Courage

[Lucid01]

  It takes courage to walk the path of freedom. When the pain of where I was became greater than my fear of change I was ready to start walking. Today I am learning to walk serenely the path to freedom. Serenity doesn't mean that everything is going my way, rather it means that I have developed enough courage to face facts as they are.

  Once nicotine leaves the body the problem centers in the mind. Mental craving I call an obsession of the mind. Clarity of mind is the antidote to obsession. Clarity of mind can be developed. Having described 10 solution based coping strategies over the last 10 days I now plan to turn my attention to developing clarity of mind over the coming days.

 Thanks to all who read my post. A very special thanks to all the members here who stop in to reply. Together we make it. No one and nothing exists in absolute independence from everything else. We are all bound up into the fabric of a single garment of human destiny, it has been well said.

[MarilynH]

Thank you for this great post @Lucid01 you are doing super fantastic with your precious quit journey YAY for 10 splendiferous days of Freedom YAY for each and every day WON! You're now in the DDC ~ Double Digit Club YAY for giving yourself the Gift of LIFE! 

[ReallyReal]

Good morning @Lucid01 .  I hope you slept well and are refreshed this morning.  I also hope your day goes well and you feel grounded and balanced, knowing you have made good choices for yourself. 

Yes, the fear of change is a giant boogeyman that keeps so many of us away from taking that first step towards freedom.  It is kind of sad that it takes that moment when the pain is almost too much to handle anymore to get us to put our foot on the path to freedom--but it just seems that that is how it works for a lot of us human beings.  I am so very happy that you, and I, and everyone here at Ex, has had the courage to step out into what was for us the unknown territory of living without our nicotine crutch.  Being able to read the advice and experience of others who had gone before was so helpful.  I hope that each of us will continue on this journey and discover that the unknown is often filled with wonderful surprises and revelations that make one's life richer and very much worth those initial, fearful, difficult days when we first started on the road to freedom.  No, the things of life don't always go the way we wish they would but when we face our days with courage and without nicotine we can find good things to help us move forward and see blessings where we might not have before.  Every day without nicotine has something good in it--at least that is how I've been looking at things!!  I wish you well this day @Lucid01 .

[Barbscloud]

@Lucid01 Thank you.  It's pleasure to read your posts.

Barb

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

"When the pain of where I was became greater than my fear of change I was ready to start walking."
Good stuff @Lucid01 

[jonimarie]

Good Morning @Lucid01 . Clarity of mind is the antidote to obsession. Wisdom you have

[YoungAtHeart]

Succinctly put (the AA prayer):

"..grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

You have described it perfectly!

[SuzyQ411]

Fantastic post @Lucid01 !

YOU ARE DOING GREAT!

KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON~

ONE DAY AT A TIME AND YOU WILL GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE:

NICOTINE-FREE!!

[Lucid01]

@SuzyQ411 @YoungAtHeart @jonimarie @Mike.n.Atlanta @Barbscloud 

• So sorry for the late reply everybody and that I am not answering you all individually like I normally do. I'm in an extremely rural area in GA and my cousin and I drove many miles round trip for groceries while my sister stayed with my aunt. The community support that I have received her has been an absolutely essential ingredient to my abstinence. The journey continues!

[Barbscloud]

@Lucid01 

Barb