Diffusion

 "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil". (Matt 6:13)

We do not get stronger by exposing ourselves to temptation and learning to say no. The true crux of decision often comes before we meet with the temptation itself.

It is true that one can become more tolerant of alcohol, enabling one to drink far more before becoming noticeably intoxicated. However, this does not mean that one is stronger against the improper use of alcohol. And there may be some sacrificing of oneself along the path to gain such  powers.

In the case of pornography, apparently with enough exposure (!) one becomes inured to some degree. So the videographers and directors of such videos although no doubt they exist in some mild state of titillation (!) they are able to carry out their work in a clear-headed fashion without being completely distracted by things that should take the breath away of someone not used to such delights. However, again this hardening is not at all the same thing as being strengthened against temptation. It has just moved the boundary of temptation further into darker and more extreme areas. And this is doubtless why habituees of this art find difficulty being aroused by the simple things of married life.

There is a story regarding how St. Aquinas' brothers attempted to lure him away from the path of monastic solitude and back to their ancestral house. They forcibly detained Aquinas and then introduced a prostitute in his room. There is a wonderful description of the ensuing scene in "The Dumb Ox", a biography of Aquinas by GK Chesterton:

"He sprang from his seat and snatched a brand out of the fire, and stood brandishing it like a flaming sword. The woman not unnaturally shrieked and fled, which was all that he wanted; but it is quaint to think of what she must have  
thought of that madman of monstrous stature juggling with flames and apparently threatening to burn down the house. All he did, however, was to stride after her to the door and bang and bar it behind her; and then, with a sort of impulse of violent ritual, he rammed the burning brand into the door, blackening and blistering it with one big black sign of the cross."

I myself was the witness of a similar barring of the door. Working late nights doing janitorial work there was a particular account filled with grime and overflowing trash cans where the walls always displayed certain anatomically illuminating posters. I had been raised to regard such things as verboten; I should say rather, I had been raised not to regard such things - but this of course is the problem. The siren call was strong to a young man alone at night. I struggled; sometimes I succeeded, sometimes I failed. But one night was different. We often worked in teams of two, and this one particular night I was working with a man I will call LF. We came to this particular account, and immediately on entering the door LF's first action was to decisively take down the posters and introduce them to the trash can. There was a war like quality to his actions reminiscent of the previous description of Aquinas. As a laconic explanation for his actions to me LF said, "Their employers don't want them looking at this stuff." Which was doubtless true enough, and says in itself something about the utility of such pastimes. There may be some exceptions where an employee might, knowing his employer had a sympathetic ear (perhaps having seen similar things in the boss's office?) complain that the janitors had stolen artworks. But in the main I believe that a certain shame would prevent this course of action.

I remember this night always as a breath of fresh air entering a stifling room. It was a course of action I had never considered, and cut directly across the struggles, successes and failures of my previous nights.

So it is when we go to work on a cold morning. Everything about the atmosphere around the car invites us to stay inside the warm cocoon. But what must be done can be done and it is best initiated with an efficient indignation: a fire that is found on the inside and drives impatiently out through cold fingertips until they are warmed. As As the old adage says, the tree warms us up twice: once when we split the wood and again when we burn it.

There are some roads down which it is not expedient to travel. Staying in one's car instead of working on a cold day is one of them, and this is evidenced by the lack of a paycheck which in turn leads to a greater chilliness than that which was avoided in the first place. Diffusion gradients lead to diffusion.