Good day EXer’s!!!
I hope all is well with you. Me? I’ve been living the dream of freedom that I began fighting for over seven years ago. And that freedom was nothing but a concept once upon a time. When I first quit smoking, I really did dream of the freedom that I would find in the end. It was like a desire that I wanted to make a reality.
Like so many, I was scared of the process of quitting. I was terrified of failure. And I still believed that I “enjoyed” smoking. That I was losing something, rather than gaining everything. Yes, I was indeed deep in the throws of the addiction that I spent so long creating.
But still, I had this nagging dream of freedom. This little crack in my addiction that kept making me think of quitting. I managed to brush it off for quite a few months as I fed my addiction and strengthened that addiction every time I thought of the dream. But thankfully, that dream just kept appearing, never giving me any peace even as I told myself how happy and content I was as an addict, chained to my addiction.
Soon, that nagging dream of freedom began to become important to me, and I’d daydream of a life free of addiction. Over time, that dream began to feel more tangible. I began to believe that I’d like to experience this concept called freedom first hand. I worked past my fears and suddenly realized, as if a cloud had been lifted from my mind that I could actually make this dream a reality!
I was truly scared when I began preparing to find my dream. One thing I was certain of. I was onto something. There was a shining beacon just begging me to grasp it. To take that first step on a path that I realized was an incredibly important path because this path was the way to find my dream; to grab ahold of it and make it a reality.
I will admit, when I took the first step onto the path of freedom, I was a little nervous. After all, I was creating change and change is always scary. But I did it. The patch helped me to believe that I could. Like a crutch for a person who must heal a broken leg or perhaps a means to keep the addiction enough at bay that I could stay focused on the dream.
Like all of us, I found those first days to be confusing and intense. But like before, that dream of freedom kept creeping in, reminding me of why I chose to take this journey. And yes! I would see my future without cigarettes and over time, I even saw that future with a smile on my face!
I remember the days of thinking, “One day at a time, one hour at a time” or even one minute at a time. And I have to tell you. As the days continued to pass, it became easier to focus on that dream of freedom. It became a goal to get there. I called that goal Mt. Freedom and I’ll never forget the day that I truly believed I was free, for you see that was the day that I could completely focus on my dream of freedom. That was the day that I realized that I’d been free for awhile. I was just afraid to see it.
Never believe for a moment that your choice to quit was or is a bad decision. Never doubt the dream because I can tell you from experience that this is the place you want to be. On the other side of addiction, grinning from ear to ear because of the accomplishment of finding a way through slavery.
And that dream is everything I ever thought it would be. I smile a lot. I laugh a lot and yes, I perceive and appreciate my freedom in ways that only one who was once enslaved can.
Keep that dream of freedom close at all times and before long you too will be living that incredible life that’s just waiting for you. All you have to do is grab hold of that dream, keep in in the forefront of your thoughts and one day you too will realize the reality; the happiness that is freedom!!
ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!!
Chuck
