YUP!!!!
It's like is so often said, The Lord, sometimes he calms the storm and sometimes he calms me.
Life does have its ups and downs, and no one is exempt. Someone posted the scriputre on FB the other day, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:" 1 Peter 4:12
And it's true. But knowing, as the old saying goes, This too shall pass. (There are many purported origins to the this saying, but they all seem to come down to a wise king who asked his advisers to give him a saying that would keep him both humble in good times and hopeful in bad times. Though often used to lift ppl up in the bad times, also good to remember of good times "this too shall pass." There are many I know who didn't store up during the abundant years that came a decade ago and kick themselves now because they didn't remember "this too shall pass" and save more. But I digress.)
When I first started vaping and quit smoking, yes I had problems I was facing like anyone else - stress, loss, etc. But nothing earth-shattering. Was completely successful. Picked up my first cigalike and fell in love with vaping. The first week was a swift reduction of smoking (usually just one or two in the morning). After the first week, I was smoke free. That lasted over a year.
Then I played around with smoking. Hey, the first quit was so easy. I can go back to vaping WHENEVER I want. And I probably could have. Bud didn't know I was about to face some of the hardest trials in my life thus far. Wish I would have jumped back into full vaping right away, but I didn't. Now I am paying the price, trying to get back in the flow while dealing with things that are hitting me right in the tenderest areas of my heart.
Now, I am not saying my problems are worse than anyone else's, I would hate to be facing what some here are facing. Hearing some of these things gives me perspective on my own problems (it could be worse) while also touching me in my own areas of pain and making me very empathetic towards others.
But with that being said, I am facing what I am facing and it hits ME where it hurts. And I am not in any hopeless situation. Just a painful and stressful one. It is a good time, because I am growing and learning as a person. And there is a really good chance things will work out like I hope they will. If not, there is an even better chance things will work out the way I NEED them too. lol
So I am not complaining. Just saying this. I started playing with smoking at the worst time. Now, it isn't as easy as it was the first time. I said I was a 2-3 pack a day smoker, but just realized the other day I am really more like 3-4 this last year. When I am vaping, I am up to at least 10ml of 30mg.
But as rough as things are right now, I have to know that this too shall pass. Nothing lasts forever. Situations get resolved one way or another. But we don't know when or how. So I can't say "oh after I am through this I will stop smoking." What if that is another year, another two or three years or even seven years?
Nope, just got to soldier on. And if I can get full vaping now, at this time, I know I can vape through anything lol. Just got to learn how is all. And I sure do love puzzles.
Anyways, yeah. Good point Andria. We cannot change the world around us, but we can change how we REACT to the world around us. We can react as we always have habitually, or we can choose to take action in positive ways.
And when we get in that habit, we often find that many adversities clear up quickly, because we actually ARE the cause to many of our woes. There are things outside our control. But there are things we cause, whether directly or indirectly, because we react by habit and not act appropriately.
Sorry,
/rant
Just that post spawned a few thoughts lol
There's one other thing I wanted to mention; this comes up a lot at AA meetings, and dear lord, it's so true. When you quit something, whatever it is, drinking, smoking, sniffing gym socks, or just whatever... *you* are changing. But the rest of the world? Not changing a bit. It's still the same old garden of wonder or pile of crap it always was and always will be; people will still be idiots and total buttheads. You can let it serve as an excuse to go back to whatever... or you can just blow it off, and realize that that person was a butthead before, and still is, and probably always will be, but it doesn't have to affect YOU. The rest of the world isn't going to become a garden of earthly delight just to accommodate your quitting whatever-it-is; how you react to it is your own choice, but if you let whatever PITA cause you to go back to whatever, you have let them dictate your behavior.
I really hate letting idiots and buttheads dictate my behavior!
Andria
