“I want to change the environment,” he said. “Stop global warming.”
Since he was still withdrawing from heroin and had been with us only about five days I wasn’t terribly surprised by his statement. When we’re coming off a drug run we’re usually not thinking clearly.
My response was something like, “Well, maybe you could start by cleaning up your living area. Empty your trash, make your bed, and throw away the empty soda cups.” I pointed out that he was thinking of solving a world-wide problem, while in reality he was having troubling with the 32 square feet around his bed.
Of course that didn’t set well but he acknowledged that he might be a little too ambitious considering that hadn’t been to college and had never had a job. After all, shooting heroin and hustling to pay for it can be a full-time occupation that leaves little time for self-betterment.
This man’s ideas of changing the world seem to be a form of denial - a way of escaping the reality that he’s living in a recovery program because his life’s totally unmanageable.
Flights of fancy may be the only way he can feel some power over his life.
good goal? motivation?
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