Self-Destruction

We all do it a little. There are activities which we know are bad for us, but we justify them because they feel good, or because they are the only way we can spend time with our friends, or a host of other reasons. So we hurt ourselves a little here and there, nibble at the edges of our lives, and justify it with the idea that we're hurting only ourselves, so it doesn't really matter.

But we do not exist in isolation. While we have every right to engage in self-destructive behavior, it's still not a moral act. What we do affects the people around us. When one person engages in damaging behavior, the effects ripple outwards. One person's self-destruction affects their friends, their family, their work.

We are of the Divine. What we do affects that Divine, even if no one else ever knows that we've done it. When we act in ways that are self-destructive, we deny that Divine.

Questions:
In what way are you self-destructive? Why?
How do your self-destructive habits affect other people? The Divine?
How have you been affected by other people's self-destructive behavior? Can self-destruction happen in isolation?