“To free one’s self from preconceived notions, prejudices, and conditioned responses is essential to understanding truth and reality.”
Striking Thoughts, by Bruce Lee, pp. xv-xvi.
Time ticks away so much faster than we realize. At the time of this writing this blog, my son recently turned 30 years old. Thirty years have passed since he came into this world. And I’ve been blessed to watch him learn and grow into a good person. I’m fortunate that during my son’s formative first 9 years, there aren’t a lot of lingering effects of my addiction.
Even though I have over 21 years of sobriety, it doesn’t mean that there are things within my son that haven’t “stuck” on him from witnessing his parents deep in their addiction. Although we’ve both recovered from our addiction, I still see how some of my son’s behaviors indicate addictive traits. But, those traits remain at bay because he does well to live out his life with wise and positive decision-making.
I consider myself one of the fortunate parents who stopped their addiction in time to prevent further damage on their child. It definitely could have been worse. I’m also fortunate, because I have children who have never seen me drink alcohol or use drugs. They’ve never had to witness their dad throwing up, passing out, or with eyes so red you’d think they were on fire.
Getting back to the quote from Bruce Lee, it was through a change in personal perspective that saved me from my addiction. I started choosing sobriety because I wanted something different for my then 9-year old son. I’ve been blessed that the idea “took” and I stuck with it. I think all of us struggling with addiction need to find that idea that sets them free.
Our addiction is essentially comprised of “preconceived notions, prejudices, and conditioned responses”. The goal is to start choosing other ideas than the ones we currently hold. Whether it’s through healing or a motive outside of ourselves (mine was to be sober for my kid), sobriety is what matters most. As our mind clears, we’ll figure out more on how we maintain our sobriety and how we let go of old ideas that keep us trapped in our addiction.
There’s no easy answer on why some people can halt their addiction while others cannot. There are as many reasons as there are stories that led to our addiction or keep us trapped in it. But, I believe breaking our addiction, i.e. choosing sobriety, starts with a thought. Long before I started choosing sobriety, I knew that I had to change, but I didn’t have the right idea planted in my mind to make that choice. Until I did, I was stuck in my addiction.
Ultimately, no matter how long you’ve been struggling with your addiction, there is no time to waste. The time is now to choose sobriety above all things. You can figure out all the other stuff you have going on as your mind clears. But right now is the time to NOT use drugs or drink alcohol. There is no time to waste.
You can learn more about 'no time to waste' by clicking on this link: https://youtu.be/GUwU_k6v5Yg
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