Chapter 6: Episode 24

The Trail of Self-Regulation

Kati’s Hunger

Kati Kim had packed food for their holiday road trip -- snack bars, fruit, chips and drinks. That food would have been a delicious distraction on the long trip – not really needed for hunger.  But now, on Bear Camp Road, those treats became key to survival. 

As Kati wrote months later:  "As a mother of two small children and lifelong camper, I tend to be over-prepared. We were also on a 9-day road trip, so we had a decent amount of supplies. We'd packed everything from foods & beverages (nonperishable food, bottled beverages). . . .We never once ran out of food & did have access to clean water (when fresh water became scarce, we used large empty bottles for melting snow in the sun, or in the car with body heat). Once it was clear we were stranded, it was my job to ration the food.”[1]

Kati had to eat with the utmost care.  Her priority was the children’s survival, so  eating had one focus -- to sustain her nursing milk supply, which was now the children’s main nourishment. 

She had to regulate her hunger and the human pleasure of eating.

We’re Already Self-Regulating

In both challenging and daily situations, we recognize that those who can regulate their hunger  -- for not just food, but for security, power, sex and pleasure -- can live better lives.

We naturally seek out self-regulation . . .

·      over our destructive thoughts and self-sabotaging ways, so some engage in counseling or self-help groups.

·      over unhealthy eating, so some adopt restrictive diets, from online calorie counters to bariatric surgery.

·      over stress and distracted thinking, so many practice daily meditation and even join meditation retreats.

·      over our sleeping, our steps, our moods, so many now use “wearables.”

·      over excessive self-absorption from all of the above, so we decide, just like Jay Shetty, to “Think Like A Monk”![2]

Yet, when it comes to religion, its rules and regulations seem the very reason many people reject religion.  “The church is always judging people and trying to control them!”  “The church is led by hypocrites who do what they preach others should NOT do!” “The church judges others who sin – that is, those who sin differently than they do!”

But, when you think of it, everyone has a stake in the regulation of desire.  This isn’t just a matter of personal lifestyle or self-development – our desires, left unchecked, can destroy families and damage society.  According to a 1994 psychological work, "Self-regulation failure is the major social pathology of the present time."  The writers go on to describe how failures in human self-control are at fault for most of modern society’s ills: unregulated sexual activity leads to father-less children, undisciplined spending leads to debt’s despair, unstructured eating leads to obesity and its related diseases, undemanding schooling lead to youth unable to learn and adapt to a volatile labor market. [3]

And our planet has a stake in the regulation of desire.  Unless we can curb our hunger for fossil fuel energy and unbounded consumption, our planet will be in peril.  Unregulated human desire is, in fact, the cause of global warming.

Do I have your attention yet?  Human self-regulation can be pursued for the sake of self-improvement.  But society’s good and the planet’s survival especially depend on our self-regulation.

The Abuse of Religious Regulation

We agree that the regulation of desire is a necessary habit for everyone’s good.  But now, let’s face what’s on your mind with your protests against religious regulations.   It’s sex, I know. 

(To be continued June 2, Chapter Six: Episode 25)

To Eight Trails readers: Does this post suggest a moment you’ve experienced and, perhaps, a photo you took? Share your reflections and photos with me by clicking “reply” to this emailed post. I would be delighted to include them in new posts — of course, crediting you!

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[1] https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2011/01/kati_kim_speaks_out_on_oregonl.html

[2] See Shetty’s popular book at online retailers.

[3] Baumeister, R. F., Heatherton, T. F., & Tice, D. M. (1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.