Breaking Addictions! How Do You Do That?

_______________________________________


It's January.  Ugh!

And for a lot of people, there's some kind of dreadful New Year's resolutions underway.  Right?

Well, apparently this includes my billionaire employers who are suddenly going through an alcohol reduction period!   What?  (This is absolutely frightening to all of us who work here on the estate!) 

In my three years as Butler for this family, I've never had the actual horror of dealing with sobriety!  (And sober people can be so very unpredictable!)

In my opinion -- it's entirely unseemly to go through life without some kind of addiction!   Ha!

Some are as benign as a few cups of coffee or tea throughout the day, or maybe some exquisite chocolates from Switzerland -- or just grabbing a "Baby Ruth" at the market checkout!

But others can be more complicated -- like prescription meds, the over-enjoyment of alcohol, or the daily need for heroin injections.

Whatever.

Addictions are not some kind of moral lapse. 

We're all just frail human beings, rich or poor, trying to get through the day with the least amount of pain -- and possibly a little pleasure.  Is that not true?  And that's where addictions come into play. 

Basically, our only daily needs are for air, water, nutrition and warmth.  Right?  But that gets old really fast, doesn't it?    

We need more!

And our individual, unique addictions can range all the way from caffeine, potato chips and wines from France -- to street drugs, gambling and Godiva chocolates!   


Whatever addictions we utilize, we're all in this together!  So lets not beat ourselves up about it! 

There's all kinds of "Self Help" articles out there on the Internet about digging ourselves out of addictive behaviors. 

And there's counseling, group therapies, "Alcoholics Anonymous", and plenty of rehab clinics we could throw ourselves into for a few days.  (And this ranges from free clinics operated by many cities, to luxury rehab resorts all over the world.) 

But the truth is, no one can help us stop our delightful addictions unless we have the desire from within.   Is that not absolutely right?  And when and if that time comes, we'll be more receptive to the help that's out there.

Again, a lot of our addictions are mild and can be sustained into old age.  But some are speedily and imminently deadly!  And some are highly destructive to others around us!


To anyone struggling with New Year's resolutions, or fighting against seriously destructive behaviors,  I'll be wishing you all the best! 

And forgive me if I'm out of place tonight, and overstepping boundaries. 

But in this world of the rich where I find myself these days, addictive behaviors are so many and prevalent,  I couldn't begin to innumerate.

Just wanted to share some thoughts.

Good night,
Andrew