DEUT1623 Overindulgence drives us from the way of moderation. We also lose our way when we defy the natural level of desire that is healthy. In our affluent society, overindulgence is the more common pattern today. The Jewish tradition is clear not only accepting the reality of our desires but also in seeing that, at their root, desires are a force for good. Those inner urges that compel us to eat and to sleep, to procreate and to grow, motivate us to participate in the processes of life, and as the Torah says, we are to "choose life" [this verse]. But like all sources of physical energy--fire, nuclear power, electricity--our desires need to be handled properly or the result is almost certain to be disaster. Desires arise like sparks, grow to become surging currents and, if not channeled or guided, can end up jolting our lives toward outcomes we would never choose. Desires can be like the charge that passes safely along the well-ordered and insulated wires that the licensed electrician installs in our home, or they can run more like the lightning bolts the flash cross the night sky, wildly following their own course without predictable pattern, striking destructively wherever they will. We gain the benefits of a life of moderation only when we govern our desires instead of being governed by them.