The face of addiction has been a part of me even before I knew what it was. Had a great discussion about it the other day and after, felt the need to contemplate a bit more. Not an expert by any means, except to my own experience - I realize that if addiction is not part of your DNA or experience, you might be hard-pressed to try and figure out why anyone would give up the good parts of their lives to their addiction of choice. Rented a movie, Things We Lost In The Fire, yesterday afternoon and it really solidified what had been going thru my mind the last few days. It is a powerful film, tough to watch but can give you a better understanding of the power of addiction.
One of the questions that came up in the addiction conversations was Why. Why would you chose it over a wife, kids and everything? Obviously when it concerns drugs - it seems obvious. How about the less obvious or acceptable ones? Food, money, work, internet or (insert addiction of your choice here). In my humble opinion, if you understand on any level, the nature of addiction, Why would anyone pick anything BUT the addiction? To pick the addiction over the good stuff seems like a no-brainier to me. Not saying it is right just logical. There is a reason for all the A's meeting and a reason you have to go forever, not just for a while. You can't look at the addiction and say, you or them. You will never win the Battle. It has to be a unseen value to others, that is only visible to you. That can be where the new path starts.
It has made me look at the plank in my own eye. We all have issues and our motives for doing or not doing things. I look back to where I was successful in one area and try to apply that principle to whatever issue I am trying to work on. It is a life long process. There is no arrival date . So, what is the good news? Baby Steps...sounds too simple but when you are able, Down The Road, to look back - you will see the Process and you will see that it worked. Too bad I didn't have a Princess Doctor years ago, it might have saved me a bunch of time...
