I felt compelled to write tonight a little bit. OK, so I lied, it’s a little long, but both addicts and non-addicts agree, it’s worth the read, so hear me out!
It seems that there’s a lot of teachers on here, and admittedly, I’m also one. I’m good at working with people, being relatable and understanding. A lot of being a teacher is being 100% truthful and honest while also speaking from a place of love and compassion. At the end of the school year, I always ask my students what’s the most valuable thing in the World? You’ll get all sorts of answers, but my answer is always “Time”, and more specifically what we do with that time.
I say that you can run out of money, but you can always make more. You can lose your possessions, but you can always repurchase them. You can even lose your friends, but you can make new ones. What happens when we run out of time? Well, that’s it. We’re only given a certain amount of time on this Earth, and the worst thing we can do to ourselves and those that love and support us is to waste it.
I say that to them to really push them to make the most of their time and to slow down and cherish their youth. To love their families while their still together. To not rush to grow up, but to enjoy the moments, because you won’t get them back. One day you’ll wake up and you’ll realize that you’ve become an adult. Did you make the most of your youth? Did you use your time wisely. When you’re old and grey, are you going to have fond memories or are you going to look back and say, “What if?”
I say this to you to help you on your journey to freedom from addiction. Why wait to quit when our time is so valuable? Time is finite and limited, there’s no way to know how much of it we have left. Cherish those we love while the opportunity still lasts. Make memories that you can vividly remember while you still can.
If you feel that you’ve wasted your time being stoned, just don’t. I’m guilty of this, but I can now see the forest through the trees. You may feel like you have wasted a lot of time, doors that were once open for you are now shut. However, that time is not wasted, and don’t try to convince yourself otherwise. There’s a greater reason for it and I truly feel that in the end, when we overcome our addiction, that we’ll grow to become stronger individuals because of this.
Addiction can define a lot of people, but those who overcome it says so much to me about somebody’s character. It’s a lot harder than anybody realizes. It takes a great deal of humility to admit when you’re wrong and you need to make a change. An initiative to fix it and do something about it. An incredible amount of commitment to stick with it. And ultimately a winner to overcome and conquer. I believe there’s a champion in all of us!
If you’re on the fence of quitting. Just commit. Don’t dip your toes, quitting is a leap of faith, you just have to believe in yourself. If you’ve already taken that step, then congrats!
If you just need to chat with someone, but you don’t want to make it public, feel free to message me!
