  My father recently had a heart attack and, if nothing else, it allowed me to confirm one thing which I had long suspected -- near-death experiences aren't always as life-altering as movies make them seem. It is true that humans are creatures of habit and that old habits die hard. But changing habits doesn't necessarily change who you are or how you approach life. So is sudden enlightenment a myth or just a temporary state of mind that is washed away by the waters of habit?
I know I've experienced sudden enlightenment. The resulting changes lasted about a year and then I started slipping back into many self-destructive habits. What is it about our culture that leads us to self-destructive behaviour? Why all the junk food, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, caffeine, promiscuous sex, and self-destructive social behaviour? Honestly, I think it's due to the faith vaccuum that's been created by science. Science has explained away God and replaced him with a few technical answers and a lot more questions. People who believe fervently in God are never without purpose because they believe that God has a "divine plan". People who truly believe in fate have a similar sense of purpose. So I suppose people who believe in nothing, especially those who vehemently believe in nothing, have no purpose. It is undoubtedly this lack of purpose that causes us to engage in self-destructive behaviour. If you have no purpose, you simply distract yourself with your senses. You eat even when you're not hungry just so you can taste. You have sex with no intention just for the pleasure it brings you.
You say things you don't mean just to get a reaction. You do drugs because you find no pleasure in reality. There are many self-destructive behaviours we engage in each day. With no moral authority to follow and sense of self-accomplishment, you just kill time until you die. 
