People

Different people.  Different pasts.  Different families.  Different times.  Different places.  Yet for centuries we have the same problems.  The same issues.  The same basic errors.  Mistakes are repeated not only by generations, but by the same person.  Over and over again.  What does it take before a lesson is learnt?  Why can’t we learn from other people’s mistakes?  Why do some people go through life with ease, they just get it straight away?  And others take years, hurdles, obstacles, basic errors?  And then those that just get it wish they had lived a little, and those that take years wished they had just got it.  I can only speak from my own perspective.  I can only write from personal experience.

Living in the world I live in, teaches you life lessons on a daily basis.  Things happen almost every minute.  The more people there are, the more you learn.  We are all different in so many ways.  And because of this, we all see things differently.  According to what we’ve been taught, or how we’ve been brought up.  According to societies’ standards, or the people we choose to associate ourselves with.  Everything around us has an influence on how we see things, on how we make choices.  Even siblings, who are bought up in the same environment, in the same schools, with the same friends and influences, make different choices.  They choose different types of music, different styles of clothing.  Their perspective of “right” and ”wrong” may not always be the same.  We’re all unique.  Not only on the outside, but also on a heart level.  Our soul.  Our mind.  Our very fibre is distinctive.  So what brings us to make the choices we make?  What guides our heart and mind in the directions we take? 

What brings change?  Mistakes.  Lessons.  For some it’s death.  For others its loss.  It could be inspiration.  Or even purpose.  I guess it all depends on what you find important.  It depends on your values, your morals.  But what happens when you have none of those things.  What happens if your life is based on just getting by.  Just make it through today.  What happens when you’re addicted to heroin and the only thing that is important to you is your next fix.  All your morals and values don’t exist because you just don’t care.  And what makes it that much easier is the fact that your fix makes you care even less.  No feelings.  No emotions.  You’re numb.  You’re existing.  You’re just getting by.  In that world, you have no goals.  No purpose.  So how do you change?  How do you even begin to want to change?  Changing seems more difficult than just existing.  And no matter how unhappy you might be at any given moment, the only thing on your mind is getting that next fix, so that all those uncomfortable “feelings” will go away.  There’s no room for change.  No time for change.  You’re stuck in a tornado, a spiral downwards that takes you deeper and deeper, and the longer you stay in it, the harder it is to get out, and the more difficult it is to stay out, to change your habits, to make a new way. 

But you can get out.  You can get to a point where you say enough is enough.  Where you realise you just can’t live that life anymore.  When you feel like death.  When you look like death.  When you realise that death is only a single overdose away…. Everyone’s breaking point is different.  Everyone has their own pain threshold.  Once you have reached the end, once you’ve been through so much that you just can’t anymore, you wake up one day and decide enough is enough.  I cannot live this life anymore.  I cannot be this person anymore.  It’s not easy to stick to this decision, and sometimes the consequences are so bad that you would rather go back to that than to have to face the consequences.  But, with help, and time, you get through it, and it gets better.  It gets easier.  Slowly.  Every hour’s worth of clean time, is a victory.  And slowly but surely the hours become days and the days become weeks…  And soon enough you have bigger plans, a better future.  The sooner you change your focus, the sooner you realise that there’s so much more to life than fighting against addiction.  It’s more about living in freedom.  It’s realising that the victory is yours.  It’s believing that the battle has already been won. 

It’s all about making the right choices, and doing the right things… Using your experiences, your point of view, your take on life, and making the most out of what you’ve got.  It’s about being grateful for the small things, like a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear and food to eat, as well as the big things, like family, health, and purpose.  It’s about all the truly good things in life. 

No matter how different we all are, we’re all searching for true happiness.  No matter what path we’ve taken in our lives, we all want peace, contentment, freedom.  And once you learn how to take responsibility for your choices and your future, you’ll be free.  Once you realise how very special and unique you are, you’ll find contentment and peace.  And, finally, once you understand that you have freedom and peace within you, you will have found happiness.  Pure joy.  And then you’ll experience and know the true meaning of life.