By Jerry Riley

Obsession is like duct tape. It has a shiny side and a dark side. The dark side is the side that gets the most publicity, though. One on-line dictionary defines obsession as “the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea.” A person can be obsessed with work and we may call them a workaholic A person obsessed with wealth may have drive, or determination. We refer to them with positive words, making me wonder if obsession has a negative connotation, although, it may not always not be negative. I remember a Star Trek episode titled Obsession.

Well, back in the 50s, and in the future Obsession might not always be a bad thing.
I’m sure some obsessed people do not realize they are, while others that do realize it bring to mind, well, to my mind, over compensation. An obsessed person may try to over compensate for his or her obsession. This may actually have a reverse effect - and what a revoltin’ development this is. This whole column actually sounded better earlier this morning, but, now I find myself obsessed with completing it - that may, indeed, prove obsession to be a bad thing!
Instead of positive, negative or good or evil, the more politically correct terms might be healthy and unhealthy. Sometimes, even those obsessed with an obsession must succumb to the knowledge that they have been letting the obsession control them, to an extent, and work to let go of the obsession. Just hope they don’t allow themselves to become obsessed with letting go!

Jerry Riley is an occasional commentator for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.