I've been contemplating/reflecting upon The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism lately and smoking cessation. I just want to remind everybody that I am not a Buddhist. Not that I find anything wrong with Buddhism (clearly), I just don't want to lead folks to think that I am something that I am not, or that I have knowledge about a subject that I do not have. Also, please understand that I am not proselytizing Buddhism. I just seem to click with its precepts as it relates to my recovery and understanding myself and my addiction to nicotine.
Okay! Ready? Here we go!
The Four Noble Truths are;
There is suffering in this life.
The cause of suffering is attachment. ( my words; egoistic attachments to people/places/things viewed through/based upon an illusion.)
The way out of suffering is attainable.
The method to stop suffering is adherence to the Eightfold Path.
Okay, Obi. We got it. Now What?
It hit me that, as it relates to smoking, that we suffer needlessly because of our attachment to an illusion, that we attach to the thing we are addicted to. The other reason why we are suffering is because of someone else's attachment to greed (money). Remember when I was talking about folks who make money off of us? I'm talking about the same people, right here.
"WatchutalkinaboutObi?"
Well, watch this; we feel bad when we quit smoking, because of our mental/physical addiction/attachment to cigarettes. We are (mentally) attached to an illusion caused by advertising and influence/faulty thinking that leads us to believe that, not only do we need cigarettes, but that, it's damn near impossible to quit. (Which opens the door to cessation drugs, devices.)
We are attached to an illusion that we HAVE to HAVE ciggs because of advertising, easy access, and other external factors.
It is an illusion, that we HAVE to HAVE cigarettes because they keep us calm, by soothing us when weare upset and it keeps us company.
It is an illusion, that we cannot live without cigarettes because the nicotine literally toys with our brain, causing us to feel withdrawal, when we stop.
Think about this for a minute; We were not born with a necessity for smoking.
Now, I'm approaching this part very delicately, because I DO NOT want to offend anyone but, with the exception o individuals who were born addicted to a host of drugs (because of selfish, absent-minded mothers who refused to quit smoking while pregnant *rolling my eyes*), we were NOT born addicted to nicotine. So therefore, it stands to reason that the craving for nicotine, comes as a result of external influences. I doubt very, very, very seriously, that those of us who are ex-smokers, and those still smoking, woke up one day and said. "Oooo, it's such a sunny day outside...I think I will start smoking, because I really want to become addicted to nicotine (Happy Smile)." NOT!!
WE ex-smokers and those still smoking, started smoking to fill a void. The void could have been anything. It could have been acceptance/trying to fit in for example, looking cool with the kids who were smoking when we were younger. The void could have been solitude. The void could have even been, I need something to do with my hands or I need something to calm me down, or I want to get higher, let me smoke this cigarette. Either way, an illusion was involved in our starting and maintaining smoking.
The question I think we have to ask ourselves at some point is, "How do we kill the illusions that make us feel that we have voids in our lives, and if we do, how do we fill them, so that we don't try to fill them with artificial means again, in the future?"
When will we say, enough. "I am not going to suffer behind this anymore!!"
Honestly, that is for each person to decide on his/her own.
When you get a chance, do me a favor. Sit down in a protected and quiet space, and after you say this piece to yourself, meditate, reflect on it for a while.. "Right now, here in this moment, I acknowledge that I am whole, just as I am. I do not need (fill in your dragon to slay) to complete me."
Please know that you are not alone in your quest to quit and/or to stay quit.
Like I shared in an earlier post, I may not post every day, but I am here - fighting right along with you, daily to Stay Quit.
Huge Gi-normous love to My Rocktober Family wherever in the world, you may be.
One Big Human Love,
(Throwing my arms around the world, to huggg everybody who will receive it.)
Obi.
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