I used to have a baby bulldog that was so fat he would shudder to move if you left him at the top of the staircase. Instinctively, he knew he had to negotiate some height and distance if he wanted to get to ground level, but most times, he was just too afraid to budge. If there was a creature paralysed by the fear of heights, it had to be that dog.
One day, i happened to drop his favourite biscuit two flights down while walking up towards him. I deliberately refused to pick it up cos i wanted to test his reactions. As expected, he could smell the biscuits, and started becoming fidgety. Then what happened next blew my mind. At first he wanted to move towards me, but hesitated, as if reminded there was a chasm created by the stairs. Then, eyeing the biscuit, he forced himself to drag his fat body down the first step, then the second, then the third, till he finally managed to snatch the biscuit.
I was amazed that his primordial need for food enabled it to overcome his fear of heights. And I thought to myself: in truth, many of us are the same. Once hungry enough, we will be like the dog, abandoning fear, some even personal values, and do the master's bidding.