Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet”
—St. Augustine
I met someone the other day.
He told me he had been hooked on prescription pain pills for 50 years. He stopped this summer.
At a time when people are thinking about the end, he found a new beginning.
But you don’t get out without a few scars. And that’s what we’re working on now.
I had a patient that was sexually abused as a child for several years before being rescued. Surprisingly, she held no hatred. But instead accepted her life for what it was and took the necessary steps to protect her own children.
I had a patient that lived in her car. She would make enough money for drugs by doing the only thing she thought she could. But her path took a change and she decided to save herself and in doing so, her daughter.
I have a friend that was diagnosed with cancer as a child. He fought and survived. Now helps others do the same. He gives hope and teaches lessons learned from the battlefield of illness.
These stories are snapshots of a world in transition. Corrupted and reborn. A mythos that runs deep to our core and provides a fountain of potential.
I give these examples to provide perspective.
To add some cold, hard reality to my optimistic rants. Because to some people there’s no end in sight to their pain.
The world keeps crashing down.
Hell keeps getting deeper.
I wish I had an easy answer. Words of inspiration. Words of hope.
But life doesn’t always work that way.
Sometimes, it feels like there’s no one to carry you out of hell, and you have to crawl out yourself. But maybe that’s not really the case. Maybe there is Someone that walks with you. Someone that knows just what you’re going through.
People in AA call this their Higher Power. I call him God. But if those words scare you, I understand. They scare me too.
But this wasn’t supposed to be about that. I just got sidetracked.
What I wanted to write about was…..choices.
Life is full of choices. And there isn’t always a great choice. Sometimes the cure seems no better than the poison.
You see….it’s not about what’s fair. Life isn’t fair. Life just is.
Your choices are what decides the life you live. Because your choices are your freedom.
To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky
Even when there are no good options, there are always choices that can make your life worse. So don’t choose those.
Here’s what I’d recommend….
Start small.
And don’t worry about perfection.
If you stack enough (not great) choices but (not bad) choices together, things slowly start to look better.
If you live in your car and are able to save $5 a week, then eventually you’ll have enough to get a room.
If you’re able to have a conversation with a person, then eventually you’ll be able to have a friendship.
If you’re able to help an old woman cross the street, then eventually you’ll be useful enough for a job.
If you’re able to have a day that you can laugh a few times, then eventually you’ll have a day that you laugh more than you cry.
If you’re able to forgive your kids, then eventually your kids will be able to forgive you.
If you’re able to stay clean for a day, then eventually you’ll be able to stay clean for a year.
When you look around and all you see is pain, stop worrying about who’s to blame. Start figuring a way out.
And if OUT seems too far away, just take a small step in the right direction.
And tomorrow take another small step.
After a thousand steps…….
I promise……
You’ll be in a better place.
p.s.
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