Vague Forebodings

Many people who have suffered from the rigors of hitting rock bottom with substance abuse realize on hindsight that they did actually have vague forebodings that they were headed into uncharted waters and were in grave danger of some sort on more than one occasion before the climactic events that culminated in reaching the end of the road with their drug of choice. In most cases these first clues were summarily dismissed as excess anxiety and needless distractions, until the feeling of impending doom that they could not escape set in and they realized that they must have help and they must have it now.

This is the place that those who try to intervene and help addicted substance abusers are looking for in a potential client/participant, because until they have had this experience they may still be able to somehow explain away all the pain and disaster that defines the life of an addicted substance user. Once the person has come to the place where they are willing to admit and confess complete defeat in the battle to try to negotiate with and navigate through their substance addiction healing can finally begin.

The road to recovery in these cases is long and winding; it curves up mountains and dives down deep into tight crevices before finally leading the traveler to a destination that can provide some respite from their daily struggle to live without the thing that was killing them. The vague forebodings were synonymous with a red flag warning them to turn back and cut back on, or quit altogether, using substances to medicate the pains that go along with living life on life’s terms.

In recovery we can learn to listen to our inner voice and pay attention to intuitions, vague or definite. We also have the added benefit with cultivating a working relationship with a God of our own understanding who guides us on our way out of the maze of withdrawal and onto the path that leads to a life that is really worth living. Meditation helps to develop our perception to these signals and we can learn to act on that guided perception in concert with the God of our understanding. This is a far cry from blindly and repeatedly throwing substances at our problems. It is a solution that works.