The goal of any
human being is to achieve happiness. But if you look at the Ten Commandments,
seven of them begin with “Thou Shalt Not…” One of the biggest anti-drug
campaigns in the 1980s was “Just Say No!” One could look at this and say that
clearly the world wants me to deny myself pleasure. Why do we have to always
deny ourselves and say “no”? Who doesn’t enjoy a beer buzz? That first drag off
a cigarette? Cocaine gives its user a massive rush. Heroin is massive ecstasy.
Are you telling me that if I get married, I have to stay with the same woman
for the rest of my life? Why can’t I be in the throes of passion with someone
else? What is the harm in it?
Now,
just a clarification based off that last paragraph. I have a beer about once
every six months. I’ve never done an illegal drug in my life. I abhor cigarettes
with a fiery passion, and when I was married, I never cheated. I am not saying
this to tell you I am some goodie-two-shoes. But if you look at America (and
the world) today, everyone is looking for an escape. Especially living here in
Oklahoma, you cannot swing a dead cat in this area without hitting a meth lab.
And
I seriously doubt the bathtub meth made in these trailer house labs are nearly
as potent and pure as Walter White’s cooks. So these people just throw in any
and all available chemicals into their batches – anything from under the
kitchen sink. And then their customers intentionally take the stuff into their
bodies. (I am not really clear on how that works. I guess they smoke it or
snort it.) But, this stuff is, literally, poison and they are willfully
injecting it into their bodies.
Why?
The
sensation that any of these drugs provide must be wickedly intense. But at what
cost? Ask anyone in the medical field, the ravages to the human body are
immense. And then, when that high is no longer readily available or easily
achieved, people will go to any lengths to achieve it. They will pawn their
kids’ XBOX 360. Steal from their parents. It is a wicked downward spiral.
The
joyful gift that is sex is an intimate reward that is not to just be given
away. It bonds people together and provides them with a wonderful joy. It is
called “making love” for a reason. And while the passionate embrace of someone
different is often exciting and new, what ends up being the end result? Shame,
guilt, or on the highest level, the original marriage destroyed.
But
it is not just illegal drugs and illicit sex. What about food. I love to go to
this small, local restaurant chain and I love their sirloin steak. But what if
I eat five of them? What would be the end result? I love cherry pie? What happens
if I eat a whole pie? Everything in life is about moderation.”
“So
what you are saying I can just have a little meth or just stick the tip in?” /facepalm.
No dingus. Ask
any true alcoholic why they cannot drink. “You cannot have even one drink?” And
as my Jedi Master explained to me (his padawan) while discussing his own
addiction, you cannot because all it does is open the door. Like Blake Shelton
warned us, “If I have one, I’ll have thirteen…”
Or I could argue
that if cocaine is so great, what happens if you do a pound of it? See all of
these things are an escape. But it is a TEMPORARY escape. It is a respite from
their daily lives. They want to escape – if only for a little while – and the
violent crash and the aftermath of this escape just continues to push them down
further into the doldrums. And the true nature of the escape devices must be
called into question.
But the more
important question you have to ask yourself is, what are you trying to escape?
And are any of these things – the powders, the pills, the arms of a new lover –
are any of these things real happiness? The goal should be to elevate yourself to
levels of true happiness. And what is true happiness and how can you get there?
There are three basic needs of every human being: Food, clothing, and shelter.
Once those needs are met, there is really only one thing that a person needs to
be happy.
And would you
believe me if I told you it was simply the trained mind?
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