Last Saturday the world lost a great talent. I read an online article and I can't remember, nor find, the direct quote but a source said that while they were sad that it came as no surprise. Others have fired off the statement that someone with a drug problem should not be receiving the recognition that this individual is receiving.
I stated in a post earlier this week, addiction is a disease. Had this world famous musician died with the disease of cancer, diabetes, or some other socially acceptable disease then there would be less of a platform for people to stand on.
Throughout Hollywood, the music industry, the entertainment industry, and many other walks of life this disease of addiction runs rampant. It is prevalent in my job as a restaurant hostess. I see its marks not only on guests who come in but also on friends who I work with.
Perhaps because of my own personal real life experience I understand that someone suffering from the disease deserves my compassion, not my judgment. The disease itself can create behaviors that are unacceptable. There are many tentacles, (behaviors, bad decisions, abuse), that lead off because of this disease. The individual still has to face the repurcussions for their actions. Just because someone is suffering does not mean that others have to tolerate the unacceptable. For me personally I choose what I will and will not accept. I have choices and I make boundaries. I work a personal step recovery program that allows me the freedom to live my life and enjoy my life with peace and serenity. I have accepted that I am powerless and that a power greater then myself is what restores me to sanity.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that" Martin Luther King, Jr
1 comment:
I appreciate this post. It IS a disease. Real people get lost. Real people lose their battle. Real people lose their Mom's, Dad's. sister, brothers, best friends. . .on and on.
Who among us should judge?
Thank you.
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