So why is decision the way out?
As many of you know I am a fan of etymology (the study of root words) because we often find subtle meaning in the roots and history of words. For example, addiction comes from the Latin word addictus (past tense addicere), which means “to devote, sacrifice, sell out, enslave,betray or abandon." So what?
When you picked up your first sickerette, my guess is that you didn't say something like,"I want to enslave myself to this object. I want to sacrifice , my time, money, family, home, values, self to a dead leaf wrapped in paper and dipped in thousands of chemicals." That didn't happen!
But that's what this dead leaf did to us - made us a slave to a natural insecticide called tobacco chock full of a substance called nicotine which is deadly and yes, addictive.
It wasn't part of the deal! We told ourselves that we would smoke in order to be cool, to relax, to even lose weight...
And what about those chemicals that were added without our awareness? They range among everything from embalming fluid to arsenic. Who knew?
But now we do know! Now we find ourselves addicted to Nicotine and smoking, vaping, and chewing this dangerous dead leaf several times a day! So what's the way out?
Decision. Decision because that is the aspect of ourselves that we can control in spite of our enslavement to nicotine. You can't do it casually because you are bound like a slave to this substance. You can decide and stand firm in that decision - just as slaves decided to set themselves free - they dream of the day, they plan the day, they live for the day that they can be FREE!
And we have a better chance of freedom because our enslaver is a thing - a plant with the properties to enslave us rather than a society or another human being.
My ancestors were enslaved by the Spanish. But they decided to liberate themselves and they did after many years of struggle! Perhaps your ancestors were enslaved by the Vikings, the Greeks, the Romans, or even by the United States of America. Now you are FREE! One day of Freedom is worth all the struggles it takes to break lose of enslavement. Why? Because it allows our dignity (which we always had to hide from in slavery) to blossom.
Will you let that leaf control your life - control YOU - or will you become a Freedom Seeker?
Each minute of each day of Freedom is worth it! The decision to liberate yourself awaits you!
LLAP
