There is a lyric in the song “The needle and the damage done” by Neil Young where he sings “I’ve seen the needle and the damage done, a little part of it in everyone, but every junkies’ like the setting sun”.     I can’t get into the mind of Neil Young, and I’m sure this had a lot to do with the fact that many musicians were using heroin, even one of his band members, who died shortly after he wrote this song, or so I’ve read that on the internet and can’t confirm if that is true.  I would love to sit down with Neil Young sometime and discuss many of his songs, as they are poetic.  I would say that musicians from that era had deeper meaning than many songs that are written today. Since I can’t sit with Mr. Young and have lunch or a drink, I am going to take the liberty to put my own thoughts into the meaning of this particular lyric. Each of us has a little part of it in everyone; the junkie part and it looks different for everyone.

Before I ruffle feathers, since nobody wants to be called a junkie, I will expound.  We all have a propensity to overdo something.  For some it may, indeed be drugs or alcohol, but it doesn’t have to be illicit or even legal forms of elements one ingests. Some people may over-indulge in shopping, gossip, television, social media, power, money, books, or vanity. These are just a few and I’m sure many readers could add to the list. The point is our human condition is fallible and we all have weaknesses. That bowl of chips and salsa might be what throws you over the edge, or that chocolate cake that screams your name from across the room. Maybe the couch just dares you to sit on it for hours when you know you should be getting work done. 

So, what can we do about our human condition and that little part of the junkie in each of us? Moderation.  Practice it, pray for it, continue to train yourself that moderation is the key. Now, go enjoy a small slice of that cake.