Some things are easy to quit. For example, walking away from a job you hate isn't difficult for most. I'm sure though that the majority of people would agree giving something up that we feel a strong attachment is no easy task. The funny thing is that many times those things we
need to give up in our lives are in fact the hardest to let go of. Additionally, those things almost always tend to not be healthy for us. So why do we have unhealthy attachments to things or people?
It seems like we all some sort of vice (dare I say addiction?)...maybe even something as innocent and harmless as a sweet tooth. But those things we tend to overindulge in... be it alcohol, drugs or an unhealthy relationship don't really bring us any true fulfillment. They only offer us a temporary sense of satisfaction. It's easy though to fall back on those things time and again than it is to break them off and establish something new or healthy in its place. There's an old saying that goes "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten." That statement that carries a lot of weight. Really, how can we change our tomorrow if we're unwilling to change today?
Oft times we need to hit a bottom, or reach a point a despair that brings about a willingness break an unhealthy, lingering habit. Other times we just get tired of living in the same old destructive patterns that brings us nothing good in life. So, it leaves one to ask........how do you break free of the negative things? Unfortunately, we have these things called memories that tend to entice us back. We know how that thing made us feel and the temporary pleasure that it brings. Somehow it always tends to bite us in the end though, doesn't it? It reminds me of those animal trainers who work with grizzly bears and tigers. God bless his heart but, Steve Erwin was a little nuts. As great of a guy as he was, he worked with dangerous animals on a daily basis and it ended up costing him his life. That might be a bad example for this discussion here but...in reality, it's similar to an addict. Steve loved he was doing but his passion for it ultimately led to his demise.
We can become so entrenched in a habit or destructive relationship that it ends up killing us, if not in the physical sense than in the spiritual sense. When allow those things to rule our lives, we are not in control and we give the control over to something else. And when we're not in control...we're out of control. So again, how do we end a habit once and for all? My belief is that reaching for something higher than ourselves is the best way. That could mean calling on God, a "higher power" or something that isn't of the natural realm to help us through it. Too many people think of life in black in white terms, dismissing anything spiritual. Self-reliance is too often praised but neglected are those things that are soul-seeking in nature. The fact is that there are many things cannot be explained or fixed with modern science....especially when you're dealing with something that has a strong emotional element to it (as is the case with most addictions).
The good news is that every day is a new day. Every day we have a new set of options available to us. We can decide to do things the same old way we've always done them - or we can choose to turn away from those things and take a higher path. I guess what it boils down to is that life is a choice...now pick your poison.
