It’s quite easy to see how we’re not living in the most stable of times these days. COVID-19 has drastically changed life for all of us in so many ways. The constant reports of racism, police brutality, demonstrations, and riots have done the same to all of us lately as well. Volatile financial markets, business closures, and overall economic instability also continues to plague our everyday existence now. And in the very near future, the battle for our next President, along with those countless smear tactics, and smoke and mirrors techniques will probably only further add to all this instability felt amongst us all. But, there is one thing that we can be assured of that doesn’t have to add to even more of that feeling and that’s choosing to not numb ourselves with some type of addiction from what’s going on in the world around us.
Let me clarify this with even greater simplicity. Choosing to numb ourselves from all this chaos in our world right now by heavily engaging in drinking, drugging, smoking, gambling, overeating, promiscuity, pornography, infidelity, going from one relationship to the next, overspending, etc., is only going to add to any feeling of instability we already have.
Addiction to something, no matter what it is, doesn’t do anything more than create a terrible instability in one’s life in the long run. Sure, it may provide some much-needed ease and comfort at the onset from whatever one’s worldly stressor may be. It initially takes that “edge off” so to speak. But, that’s how addiction always begins. A pattern of craving begins as soon as that “edge is taken off”, because when that effect wears off, as it eventually will, the addict then seeks the substance of their addiction again to recreate the same effect. Soon, they’re off and running in the pursuit of that addiction each time their worldly stressor comes clamoring upon them.
After 25 years of sobriety from alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, and 8 years from toxic sex and love behaviors, I’ve learned a little to know that addiction always starts from a desire to numb oneself from someone or something. I’ve already seen this happening a lot more lately in our current unsettled times at my place of volunteer work. Many clients have been choosing to engage in one addiction after another or relapsing back into former addictions they had previously found recovery from, solely because they’ve been trying to numb themselves from a world they don’t understand anymore nor have any perceived control over.
Yes, there is a lot in our world right now that seems to be in control of us, but that doesn’t mean we have to become even more out of control by engaging in some addiction. Because by engaging in some addiction, although it may provide an illusion of some form of control, it’s really only making our world become even more out of control the more we engage in it.
The bottom line here is not to let the illusion of someone or something out there become our solution to dealing with all this craziness in our world right now. Numbing ourselves from any of it with some type of addiction is only going to add to the instability we feel.
So, I encourage you to remain sober by steering clear of choosing anything addictive to cope with these unsettled times, because you’ll find you have a much easier time navigating through these choppy waters if you do…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
