Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Isaiah‬ ‭42‬:‭9‬

There’s only one outcome for this mortal flesh. It’s getting recycled whether I want it to or not.

I can tell myself all I want about longevity or quality or scientific advancement. Eventually, the clock runs out.

There’s only one lighthouse and only rocky cliff side.

This impending doom that we all share can be fuel to eat, drink and be merry in all the right or wrong ways that philosophy can manifest.

We’ve certainly used our addiction to cover up having to think about it. We have conceded to ourselves that pulling the blinders down may be as good as it gets for us.

This is retreat and we know it. The trouble with addiction is that it will grab on to a lie and make it true over time.

And our vices have nothing but time. Our addiction is content to whittle away at our very essence. It matters little whether we decay over the course of a year or a decade or a lifetime. It only concerns itself with our next step, our next drink, our next drug.

How can we fight this gravity?

We can’t. And so we don’t. And giving up becomes easier with every time. The diminishing pleasurable returns we get from using are enough to keep us going far past when we could turn back on our own.

And we are headed for an ugly shipwreck far sooner than we are due for one.

This is an impossible situation. To give up means consigning ourselves to a fate we were already barreling towards. But fighting the undertow is equally hopeless.

There’s no easy way out. I have been at this point having lost less than many and still been brought to a standstill.

The sooner I jumped into action and invited help in, though, the sooner I began to see glimmers of chance.

The impossible does happen. Time and again. Re-creation is available. Rebirth is an option. Renewal is painfully won.

We must seek help—even as we don’t believe it’ll work.

And then, when the hand of help reaches down, we must grab hold.

Am I accepting the help available, no matter what I may think about it?