In These Rooms this morning, Tommie described the shit of alcoholism as “…being like a slave; drinking and drugging is some fucking Bondage. It’s fucking being uncomfortable in my own skin…” Tommie is a 36-year-old meth dealer out of jail on bond. He began drinking at age 12 and hasn’t stopped. It has destroyed three marriages and cost him several gigs in his chosen profession of photography. He says, “…I was highly respected in the field and do great work when I’m not drinking, using or both. I love photography but most days I love the booze and meth more, more than the relationship and my profession. I’m drinking my gift and a wonderful career down the drain. Some days I wish this shit could be different…”
“…Getting comfortable in our own skin is a major step in the world of recovery and transformation…”
The Professor
In the Old Testament Story of the Children of Israel, God delivered them from their Bondage in Egypt under Pharaoh. He delivered them from their Bondage but they still wandered in the desert for 40 years because they weren’t free. They still had the slave mentality of their experience in Egypt on their minds and in their hearts. God will deliver us but we, like the Children of Israel, must work to free ourselves.
“…Life with no forgiveness of myself for the shit I’ve been thru is my Bondage. I need laughter to get thru each day. If I can’t laugh today, I’m not free. It takes me as much energy to laugh as it does to cry. I’ve got plenty of shit every day to cry about. But I choose to fucking laugh. When I do, I feel a hell of a lot better...”
Yalie
“…Defining myself according to how I thought others saw me, my past, my inner antagonist and cursing the potter for how he made my pot, this has been my Bondage. I wanted people who are crazier than me to accept me and love. You want to talk about Bondage, how crazy is that shit?”
Hunter
“…Money over mission; worshiping man and mammon. That’s Bondage. Been there Man and done that. Money no longer makes me nor defines how I look at life. Make no mistake: its good having money. Damn good and I’ve made plenty of it. But it no longer affects my attitude toward life nor people. Today, I am using it instead of allowing it to control me. I am using it to make a difference in this world…”
Sean Anderson
“…Life without authentic lived truth is the definition of Bondage. Truth is essential to freedom. I am not living if I cannot face the man in the mirror and feel good about who and what I see. This is key to me for living. I think the absence of this capacity is not living but merely existing…”
The Professor
I think Bondage means different things to different people. What we share if we desire freedom is there’s work to be done. I’m determined not to let the chains of my Bondage be the end of my story. I am determined to make Bondage be my door to relevance, significance and possibly greatness. As a badass becoming more fully human and beautiful, I am determined to never let people, places or things ever again make me believe dropping the chains of my Bondage must be anything less for me.
Bondage is a part of my story but I am determined to die on my feet making something great out of it rather than live another day on my knees lamenting the Bondage of my past.
Read more about Hunter, Yalie, The Professor and Sean Anderson and tell your story. Listen to Hunter’s Podcast. All on wreckedamerica.com. In Wrecked America, #BondageMatters
The Struggle Continues….
