WEEKLY MEDITATION
Just this.
-Zen Saying
At the very heart of addiction is the desire or need to be away from the present moment. Or at least, it is the attempt to be away from the emotions that the present moment presents. The opposite of this need for escape would be the true ability to experience and fully accept the present moment, even when it presents perceived difficulty and discord. If this state were readily attainable, there would be no need to seek escape through addictive behaviors or substances. This simple Zen saying is a reminder that whatever “this” is presented at any given moment is never something that needs to be avoided. Far from being avoided, in fact, there is a lesson or opportunity for practice in every situation or circumstance that comes our way, regardless of how negatively we may perceive it. It is important to remember that once physical addictions are dealt with, what remains is the need to deal with the emotional desire to escape. With time and practice in recovery, there develops a true capacity to deal with the emotions presented in daily life and a confidence that comes with that capacity. As the capacity to deal with daily life increases, the need to escape through addictive behaviors decreases. Successful recovery is ultimately the process of removing the needfor addictive behaviors far more than it is about removing the addictive behaviors or substances themselves.
