Reading both the posts here at Freedom and watching the events of the past three days....... seeing
the struggles and watching the triumphs and the failures too, have taught me just how fragile life is. I read these posts and I marvel at the strength here.
I see courage and tenacity and love and the human spirit at it's best. While online support cannot keep a quit for someone, it offers something that
information alone cannot....it offers the human touch, the love and the understanding and the strength that many of us need and all of us have to offer. It
glues together all the other elements, and make this the experience of our lives. You are all so much stronger than you know or think. So just when we
think that we know it all or can learn no more, doors and a whole new world opens up full of wonderful surprises about ourselves and a new found sense of
self worth. At first it may be overwhelming and frightening, but know that eventually it leads us to a sense of calm and wonder and a whole new outlook on
life.
This week, while watching the events that have occured in our country, by reading about them and by
interacting with others where I work, about them, I have seen human spirit both up and down and have also watched how it affected the other portions of
people's lives, mainly their addiction to nicotine. I help manage a large drug store where cigarette sales, unfortunately rank number 4 on the list of
total sales, only surpassed by prescriptions, cosmetics and greeting cards.
Most of my regular customers know that I've quit smoking and when they see me at the check out,
those who smoke give me any excuse why they continue to do so and those who don't, check to make sure that I'm still free of nicotine. This week,
brought an increase in cigarette sales. Those addicted to nicotine markedly increased their consumption citing stress due to the assault on our country for
doing so. One woman, last night, said that her 24 year old daughter worked for ABC News in New York City and was having a difficult time after two days of
seeing and hearing about the destruction. Understandable. This, according to mom, was her reason for buying 4 packs of cigarettes to get through the next
24 hours instead of 2 packs. Mom was telling me that her daughter's distress was the reason she had to increase her smoking. Junky
thinking.
On the other hand, all the other exsmokers who came in, while visibly shaken and distressed, held
dearly to their quits because their quits had nothing to do with what had transpired. My reaction to what had happened caused yet another problem. I
cannot watch all that smoke and fire and, at the same time, yearn for a cigarette. Quite the opposite. I have had difficulty breathing seeing the masks and
smoke and ashes and thinking about those who are trapped and died or lay dying in those buildings. How can one think about putting a cigarette in one's
mouth and inhaling all those dangerous chemicals, when others are gasping for just the faintest breath of fresh air to survive? Death by suffication and
fire....and thoughts of a cigarette? No way.
And on another note, I have been working with people, through email, who have been struggling to make
it through their 72 hours so that they can become members of Freedom and continue their quest to end their active addiction. Through all that has
transpired, none have written to me and said that they lost this very important and difficult part of their quit because of this week's events. Instead,
they have happily written that they have made it through and are looking forward to posting on the board.
The human spirit is a wonderful thing. While we sit and gasp at all the death and destruction and
senseless carnage, we also marvel at the human spirit at its best as we see the surviors reach out to help the victims. It is no different with smoking.
Those of us who will use any excuse in the book to continue our addiction, will use, even citing their patriotism as a valid reason to do so, when we know
that there is NO excuse to smoke no matter what. And those of us who are determined and committed to licking this deadly addiction will also succeed, for we
know that to take just one puff, could very well cost us our lives.
Freedom members, keep on posting, keep on offering your words, whether of sadness, of anguish, of
love or encouragement and know that somehow, sometime, you may say just the thing to keep someone from taking that one puff that may send him to his death.
It is human spirit at its' best and we at Freedom are a lot stronger than we think.
love to all of you....you are one great bunch of quitters!
Linda
1 year, 9 mos, free

