One Bite at a Time

I have often wondered about the life of animals as compared to people. What a strange world we live in, where animals, free of care, live and die without remorse while people watch them with curiosity and interest. People, on the other hand, take their lives very seriously, making calculated decisions, directing their lives, positioning, climbing, reaching. In the process, ironically, the people often take care of animals, who can actually take care of themselves. People live lives of worry, heartache, pain, trouble and self-destruction, while the animals live in utter oblivion of such things, living, for the most part, at peace with themselves and everything around them. All of this makes me wonder if, as humans, we haven't missed something.

It must be understood that there are vast differences of capability between humans and animals. These differences account for the larger part of the question. But the rest of the question still wants to be answered: What are we as humans missing about life that makes us live lives of self-destruction. By self-destruction I do not mean that people are necessarily trying to kill themselves, although some are; but I mean that people, unlike animals, will elicit behaviors that are minimally self-destructive over long periods of time, with the result that in the end, they destroy themselves.

Smoking is such a behavior. It is widely known that smoking will damage the lungs and eventually destroy the body. Nevertheless, a great many people do it. But suppose I were a big Pharma company and wanted to test a new drug, so I gave the drug to an animal to study it's effects on the animal. Some people would say it was cruel to give the animal a drug that might harm the animal, and I would agree. So, what about the cigarettes? Why do humans think it's fine to damage your own body a little at at time, when they wouldn't even dream of doing such a thing to their dog or cat?

I have known some mechanics in my life who treat their cars like members of the family. They park them in garages, wash them, baby them, and put only the best products into them so as to ensure the longest and best use of the vehicle. They know, most assuredly, that if they were to put inferior products into their vehicle, it would not run properly. They would not even dream of putting water in the gas tank or dish soap into the radiator. If they have a pet, especially a valued pet, they will feed him only the best pet food. They know that feeding inferior food will result in inferior performance, health and appearance of the animal.

All of this suggests that humans are capable of intelligent thought. So why does that intelligent thought simply fly out the window where our own lives are concerned? Why do people live as though it didn't matter what you put into your body, what you thought, or how you lived? If I were to put a bottle of apple juice into a man's carburetor he would be angry, at least. He would say: “How could you be so stupid? Apple juice doesn't go in a car! What were you thinking?”

And I would say: “OK, so what's different if you take carbon dioxide and pour it into your stomach? Carbon dioxide, in the form of fizzy drinks, is a waste product to the human body and you are pouring it in by the gallon, every day? How long do you think your body can withstand that kind of abuse? How long would your car last if I poured waste products into it? It's true that your body is amazingly resilient, but it does have a breaking point. But why push it to the breaking point. Why not just give it what it requires and call it good? That's what you expect and demand for this car that isn't even alive, or that animal that you take care of. What are you thinking?”

Yes, I often wonder if we haven't missed something. Like how to live without deliberately killing ourselves one bite at a time.