Lifeboats

“Don’t ask ‘why the addiction?’ Ask ‘why the pain?'”-Dr. Gabor Mate


my addictions
were always lifeboats
the right question was never
“why to I reach for them so desperately and indiscriminately?”

it was
“why am I goddamn drowning all the time?”

Undercurrents

Addiction is constant pleasure and numbing, with an undercurrent of self-hatred.
Sobriety is constant pain and hardship, with an undercurrent of peace and growing self-love.
Addiction looks like a shiny suspension bridge
over the chasm of your loneliness and despair,
but it’s a lie–there is no suspension bridge, no easy road, no pain-free life.
There are only two choices:
move forward by descending into the chasm,
or stand still and procrastinate.
The more you choose the latter to avoid the sharp pain,
the more you’ll pay for it with the dull pain of letting yourself down.
We must choose
between the head-splitting agony of presence
and the slow, rotting feeling of escape.

Addiction is constant pleasure and numbing, with an undercurrent of self-hatred.
Sobriety is constant pain and hardship, with an undercurrent of peace and growing self-love.
And I’m beginning to learn
that despite their subtlety,
the undercurrents matter most.


Uncharted Waters

I tried to escape the pain,
and nothing worked.
So now, I will go into the pain.

As I stand at the edge of this ocean,
I cannot see the opposite shore.
But I must trust that someday I will,
if I’m brave enough to start swimming.

(May 2022)