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Brian B Not resetting the Widget circa 2018
Brian B Not resetting the Widget circa 2018
This was in response to a post about someone not resetting their widget after an evening at the bar drinking and smoking. The person decided not to reset the clock because they had "earned" the time they had gone without smoking thus far. I sometimes repost comments so they will be easier to find later. I beg your indulgence:
That is one of the problems with civil discourse these days. Words no longer have meaning. People feel entitled to define issues, complex and simple, as they see fit. I have managed to survive in this realm for nearly 48 years without committing arson. I am NOT an arsonist. If I go forth today, the 17,636th day of my life, and commit Arson, then I am an arsonist. I cannot say I am not ACTUALLY an arsonist because I only did it once, or I don't do it that often, or I only commit arson when the moon is full, Mars is in alignment with Uranus, and I only did it because I lost my favorite coffee mug. I would be considered, and correctly so, an arsonist, and would live out the rest of my days from this day forward knowing I was an arsonist, having been publicly identified as an arsonist and shunned by my peers and community as an arsonist.
I, personally, am exhausted trying to keep up with the excuses people make for the behavior of themselves and their associates. I am an inclusive guy. I want EVERY person in the world who is willing to honestly confront their addiction and battle it, even if they are unwilling to help others and not successful in their own, to come here share their struggles and recommit to the fight. I want them all to come here and find nourishment in the sagacity of those who have gone before and achieved a purchase, on a higher spot, of the cliff we climb known as addiction.
If, however, you are willing to lie to yourself, who am I in your eyes? Life is short and I have no time or patience for fools, thieves and liars. I have an abundance of compassion, to be distributed in my own unique fashion at the tempo and in the quantities of my choosing, for those who honestly and earnestly are in the fight. If you come to this place that so many view as a lifeline, an oasis in a desert of despair, pain, and loneliness and mock those who stand and fight by trying to diminish your own weakness and cowardice, I abhor you. I rebuke you. It is the same, perhaps on a lesser scale, as the thief of valor who runs away from the battle but tells all who will hear of his triumph over evil in that battle and the glory of his own tortured, personal sacrifice in their name.
If you fight and fail, I will carry you. If you run and fall, I will pick you up. If you are lost, I will light your path. If you weep, I will comfort you. If you try to blow smoke up my butt, I will crush you. You are worse than the enemy because you are an agent of his power acting as a friend. You are an infiltrator spreading sweet lies that desperate people might seize upon, You encourage others to redefine victory when there is only one true victory in this fight...complete, ongoing, eternal vigilance against and banishment of tobacco use. Words have meaning. They have very specific meanings. Either you are here to quit or you are here looking for sympathy, rather than strength, and acceptance of your excuses for not quitting rather than a robust support structure for aid in actually quitting. If you are here for the latter, you are here for the wrong reasons.