A poem in free verse:                                                                      

Descent

Indignant

Tall in ourselves

Laughing and with words

Falling out like music blaring from high windows

City

Wretched buzzing signs

Dirty carpet at our feet

Creosote, stinking diesel summer

Horrible attraction

Crawling down to the nude defective earth

Grimy mud-puddle mirrors reflecting blue and white

Broken

Shoulder turned to hard laughter

And words

Falling on us

Like music blaring from high windows

Someone I only know through Facebook asked me to help with her son's senior project for high school. I did not know him either. But I did what I could to help make his project a success. That moment lead me to write a letter to this young man. I would like to share it with you.

Have you ever said, “I’m only hurting myself”?

 

This is one of the biggest lies you’ll ever tell yourself. The defining characteristic of humanity is that we have the ability to mourn. Not just those we’ve lost, but even for those we have never met. On the other end of the scale we find that the essence of true human happiness extends from the ability to celebrate the accomplishments of others. These are integral parts of the interdependent nature that makes up humans as a society. As such, it stands to reason that when we hurt, so do they. When we succeed, so then do others around us experience vicarious joy.

 

The fact is that everything we say or do affects those around us; especially those who love us and care about us most. And around those people are still more people; some we know and some we do not. On the flip-side; all of our successes and achievements are due only in part to our own efforts. Behind the scene, there are forces working. Those closest to us, and those around them are pulling for your benefit in ways you may never see or fully understand. When we open ourselves to this concept, we begin to see the importance of positive influence. And when those around us need it, we become open to the idea of lending that sometimes invisible support which can so often become a tangible step toward achievement.

 

My father used to say, “Leave the room better than you found it”. Sometimes this means picking up things; sometimes it means picking up people. When we can do this simply and solely because it is the right thing to do, then we can feel assured that we have left the room better than we found it.

 

Though I’ve never met you, I care about you. Your successes, your goals, your advancements are important. In time, we will hand this world over the care of your generation. You and others like you will determine the course of the world – my world…our world. I need to know that I’ve done my part to prepare you. I need you to know that I’m counting on you; pulling for you. I truly want better for you, than I want for myself.

 

Go forth and fearlessly be yourself.

Sincerely;

Dan

Disease concept explained.

 

Imagine hearing the doctor say, “You have fatal condition. There is no cure however, there is treatment. Only through this treatment can we guarantee your survival”. What do you suppose your reaction would be? I had this conversation with a doctor. Not once or twice, but several times in fact. Each time I chose not to listen I crept closer to death. Each time I ignored my disease, I got sicker and weaker until, at last, I chose to act. I accepted the truth behind my condition; I took action; I sought help and guidance; I got the treatment that I needed to survive, and through this treatment I have a better life that I could have ever imagined. What was my condition? Alcoholism. What I just described is the true definition of “The Disease Concept” of addiction.

There are many who believe that the disease concept was, in fact, dreamed up by addicts themselves as an excuse to continue doing the drugs of choice. This is not only incorrect, it is dangerously malicious and misleading. There are also those who outright decry the disease concept as a myth because “using is a choice”. If that is your stance then consider the following. People do choose to drink or do drugs that is true, but no one chooses to be an addict. Just as some choose to smoke, none choose to get lung cancer. Just as some choose to drink soda pop and eat fast food, it unlikely that any have ever chosen to become obese or diabetic. Why is it so farfetched to think that addiction could also be a disease? It has the pathology of a disease, it requires medical observation and a change of lifestyle. The fact is, that believing the disease concept saved my life. Without it, I honestly don’t think I would be here today. I am not alone, hundreds of thousands of addicted people have gotten their lives back on track by learning to see addiction this way and treat it accordingly. Unless you have ever experienced the battle of recovery then your opinion on this topic is null and void. If you believe anything other than what I described in the first paragraph, then you are a dangerously ignorant purveyor of misinformation.

“Do not raise your voice. Improve your argument” Bishop Desmond Tutu.

A person’s relationship with a higher power should be deeply personal; a sacred bond between each person and his or her chosen spirit guide. If your faith dictates that you commune with the spirit by sitting quietly in the forest and contemplating your origins, your actions, your mortality and your eternity; then so be it. If your faith dictates that you put on your best clothing and sit in a building alongside other people in their nice clothes, then so be it. As long as we are learning to live the ways of peace and tolerance, as long as we hold the message of the spirit above the motives and agendas of those who deem themselves the messenger, as long as we are willing to accept those who think, act, and believe differently that we do – only then, are we walking in the divine light. But when this faith spills into the streets and preaches division and intolerance; when it condemns and persecutes those who hold different views, then we destroy the bonds that hold humankind together. Fear and division are the enemies of strength and unity. If we, as people of this community called earth, are to survive, we must do so with solidarity. Those who seek to divide us, seek to destroy us. When the messenger becomes more important than the message; the doctrine becomes toxic.