deadly delights

My neighbor’s teenage daughter facilitated a profound epiphany for me the other day. News was out in the neighborhood that I had encountered a cougar while walking alone on the mountain. The day after this event Emily (my teenage neighbor), when asking me about the cougar experience, punctuated her remarks with “You have run into a lot of animals when walking alone up there and yet you still go up there.” The epiphany didn’t hit until a few hours later when I was ruminating on her comment. Why do I continue to go where I know there is danger when I have a choice not to go there? I could substitute cougar for any number of other objects that pose a threat to my peace and security. Case in point—sugar. Why would I continue to return again and again to a substance that has the potential to damage my health in so many domains? Just a thought for the day, thanks to the cougar and my teenage neighbor.