WEEKLY MEDITATION
The bonds of degradation are too light to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.
-Charles Munger
The process of addiction is very subtle in the beginning. Rarely does any person make a conscious decision to become addicted to something or even to engage in behavior that they assume will become problematic for them. Today’s quotation speaks to the nature of this subtle process, pointing out, also, that once the addiction has taken hold, a strong bond has been accidentally created. This is an important point because it illuminates the difficulties inherent in finding recovery from our addictions. To successfully recover we must honor the attachment we have involuntarily created to our addictive substances or behaviors by voluntarily developing healthy strong bonds that can functionally take their place. This is one reason why recovery groups can be useful in the beginning of the recovery process. Often it helps to be surrounded by and connected to other people who have successfully broken the bonds to their addictions and replaced them with healthier ones that are helping them wrest contentment within their lives. Regardless of the method, however, it is imperative to remember that feeling connected and bonded is a basic emotional necessity for all human beings. And addiction is the misguided pursuit to meet this important need. Recovery, then, must be a process that consciously and successfully seeks to meet this need if it is to remain viable and dependable.
