Live Now, Pay Later
One thing above all else raises us above the ‘lower’ animals. We have the ability to contemplate the future, and imagine the wonderful things we can accomplish if we set a target and work consistently toward that end. They, with their limited mental faculties, can only live in the ‘here and now.’ They have no concept of ‘deferred gratification.’ Pigeons can be trained to resist an immediate food reward if they know they’ll get a bigger and tastier prize a short while after, but they’ll wait no more than a few seconds. Monkeys can hold back for a minute or two, while bigger brained apes have the self control to wait twenty minutes or longer. Humans, with their highly developed cerebral hemispheres, can do even better. If they’re so inclined, they can choose to go on a forty day fast to purify their souls, or risk premature death by following a protracted hunger strike. This faculty of self-determination raises us way above our fellow creatures.






