There is quite an interesting "conversation" up at the NY Times' website between columnists David Brooks and Gail Collins concerning what's important in life. David Brooks had this to say:
"[Society] is structured to distract people from the decisions that have a huge impact on happiness in order to focus attention on the decisions that have a marginal impact on happiness."
Brooks discusses how so much time, energy and money are expended on things which are really not that important, such as deciding where to go to college, where to work, how to decorate your home, etc.
So far, so good.
However, Brooks then makes the mistake of saying what is really of value, and what we really should be paying attention to, is who we marry, making and keeping valuable friends and controlling our baser instincts. WRONG.
Clearly, what we should be paying attention to is our food and pants/pants and food.