In group a client spoke of spending a lot of time in his head, trying to fix himself. Sometimes he feels good. Sometimes bad. He’s never quite in the place he wants to be, peaceful, serene, and in acceptance.
A group leader asked why he thought he needed fixing. That he might be okay at this moment. The client didn’t have a definitive answer.
His dilemma is one many of us addicts face. We sometimes seek that middle place where we’re always happy. Where everything is perfect. We removed the drugs and alcohol. What now?
A while back I heard a wonderful message that describes one ingredient of happiness as being in total acceptance of where we’re at the moment. We’re down? Accept it. We’re happy for no reason? Accept that also.
The other ingredient of happiness was described as not wanting a lot of things we don’t already have. If I’m fixated on getting a new car, job, romance, peace of mind - whatever I don’t have - then I’m might find myself restless and out of sorts.
This view correlates with that of many eastern religions. Lack of attachment keeps us from being stressed, from being dissatisfied.
Does that mean we forgo ambition? That we seek nothing in life and simply vegetate in a self-created nirvana?
No. I believe this view really promotes the idea that our over attachment to whatever, be it a state of mind or a material possession, can be a breeding place for the angst in which we sometimes exist.
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