My daughter showed me this cute video of a raccoon washing cotton-candy in a pool of water, only for the poor critter to discover that the pretty pink substance disappeared before its very eyes. (When I was growing up, we used to call it fairy-floss.) Some have claimed that raccoons wash all their food before consuming it, but most hold the opinion that they are merely trying to moisten it; which is not a great idea when it comes to cotton-candy.

The whole scene reminded me of what someone once observed in that ancient book of Ecclesiastes, about virtually everything in this world. You just can’t hold onto anything with permanence. It’s like trying to grasp the wind in your fist. It just slips through, which frustrates all who try so hard to do so. ‘Vanity of vanities’, that famous ecclesiastical preacher said. He chose his words well. The word for vanity is hebel, which carries the idea of breath.

Unfortunately many don’t stay long enough to hear the preacher’s conclusion. He admits that there is one thing can be held. The fear of God. Hold onto that, and all the things that are precious won’t slip through your fingers: Pardon, purposeful living, eternal life, will stick with solidity. But of course in this world, cotton-candy is irresistible, and who can keep their hands off? And who can explain the strange wonder that we poor critters continue to be baffled, and weep at our loss with rings around our eyes?