I know a few recovering addicts, and latching onto a religion has really helped them. I think some addicts feel alone in their struggles, and thinking that there's someone with them all the time watching their backs seems to help.
Religion does help plenty of addicts. That's just one of those true facts. As a recovering addict myself, I get it, even if that's not how I got over my addictions personally.
For the sake of argument, I will throw out there that thinking there's something greater than you out there in a religious sense doesn't necessarily extend to all recovering addicts. My wife used to be a New Age-y believer. It helped her defeat her cocaine addiction, and for that I'm grateful. But, now she's an atheist. We can get a sense of something greater than us beyond a personal god just by looking up at the sky after the sun sets. That's all the awe we need. Those stars don't have to have a personal stake in our lives for us to see that there's amazing, inconceivably grand things going on in this existence.
Agree with you both.
My mum has been assosiated with Alcoholics Anonymous since before I was born, and it's always been something that seems to kind of incorporates 'God' (at least in the meetings around here), which actually put me off suggesting it to a few people. I personally don't know that having that pushed on me would be helpful. But it is very much encouraged to find a spiritual belief. They even lay books out on all sorts of things.
I very much find my peace from marvelling at the miracle that is our world. Walking in the woods, fishing out at sea, staring up at the stars, climbing jagged mountains, exploring intricate caves, following little rivers or marvelling at giant waterfalls... whatever it is, all you have to do is look around to see how wonderful it is to have life, in the midst of all of this beauty and uniqueness.
Sorry for the double post, but I know how he feels. I had been raised to believe in God and it was just something I never questioned, and as a child like someone with an imaginary friend, I would at times in bed, talk to God but really it was just myself. And for a long time as my faith wavered it had become more that I just wanted God to be real, sometimes I still do. I wonder, wouldn't it be cool if there was a God, but then I reason with myself knowing that it's really my fear of the unknown causing that.
Sounds like how I felt about Santa.
I didn't 'officially' stop believing in Santa until I was about 10. I mean I really really hung onto that. Loved the old movie 'Santa Claus: The Movie' (not to be confused with 'The Santa Claus movie'. Had tonnes of books on him. One of which, if I remember right, was full of evidence he existed. Testimonials, and snaps caught of him fleeing the scene
And I used to show that to people and say 'See, he IS real'.
I so desperately wanted to believe in him, that I clung to anything.
But eventually I let it go. Partly because my mum started putting 'From Santa and Mum' on the presents (I think she resented still having to buy from both at that age
t
, and partly because you just have to stop believing in magic and fairytales as you grow up.
I used to believe in loads of things! I believed in Neverland (in fact I used to beg God to let me go there). I believed my toys came alive when I wasn't in the room. I believed animals could understand every word you said, and i'd talk to me dog for hours.
And now that I am not a child, I can clearly see what parts of my childhood were fairytales, and what was reality.
But because parents and other adults continue to believe in God, some people don't see it in the same category like I do.
But there is absolutely no more proof of God than there is of Santa. Of neverland. Of my toys coming alive.
And TBH, if I was going to believe in something out of that list, i'd rather believe in Neverland. Because that's my idea of heaven! Adventures and flying and pirates and mermaids and fairies and magic! Now that would be incredible.
God, angels, satan, a bunch of virgins waiting for me... I can live without that myself.
