I’ve been writing about addictions of different kinds during the past few days. I’ve opened up about my ongoing weed addiction, although I’m sure it might sound ridiculous to some who grew up believing, just as I did, that weed is not addictive in the slightest. I’ve explained the reasons why certain substances, like weed, which are considered to be only mildly addictive compared to other stronger substances, might actually be extremely hard to quit for certain groups of people, in some very specific ways. When it’s not really clear that something is impacting our lives in a negative way, we are much less likely to feel the need to remove it from our lives or to try to regulate it, and such is often times the case when it comes to weed addiction. A lot of users navigate their entire lives barely even questioning the impact that weed might be having on them, simply because it’s not considered to be too addictive, and because their lives seem to be going just fine, even while getting regularly stoned. Now that it’s legal it’s even become more socially acceptable than ever as well. Smokers notice they get along fine with their family and friends, they’re not living in the streets, they have successful jobs or careers, they have artistic or creative pursuits. All is great. Now, if your life is running smoothly in every way, perhaps there is no need to quit or regulate your weed use at all, but keep in mind that we are not always fully aware of the things that are happening in our minds and lives, or of the future consequences of our current thoughts and actions, even if it seems like we have everything figured out. Now, am I advocating for constant paranoia, should we be constantly wondering if our lives could be better than they are, always second-guessing all our decisions? Of course not. Such an attitude is sure to lead to a much lower life satisfaction overall. However, I definitely think there are a lot of people in the world who could benefit from taking a deeper look at themselves, taking a really honest look at their behaviors and habits, which, for some, have never been questioned or examined at all. Neither of us are perfect, and part of the duality of this life we live is that we are bound to make mistakes. However, mistakes are not what really define us in the end. What does define who we are is how we handle those mistakes, whether we keep on blindly repeating them, or learn from them so we may grow and be better in the future. As imperfect people in this imperfect world, we simply can’t beat ourselves up for an honest mistake, but it is our responsibility to have enough self-awareness so that we may learn from our mistakes, so that we are constantly improving as people. By everything I write in this post, in no way am I denying the horrors of the reality which is serious drug addiction on hard drugs, a reality faced by way too many young people these days. All I’m saying is that, for me, for example, I’ve had times when I thought of quitting weed, even if not to quit weed itself but just smoking, but I’ve convinced myself that there’s no need, because it’s not really affecting my life too much, and the ways in which it is affecting my life are ways in which I want to be affected by it. It could be the truth, but it could also be nothing more than an excuse. It’s tough to know, and it takes a whole lot of introspection. Like I said, a lot of times we don’t really know exactly what’s going on in our own minds, what our motives are, what we are truly looking for. I’d like to believe, though, that if I was living in the streets because of my drug addiction, I would have enough self-awareness to guide myself out of it. Maybe I’m being naïve though, even with all my past drug use, but I’m in no hurry to test that.
We’ll continue this topic tomorrow though. I appreciate you reading.
If you have a few minutes listen to my track ‘Everything Stay in the Past.’ Much love.
rebel eye 