R E V E L A T I O N S

tj|tl|in|ca|st

R E V E L A T I O N S
tj|tl|in|ca|st

Eating. We all do it. What is it about eating that makes people want to do it? Well, we get hungry so we eat. We get depressed, we eat. We get bored, we eat. There are many reasons for eating. Some good, some not so good.

On my way to Yellowstone National Park I decide to pull over, make myself a sandwich, and enjoy some scenery. I'm not really hungry, I just wish to break up the monotony of the day. Eating the sandwich will certainly taste good, but I wonder, is that the main pleasure in eating? The taste?

Let's think about this for a bit, shall we? My sandwich tastes good because when I chew it my taste buds talk to my brain and my brain interprets the electrical dialogue as good, based on past history and experience. So, having chewed a portion of the sandwich and tasted it to my satisfaction and pleasure, I can just spit it out, right? But No! I can never do that! But why the heck not? Can it be the act of swallowing is what I'm really after, the taste is just a small garnish on the side?

Well, it must be, otherwise I could just spit it out and put it all out of my mind. But it's not like that at all. I -have- to swallow it. Not doing so will leave me feeling really unsatisfied. So swallowing must be instinctual. The true satisfaction isn't the good taste, it's the act of swallowing. Swallowing equates to not starving, and not starving is obviously something that nature has prepared me to fight against.

So, if anyone ever tells you they want to eat something just because it tastes good has unintentionally left out an important fact. They enjoy eating it because it tastes good -and- they get to swallow it.