteerism and similar social activities.

Yet only a few people are dedicated to a noble cause.

Whatever path is chosen, the noble cause is each person's choice and requires a simple code of conduct: acceptance that whatever is asked of you, you do it as long as it harms no one.

Thus the ideal of the virgin is the path of innocence, free of the world yet being in service to the greater good of society.

Free of clinging to the world yet ready toserve for the good of us all, those of us dedicated to the noble cause shall realize that the white lie -"still a virgin" - is the metaphor for feeling like a virgin, untouched by desire and free of temptation.