What's Your Snail's Name?

Such a temptation. It looks good. So good. Good enough to eat. Barely a moment passes by before the medusa jellyfish consumes the snail. The other creatures in the Bay of Naples could not warn the jellyfish of the consequences of that decision.

            No problem for the snail. Its shell cannot be digested by the jellyfish so it simply attaches itself to the inside of the jellyfish and begins to eat away. Free room and board. The jellyfish travels along, unaware that it is gradually being consumed by yesterday’s snack.

            Interesting story, but unfortunately not one confined to the food chain in the Italian Bay of Naples. Across the globe and present in every segment of society are people slowly being consumed by things they allowed into their lives.

            Sometimes we’re enticed by things we want and think we deserve. We work more to get more, forfeiting family time and financial security while allowing materialism, greed, and debt to eat away at us.

Then there are those dangerous attitudes that seem to crawl around right when someone else’s actions haven’t met our expectations. Anger, bitterness, gossip, all right there, waiting to be gulped. Don’t do it. They’ll just eat you up.

What other snails are there? Oh, so many. Smoking, insecurity, alcohol, worry, drugs, gluttony, selfishness are just some of the self-destructive snails that are easier to swallow than to live with.

Every now and then, it’s good for me to take a little personal inventory and ask myself, Am I allowing anything to consume my life? What’s eating me up?

May we all have the strength to swim past the next temptation.

Ronny may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com