First off, I just want to say thank you to all those who went through this quit experience with me. Just like so many here, there was once a day when I was addicted. Of course to me, I had to have been more addicted than anyone else ever was! I mean, I knew deep in my heart that there was no way that I could ever quit smoking.
Back in those crazy and addicted days my thinking was that death would be easier than quitting. And yet in the back of my mind, there was always this nagging thought. It stayed there in the back of my mind, being suppressed by the very addiction I was feeding with every waking moment of my life.
When I first thought of quitting, my mind was at first confused by the thought, like it was an entity that wasn’t really a part of me. An alien thought, so to speak. But there was a crack in my addiction. One that I was sure I had somehow created and this gave me the strength to really consider quitting.
Then came the fear. I really was terrified at the thought of quitting, and so many times, I let the addiction control my mind and always noticed that the fear of quitting seemed to be a fear of doing something that just didn’t seem to make sense. Of doing something different. Or crazy.
I remember how hard it was to even think of quitting at first. But one day, I forced myself to call a quitline and to be honest, when someone answered, I hung up on them, never saying a word. I was clammy and shaking and so I reached out and grabbed a cigarette. As I smoked it, and felt the fake calm that comes from smoking, I realized that if I was going to do this, it had to be for real. Failure could not be an option. So I picked up the phone again and called that number. This time I was able to stay on the line and when I was finished, I had patches on the way and the very beginnings of a quit. I was on my way!
I mention this because I know we all feel like quitting is an impossible task when we first decide to do it, and seven years later, I can say it’s not only doable but also is a life changing event like no other!
But that was the past. After living the life of an addict for so long, I discovered something incredibly amazing. FREEDOM!!! For every day that I fought to be free, I’ve gained another day of freedom, and I’ve gained another day of peace wich will be with me for the rest of my life!
Just remember. Quitting is a journey that takes many days. I saw it as a mountain. Mt. Freedom is what I called it and with each passing day, I saw myself on the slopes of Mt. Freedom, fighting and clawing to find my dream of reaching that summit. When I first stepped on the slopes, I looked up and the summit looked so far away. I wondered if I could ever reach the top of that summit.
I stayed on the path of freedom, navigating the slippery slopes of the snow fields and working my way through the boulder fields until one day I realized that I was standing on that summit!! I waved the banner of freedom high over my head proudly for all to see!
And now I’m living the dream that I created for myself so long ago when the dream was nothing but a thought that occasionally found its way into my consciousness. When I grabbed hold of that thought and turned it into the wonderful quit that I have lived, I changed my life forever in so many wonderful ways.
And you can too! Grab that dream! Look not to the current discomfort that must be felt but rather to the future where your freedom lies. It’s right there waiting for you! All you have to do is fight for it like you’ve never fought before.
The freedom is incredible and I want every person who dreams of freedom to succeed! I want everyone who has ever had to face addiction to be free, simply because once you feel it, you’ll never want to go back to the old addicted ways.
So as I celebrate my seven years of freedom, those of you still fighting will always be in my mind. You’ll always be in my heart for you see, you’re not just fighting for your health. You’re also fighting for your future. Your fighting for your life and to see your children or grandchildren grow into their own new and wonderful lives. You’re proving once and for all that you care more about life then a slow, agonizing death, and what could be more noble then that?
Onward to freedom my friends,
ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!!
Chuck
