Living a life free of addiction! It reminds me of a journey through the seasons. As with almost any change that we must make in our lives, there is a process to go through. A kind of tearing down of our very essence in order to change the true essence of ourselves.
I see this very same thing in nature so often. The forest fire that brings new life by heating the trees to shed their seeds as the ground is cleared for the new and glorious young forest that will replace the less perfect one. Or something as simple as the death of a flower in order for it to become the seed of life for the next year.
As in nature, we too must undergo a bit of a transformation when we want to change something in our lives. Something that has been there for so long we can hardly remember what life was like before we transformed. Before we succumbed to our addictions. That life of purity. That life that we know is there for the taking if we can just get through the transformation period.
And in a way when we quit smoking, it feels like our entire world has been turned upside down. Like we're in a whirlwind that we know has an escape if we can just find it. At first we're a bit surprised at the difficulty that we face to make this change in our lives. We wonder about the endless desire to do that which we have chosen not to do. We fight with the fact that at first we want to quit and yet it feels like we don't want to.
At times we have to literally hold our hands back rather then buy a pack of smokes. And yet somehow we do it. Somehow we find the strength within ourselves to resist ourselves! I think the tables turn in our favor once we make it through that first week. The tearing down process is relatively quick I think.
It's the rebuilding that takes time, mainly because most of us want to be sure that we get it right. After all, why would we want to go through that initial tear down again? Sometimes it happens but for most of us, we eventually get it right. We eventually feel the peace that comes from freedom of enslavement.
So though it may seem hard right now. Though you might catch yourself questioning the validity of the journey, try to understand that you've already been through the worst of it as soon as the nicotine is out of the system. The rebuilding is a glorious part of the journey, though it can be treacherous at times.
But take heart. So many of us have done it before you. So many have proven that this is a transformation that can be accomplished.
With a little work and a belief in yourself, it won't be long before you too see that this new life really is a wondrous place to be! It's so exciting to feel the last of those tentacles of addiction disappear. To feel free at last!
Indeed, once we take back our lives then things look so much better on so many different levels. We can breathe better. We have stronger immune systems. We have a newly found confidence that we can do anything we put our minds to because we know if we can beat an addiction as strong as the one we just beat then we could do almost anything!
Go for it!! All it takes is a little time and you too will feel the peace. The calm that can only come from freedom!!!
ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!!
