And that's because if we're patient we come to realize that everything is temporary.
The pain of our addiction is temporary, as it lessens day by day.
Our bad fortune is temporary. As is our good fortune.
The problem with us addicts is that we want it all. And we want it now. We have no patience.
Our experience has been that when we do a drug, it's instant gratification. And from that we sometimes get the idea that we should have everything instantly.
In our early addiction we were pretty much able to do that. It was only when our habit turned into a voracious monster that we couldn't keep up with it.
When we're patient we learn to live in the moment, to stay in the here and now. And when we do that we learn that - even in the here and now - we're on shifting sand. We're in an ever-changing kaleidoscope where things are never quite where we want them.
We realize that whatever state we're in is constantly shifting and changing texture.
But as we develop patience we learn to roll with changes.
We accept them as part of the scenery on the road of life.
