It was another ordinary day for John—the familiar routine of waking up, attending to his morning habits, and arriving at work. Then came the usual meetings, gossip, lunch, coffee, and the drive back home.
While stopped in traffic that evening, John noticed a billboard looming above the road:
EXPLORE YOUR WILDER SIDE.
His mind began to drift.
Did he have a wilder side?
Was there something he had always wanted to do but never had? Some boundary he longed to cross, some inhibition he wanted to shed?
John had placed countless restrictions upon himself simply because he had been told to—not because he truly understood whether crossing those boundaries would be right or wrong.
The traffic began moving, and his attention returned to the road.
Once home, after a sumptuous dinner, John settled into his favorite chair and began scrolling through social media. Before long, the same advertisement appeared on his screen.
EXPLORE YOUR WILDER SIDE.
His mind wandered once more.
Did he possess a wilder side—something nasty, utterly unthinkable, and completelyun-John-like?
He thought back to his teenage years, when he had craved sexual attention from elderly women. He had never allowed those desires to surface. What would people think? How embarrassing would it be for his parents and family?
Eventually, those lustful thoughts seemed to die.
As youth gave way to adulthood, John became consumed with earning a living, raising a family, and fulfilling his responsibilities. More often than not, his own wishes were the price he paid.
Many times, he had desired the women smiling down from billboards, posing on magazines at newsstands, or appearing on the internet. Yet whenever he caught himself looking, he quickly turned away, embarrassed, as the “good John” inside him whispered:
What will people think?
As John’s thoughts wandered, his fingers continued scrolling through the endless videos people posted. He wasn’t sure why he found them so captivating. Some were stupid; others were daring.
Do these people understand what they’re posting?he wondered.Don’t they care what others will think?
After a while of mindless viewing, John began to feel tired. One yawn quickly followed another, so he retired to bed. After some tossing and turning, sleep finally came.
That night, John had a dream.
He was lying on his deathbed, surrounded by everyone he loved, when a voice whispered in his ear:
“What are your final wishes?”
John did not know who was speaking. Was it a messenger of death, an angel, or Satan?
He remained silent, perplexed.
The whisper came again.
“What are your final wishes?”
Still dazed, John closed his eyes, and images began flashing through his mind: a naked woman in her late forties who resembled his son’s high school teacher; a gambling table surrounded by players; a gorgeous woman who seemed to have stepped straight out of a James Bond film; a luxurious swimming pool; and rows of expensive clothes.
The images kept coming—one after another, faster and faster.
“Stop!” John yelled.
His eyes flew open.
It had only been a dream.
His wife was sleeping peacefully beside him. John got out of bed, took a sip of water, and tried to go back to sleep.
When he awoke the next morning, the dream was still fresh in his mind. As he was getting ready for work, his wife entered the room carrying a colorful shirt.
“Happy birthday,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you wear this to work today?”
John looked at the shirt and shook his head.
“It’s too bright,” he said. “What will people say?”
