I remember the exact moment it hit me. I was in riding a down escalator. I just got back from a dentist appointment and I was doing a little shopping before heading back to school. What!!? You never squeezed an extra hour or two out of an excused absence when you were in high school?

The news was bad, very bad: Sixteen cavities— I kid you not. I decided right there and then, I would never drink soda pop again. My decision was based on a simple assumption: sugar and carbonation was eating away the enamel on my teeth. That’s why I got so many cavities. It had to be true; we used Coke in industrial arts class to remove the enamel from our metals projects.

was my diet mainstay in 1972, and it wasn’t easy to give it up, but I stuck to it. My addiction for sweet and bubbly stuff was replaced with another: I was an early adapter to water guzzling. This was long before it became fashionable to drink bottled water, and tote around your own .

Water is one of life’s most simple pleasures, but it really isn’t that simple. Ask someone who lives in Israel, Egypt, or Jordan. Water there is scarce and tempers flare. Many in the Middle East will be about water— not oil. For those of us who are lucky enough to have inexpensive running water in our homes, it’s hard to imagine.

Yet the impact of water does affect us right here in in the U.S. Too many empty calories come from too much soda pop, filling the refrigerators of American families, rich and poor. Robert Paarlberg is an expert on the . He told me about his testimony in a congressional hearing on healthy eating. He suggested eliminating soda pop as an eligible “food” in the (formerly food stamps) program. The members of Congress didn’t agree, but I do. It’s time the federal government to get out of the business of subsidizing the sugar and soft drink industry. Obesity is a huge problem (excuse the pun) especially among low income families. No doubt it’s a complex problem, one that legislation isn’t going to solve, but water as a more sensible beverage choice is a great place to start.

What other simple things can be a starting point to a better tomorrow? Connecting to your Higher Power is the perfect first step. No matter if you’re trying to change your diet or change your life. Trust in a partner who helps you make good choices and find sensible solutions. Breathe deeply, find the prayer vehicle that speaks to you, and pray.

There is a pattern to sunlight
dancing soft shadows
across the morning trees.
There is an order, even to the current,
flowing towards tumbling waterfalls.
There is destiny based on choices,
and a calling to those who search.
There is more here than even a poet
can pen at dawn, and a philosopher
can surmise from the pages of time.
There is more, and for that I am thankful.

-