Artificial Sweeteners

     We all need a little sugar in our lives: smiles, hugs, encouragement, appreciation, compliments, and thank-yous.  Our minds and bodies need the energy and stamina to accomplish the necessary tasks of life.  Some people, however, go to the extremes of abusing food, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs to temporarily lift their spirits.  Beware when using these artificial  sweeteners to distort reality.
     Many people use religion to deal with the bitter side of life: loneliness, disappointment, illness, and death.  They believe God is by their side guiding them toward eternal life.  Other people try to appreciate the sweetness of nature and their place in it, to be thankful for the bounty and accept the rhythms of life and death.
     Our objective should be to add our sweetness to the world, to develop our abilities to help each  other have a better life.  We all may need a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, but we should not sugarcoat reality.  Artificial sweeteners do not replace the real thing.