Hunger, Sleep, Mood and Contingency

It's kind of shocking how much our moods and mental states can change based on simple things such as hunger and tiredness. Whether we're dehydrated, hot, what things have happened to us during the day, every little thing affects us. Oftentimes when we sin there are certain vulnerabilities or triggers that helped to lead to the sin. The will is involved, but buffeted on all sides by every little thing.

Sometimes those things are good things. Sometimes they are bad. When we think of our successes, we should not be prideful, as how much of our success was due to the favorable factors that we were blessed with? We should cultivate gratitude to God for our gifts, and strive to keep putting ourselves into situations and states of mind and body that are favorable towards us, and work to rid ourselves of those states which make us more vulnerable to negative actions and emotions that are not rational.

There is an interesting question here though - why? Why is the world this way? I think one answer is this - Contingency. We are contingent beings. We are not responsible for our own existence. We did not create or cause ourselves. In certain ways, yes, we do merit some of the things we achieve through our work. But how easy is it for us to fall, and be put off from our greatness into our lowness by something as simple as hunger and sleep, which occur every day if they are not taken care of.

It's almost as if God wants to gently remind us, every day, that we are dependent on Him. When we eat or drink, or rest or take pleasure in any good thing, we should therefore remember Him, and thank Christ for His gifts. And when we suffer any evil thing, or deprivation, we should thank God still for the gifts that we have received, and learn to trust and deepen our dependence on Him, and remind ourselves that everything we have can be taken away, for we did not cause it.

Memento Mori, and remember you are a contingent being.