Choosing Corn Flakes in a Fruity Pebble World
Introduction
In the book, The Molecule of More, the authors wrote about dopamine and its effect on different areas of our lives and on society as a whole. [1] According to WebMD, dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter made by our bodies. [2] Our nervous system uses dopamine to send messages between our nerve cells. [3] It is part of how we feel pleasure, think, plan, and focus. [4] Although the authors spoke about seven categories where dopamine influences the lives of people, for the sake of this post, I will concentrate on only a couple of them. First I would like to discuss drugs and dopamine. Then I will talk about progress and harmony as a singular topic.
Drugs and Dopamine
In chapter two of the book, The Molecule of More, the authors write about drugs and dopamine. [5] Included in the drugs that they touch on is alcohol. I know this sickness well. My father was an alcoholic. Once, when driving drunk in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas, he went off the road and the gear shift of his pickup truck pierced his lung. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. Hours later, he awoke screaming in pain downstairs in the morgue, covered with a sheet. Yet he continued to drink and drive. I have many siblings, however, only one drinks the way that our dad did: a younger sister. She wakes drunk in the mornings, and begins her day with alcohol. She is a believer in Christ, but doesn’t see anything wrong with her drinking. About a year ago I told her I was praying God would take the taste for it away from her completely. She was offended, of course. I don’t think it was wrong to tell her though. It’s my belief that she has learned to deal with the ups and downs in her life with the initial euphoria she gets from being drunk, and then continues to drink for the numbness. [6]
Progress and Harmony
For about five years, I lived in Kenya, East Africa. For my final year there I lived in a hut made of sticks and grasses with a mud and manure floor. All of my worldly possessions could be carried in my backpack, except for one bicycle and a run down 1979 Land Rover that kept catching on fire when I would drive it! I slept on a bed made of sticks with chickens and baby goats underneath at night, and lions roaring outside not far away. I bathed and drank with water straight out of the river nearby. I traded in the marketplace for weekly necessities just like everyone else. Life was pretty simple.
And then I got malaria for the 5th time, and yellow fever at the same time, and had to come back to the States for medical reasons. Life in the States is anything but simple. Just take a minute to look at the choices on the cereal aisle! The authors point out that there are always going to be “new and improved” products in stores that will get our attention. [7] It can be overwhelming to make a decision! Over the years, my life has become less and less “simple” and more dopamine-driven like the rest of the United States. Just like everyone else in the modern world, to live in harmony we each must learn to turn our backs on this dopamine-driven hunger for more. [8]
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[1] Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc.
[2] Hope Cristol, “What is Dopamine”, WebMD, June 14, 2021, January 12, 2023, Link
[3] Hope Cristol, “What is Dopamine”, WebMD, June 14, 2021, January 12, 2023, Link
[4] Hope Cristol, “What is Dopamine”, WebMD, June 14, 2021, January 12, 2023, Link
[5] Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 27-57.
[6] Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 42.
[7] Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 205.
[8] Lieberman, Daniel Z., and Michael E. Long. 2019. The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race. First trade paperback edition. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 223.
About the Author
Tonette Kellett
Missionary, teacher, Bible student, traveler ... Having lived in Kenya and Korea, I now live in Mississippi and work with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.20 responses to “Choosing Corn Flakes in a Fruity Pebble World”
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Wow Tonette!
I always love reading your blogs!! I learn so much about you!!
I am curious how you wrote on your hut in Africa and then you spoke of needing to come home and the various choices we have here. I am curious how you wrote about Africa and then about America. I am so curious about the many times you got malaria and then needed to come home. It sounds like yellow fever and malaria was not a good combination!
I am praying with you for your sister-
Jesus- I ask that you would, by your Holy Spirit, minister to Tonette’s sister. In your loving kindness, draw her to yourself. I pray that Tonette and her sister will be able to rejoice as sisters in Christ together…rejoicing over all that you have done for them individually and in their family. amen
Kristy,
Thank you for your response, your encouragement, and your prayer for my sister. I so appreciate you!
Hi Tonette, Thank you for sharing. I appreciate your vulnerability. I love your cereal analogy. I love Fruity Pebbles, but also you cannot eat them every day!
“Just like everyone else in the modern world, to live in harmony we each must learn to turn our backs on this dopamine-driven hunger for more.”
What a great statement! We can get so caught up in the dopamine-drive that we miss out on the important things in life. Do you have any recommendations to counteract the hunger to always chase after more?
Becca,
I love all sweetened cereal – but sometimes just have to go with plain old corn flakes for the sake of my system!
I don’t know that I have any sage advice for the society that we live in… I too get caught up in it and the struggle is real keeping it simple. I’m not always successful. In fact, often I am not successful at all.
Hi Tonnett,
I am blown-away by the stories you shared as well as how you exposed the problem of our dopamine-driven culture in the US. The call to living in harmony over a dopamine-dependent life is inspiring. In your life here in the US, are there ways you try to incorporate your more simple, harmonious life in Kenya as a resistance to the dopamine-driven current of our Western culture?
David,
In the beginning, I tried keeping it simple as I had in Kenya. But the longer I was in the States, the more I seemed to gather “things”. There’s always going to be newer, bigger, better options to admire. I try to be satisfied with what I have, and for the most part, I am I think… yet my closet attests to the fact that I gather “things”! I have no great tricks to offer in this area. I truly am not successful.
Tonette,
Thanks for a well-written post and for sharing your painful experience of loved ones dealing with alcohol plus the simple lifestyle of a missionary in Kenya! You brought me to my childhood home with your expressions “I slept on a bed made of sticks with chickens and baby goats underneath at night, and lions roaring outside not far away. I bathed and drank with water straight out of the river nearby.”
Jean,
Of anybody Jean, I knew you would well understand life in a hut! I’m thankful I could bring you memories of your childhood this morning.
Tonette,
I had to read your post if for no other reason than to see how you were going to connect the title with the material. And you did a wonderful job.
I’m curious what led you from exploring the alcohol addiction to the pleasures of the western world?
Thank you Audrey. Those were simply the two categories in the book that really rang the most true to my own soul. So I chose to write about them. That’s all.
Hi Tonette
Wow! Great stories…so much to unpack in the examples you shared. I look forward to hearing more about these experiences.
I’m curious how this knowledge will the work you do with students and Native Americans you work with. While I found the book engaging and informative, it is difficult to apply to situations were we see increased dopamine dependance at work, while not being about to directly create a solution. Perhaps, much like your sister, we pray and encourage the transformation we hope for in their life.
Chad,
That is a wonderful question. Many of the adults I work with struggle with alcohol dependency just like my dad and sister. It’s the same situation for them. Prayer is the answer, just as you suggested. I have to pray for my coworkers just as I do my sister, believing God will do a mighty work in each of their lives in this area.
Tonette, I am always blown away by how you connect the readings with either things that are happening in your life or community or things that have happened to you and your community. I know because of this, I learn every time I read your posts, so thank you!
Caleb,
Thank you for your kindness. You are always a great encouragement.
I enjoyed how you took what meant most to you and focused on that subject. I believe that most of us are chasing the next big thing here. Do you think that you are still chasing the feeling of needing less?
Shonell,
That’s a terrific question. I believe the longer I have lived in the States, the more I have adapted to life as normal here… dopamine-driven for ”things”. Now, don’t misunderstand. Life in the African bush was simple, but we still had dopamine-driven rushes. They just were not for things. They were due to the wild side of living I would say. Things like crossing a river filled with crocodiles and hippos every day in a dugout canoe. Or dealing with the lions and other dangerous wildlife nearby. Driving thru territories laden with armed bandits… and so on. I think here in the US I need to continue to strive for more adventure in life and less things. Thanks for your question!
Great post, Tonette. I love your humbleness and Christ-centered mission where ever God takes you. Dopamine has it’s benefits but as you have learned from those very close to you, it also has it’s negative affects too. I think you are a great living example to those who do not understand. Keep being the hands and feet of Jesus. You are a true warrior in His Kingdom!
Thank you Michael for always having such wonderful words of blessing and encouragement.
Tonnette- What do you think that we can do as Americans to make needing less normal? anything? Are we too far gone as a whole?
I recently did an experiment within my family in January that I called NO SPEND JANUARY. I gave my husband and I 100 dollars each to spend at the store or any other necessity that we thought we needed to survive for our family after bills like cars and house were paid for.
It honestly was a dopamine rush for me…. I loved trying so hard to be creative and make dollars stretch. Funny enough my son took 7 percent of mine on day two for a recorder he HAD TO HAVE for school. I bet that thing is in the trash before MAY.
Alana,
What a fabulous experiment to do with your family! I think that is a great first step in trying to live with less, honestly. Awareness is another – we need trips to third world countries where we see with our own eyes how the rest of the world lives to really understand at a better level. I think anyway. As for that recorder, my bet is with you… it won’t survive long!