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9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11214

Beautifully written as always Nonic.

Thank you for sharing.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Working

It is good to see you again here. I am glad to see that you are continuing your journey. It is a long time since my last visits here, but it is a pleasure to see so many people (including your good self) rising above that old thin blue veil. You should be proud of yourself for the doing, and for dispersing so much hope for people in great need of a little light at the end of the tunnel.

I am most disturbed about how the addiction serves as a self medicating process for people who already tend toward anxiety and depression. Being one of those, I take great offense at the fact that an industry has been allowed to exploit our difficulties with such impunity. That is one of the facts of the addiction that has moved me toward cessation over the years. Perhaps in some way I should be grateful for the callousness of this industry. Without it I may have continued down the road of dependency. After all as Cicero said "Gratitude is the father of all virtue"...

One of the most useful things I have learned out of this experience is that during the times I felt the greatest need for a cigarette was when my mind was on either the past or the future. The past, of course, can not be changed and the future is yet unknown. So in terms of that simple reasoning it is better to remain in the present. That is easier said then done, but when we are able to do so, the road to cessation becomes a bit more manageable.

Stay well out there...

nonic

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Days: 1373 Hours: 11

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190,170

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9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1140

Hi nonic. Long time and no see. Nice to see you still writing words of encouragement in your very poetic way.

Yep, there was a time before addiction. There is a time after, too. It feels nice to be back to my own natural self. Pain, pleasure, sadness, happiness, and all the sensations in between used to be mitigated or celebrated with cigarettes. Now they just are what they are--sensations that come and go, whether I smoke or not. Without all that smoke in the way, I get to just be and experience me. And that's not too darned bad.

Thanks again for your stopping in. Your writing always kind of takes me to a deeper place.

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9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Remember

This business of cessation is a hard thing. And I know full well that there are people out there who at this very moment are struggling and perhaps feeling that there is no hope.

I know…

Having traversed that road myself I feel a great deal of empathy for you.

For those who tend toward depression and anxiety your stomach is aching and convulsed with the pressure only a depressed or anxious person can feel. I know that those uncomfortable feelings are journeying up to your minds eye. And I know that your brain is telling you that all you must do to relieve the dread and fear is to light one up and let the chemistry of your brain and limbic system calm the storm.

I know...

But there are things that you have forgotten. And there are things you must remember. When you made your oath to stop hurting yourself by smoking, you stood on a mountain top. The air was cool and clear and clarity of purpose was palpable. You knew who you are. But we cannot stay in that rarefied air for ever, even though it is a beautiful dream.

I know...

But the place in which we live most of our lives is not upon that blessed mountain top. No we must always return to the valley. And as we descend the mountain the air becomes a bit thicker and full of pollution. The sounds of civilization once again pierce our calm with shrill violence. We become confused. We become anxious. We become depressed. The temptation is great to once again return to hurting ourselves because our pain cannot be known by another.

I know...

But as you descend to the valley and as you enter the hot flat plain of everyday life...You MUST remember. You must recall that there was a time when you did not smoke. You must remember there was a time when you did not have to hurt yourself to feel normal. There was a time that you where an infant held in your Mother's arms. There was a time when you where a child who could play imaginary games without looking around for a pack of cigarettes. There was a time when as a young adolescent you felt love for another so desperately that you thought your heart would break. There was a time before addiction...

I know…And now you must remember…

Stay Well

nonic

Quit Meter

$66,559.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1373 Hours: 11

Minutes: 0 Seconds: 2

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6339

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

190,170

Cigarettes Not Smoked

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