Hypocrisy

I purchased a product yesterday that I have maligned for years. I went into the store, used my gift card (which should have been spent on gifts for others) and sacrificied my espoused principles for convenience and cute packaging.

This really got me thinking about the reasons we disavow items/people/places. Are we really just afraid of the unknown? In lieu of testing the waters we form snap judgements till we are forced to experiment. Or the contrary, self-awareness only lasts till peer pressure pushes us to explore our options. It's a big world and we are curious, indubitably we'll try a slice. Should we hold more firmly to our misgivings?

A simple product purchase is not going to see me shed tears--though the inevitable cajoling from those I've mocked, will irk me for weeks to come--but where is the fine line between principled and pleased?

To quote, my favorite transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson:
We do what we must, and call it by the best names.

He also said:
What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.

That's just why he said what I think he was:
To be great, is to be misunderstood.