On the paper tag of my Yogi berry detox tea, it reads:

     Be proud of who you are. 

     The only problem is that you can only be proud of who you are if who you are is someone to be proud of.

     And therein lies the problem with the new age compassion/disease model of addiction treatment where nothing is our fault and methadone is good for you. This line of thinking works to cripple us and perpetuate the addict mind and body.

     Sorry, but I’m not going to be proud of who I am until there is someone to be proud of, and even then, I think I’ll pass… at least until I’m actually okay as a human being and have walked as many miles in the right direction as I once did in the wrong direction.

     No, that doesn’t mean that we should beat ourselves up. We must certainly learn to love and accept ourselves if we are to forgive, grow and move on. Given that self-pity is a form of selfishness, I’m quite obviously not saying that addicts should put themselves down.

God, please keep me close to you today…