The Weight Of The World

I've driven past this sculpture thousands of times...literally! It sits along one of the major thoroughfares of the small town I live in and I've lived here since 1975 so thousands of views is not a stretch. It's such a common sight to me that I seldom give it a glance but this afternoon, something told me I should stop and take a shot or two. The statue depicts, as you can see, a woman holding up a stylized, cutaway globe and it struck me that she was holding the weight of the world.

Someone dear to my heart is hurting tonight. Her pain comes from alcoholic addiction...not her addiction but that of someone dear to her. Addicts are truly sad cases, while they, if they even admit they have a problem, think and say that their actions are effecting only themselves, we all know that nothing could be further from the truth. Addiction has the power to destroy families, relationships and make a living hell for anyone that has to deal with it. I'm sure this woman, who I love dearly, feels that she's just like the statue...trying to bear the weight of the world.

I have some insight into addiction. My wife of 37 years has been an addict for the last 12 years or so. Addicts get very clever about hiding their problem...I didn't have a clue for the first 3 years...then the nightmare began...jails, rehabs, counseling programs, prison and half-way houses, periods of sobriety when you try to convince yourself that it's finally over and things will be OK, only to discover that they aren't. Pressures from all sides...some telling you what a good and noble thing you're doing by sticking with her and trying to save her from the beast while others offer ridicule and tell you what a fool you are to even try. So, you see, I know what it is to bear that weight. I know that you just can't do it. I've come to the end of my rope...I can't do it anymore...

I hope that my beloved friend will not have to bear this too long. The one thing that is absolutely true about addicts is that you can't help them until they are ready to admit that they need help and some of them never do that. I know now that love and caring mean nothing to an addict, neither do logic and reason...until they hit rock bottom and realize that if they don't get clean and sober, they will surely die, they will continue to lie and deceive and play every last card to keep up the addiction. While those partners, families and friends may not die, they surely will live a life of misery and despair. Nobody deserves to be an addict, even though they came to addiction through their own acts...but nobody else in their lives deserves to have to live the rest of their life with the consequences of those actions either.

I guess the world will have to tumble...I can't hold it up anymore!

Sometimes in the middle of the tempest, we have to reach for a safe harbor and surround ourselves with the peace and tranquility of calm, still waters. It's my most sincere wish that I can provide that peace and tranquility for the one that's done the same for me.