Seeing victims relapse

[MB]

It is hard to watch others fall victim to their addiction in numbers as one struggles through the days of recovery. Along the way we meet and make friends and seem as if old chums from years before because the demon we all share brings us together. It is easy to forget that the other person is a person, just like me. That means that he or she is vulnerable and that smoking addiction will always have a grip on them just as it does me. No one is exclusive. No one is exonerated. There is no pardon from this sentence once handed down. And it is sad to see these new friends fall away to the side as we make our way.

When I pray for desire to remain quit and give thanks for another day of not smoking, let me take a pause to remember my fallen comrades who walked with me for part of my journey. Without THEIR help, I too might be somewhere else.

I miss you, Mom.

Love,

Michael