5. Consequences
5. CONSEQUENCES
Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone. I’m not willing to debate that point here.
Having said that, I believe addicts make a very special kind of mistake. I’m not referring to picking up the first drink or whatever their drug may be. I am referring to something they do before that temptation ever enters their mind.
Alcoholics and addicts often put things into motion which come back later to cause them problems. A classic example is staying up late partying when work starts early the next morning. Most people never do this, but some do. During those evening hours, everything seems easy and fun, while work seems very far away. Then, the consequences inevitably come.
The definition: “Consequence – That which follows something on which it depends”
Here is a workman taking a break at the entrance to a cave or mine. He is enjoying a cigarette and resting his arm comfortably on a wooden handle. That handle is the plunger on what explosive experts once called a “blasting machine”. Should he put enough weight on that arm, the wires leading off to the side will trigger an explosion of dynamite.
What will the consequences be? Two things. Disastrous. And totally predictable. If this man survives the explosion, he will probably claim he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just minding his own business and taking a cigarette break when… “BOOOOOOM!”… the world seemed to explode.
Strange how such “unforseeable” consequences seem to follow alcoholics and addicts around. It’s not because they’re stupid. Far from it. I believe they need continuous disasters and other negative consequences to provide very definite excuses to resort to their drug more.
It’s not an accident. It’s deliberate. I’d bet my life on that.