The world’s favorite addicts
There is no right or wrong. If you are here on this site, there is a good chance you believe that statement; however, there is what works and what doesn’t. For those of us who are in recovery, as well as those who understand the destruction that addiction causes, we know that addiction doesn’t work. Physically, it damages the body just like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Emotionally, the addict copes with life’s twists and turns about as well as a 4-year-old and never gets better at it while actively using. And as hope for normalcy fades from the addict’s life, so does any desire to grow spiritually.
In Neale’s conversation with God, God makes it very clear that nobody does anything inappropriate, given their view of the world. Again, being that you are here on this site, you will probably agree to some degree that everything is perfect just the way it is. There is perfection in all that we think, say, and experience. For those of us who have experienced addiction firsthand, even when that was happening, it was perfect, there was nothing wrong with it at all. I was experiencing exactly what I was choosing; and that was to do drugs.
It was not apparent to me or anyone else in the beginning of my drug use that there was a problem, because it was working. It was working perfectly. I was able socialize better and I didn’t feel inadequate anymore. For most addicts, when we had our first experience with the addictive substance or behavior, it was mission accomplished — we had found the cure! Over time we began to demand more and more out of the disease, and that is when things clearly did not work very well anymore.
Thanks to the media for bringing right into our living rooms perfect examples of people living a life of active addiction to keep this very real for us. Just about two years ago, we watched as Charlie Sheen was fired from Two and a Half Men for ironically exhibiting the same behavior his character on the show acted out week after week. He then proudly came out and said that he was “winning.” How is that for denial? The whole world saw him fired from a multi-million dollar job, lose his kids in a custody battle, flaunt horrible relationships — and he called that “winning.”
Nary a month goes by without seeing Lindsey Lohan’s plastered mugshot flash across the TV screen and the tabloid magazine racks. Her spiral down to the bottom is being meticulously documented in print and on screen.
We have seen the following legends pass on from addiction: Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, Chris Farley. The amazingly talented Whitney Houston. Then there is the 27 Club, which includes: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Curt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, just to name a few, all of whom died at the age of 27. The list is too long to include all the names here, but I am sure you know of someone who you may have been a fan of that passed away from addictive behaviors.
But we love keep up with the crazy behaviors the famous addicts of the world continue to display. Addiction sells. The media is making a fortune by following known addicts around, waiting for them to act out, get into a fight, get arrested, or better yet, when they die. It’s not the media’s fault. The media is just giving the public what they want, and are willing to pay for.
It is our cultural story of living our lives vicariously through the celebrities. Many people are of the belief that it is not moral to act this way themselves, but enjoy seeing other people do it. It is almost as if the celebrities aren’t real, and it is okay to sit by and watch them destroy their lives. Most people don’t even consider that they are actually enabling the behavior by patronizing them.
Why don’t we have the same standards for the rich and famous that we would have for our own family members? If every act is an act of self-definition, and it is, aren’t we saying, “It is fine by us if you want to kill yourself with drugs, just entertain us in the process”? What message are we sending to our children by allowing this stuff to creep into our homes?
We spend way too much of our time and money glorifying alcohol and drug use. It is common now to see references to pot smoking on almost all of the sitcoms. If it’s okay to watch that as a family, are we sending the message to our kids that pot smoking is condoned? Is marijuana use now condoned? Do we as a society not care anymore that our kids are using pot? New surveys show that, for the first time ever, more Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana than those who oppose it. Do we just want the money from it? Or do we not care if people use it?
I think we need to pay a little more attention to what works, and what doesn’t. It is clear that addiction doesn’t work.
How are you defining yourself? Does it matter to you?
I get that everything is perfect, I really do. Nothing needs to change. I, however, am defining myself as someone who desires to see the rampant addiction and destruction it creates lessen in my lifetime. I choose to be a person who is there for the addict when they reach their hand up from the bottom and ask for help.
What will you do to help? What is the cultural story you hold about addiction? Let’s talk.
(Kevin McCormack C.A.d Is a certified addictions professional, as well as a Conversations with God Life Coach. Kevin is a practicing Auriculotherapist, and a Spiritual helper on www.changingchange.net. Kevin will be presenting at the CwG Recovery Retreat in Medford Oregon June 23rd – June 26th. You can visit his website for at www.Kevin-Spiritualmentor.com To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@theglobalconversation.com)
