The Akratic Twister
If you have reached these words, then you are well aware of the physical and emotional addiction that nicotine has upon us. My last 100 ODAATs though have shown me that it was my spiritual addiction that kept me coming back dip after dip-year after year. You see that first dip twenty-three years ago scrambled something within my soul. The physical effects of this chemical paired with the ego boost of a fat lip confused the concept of want and need that my young, impressionable heart could not discern.
The OG KTC philosopher Aristotle called this conflation of desire and demand Akrasia-the state of mind where someone acts against their better judgement through a weakness of will or an exuberance of passion. Our apathetic, akratic action of dipping made us want something we didn’t need and need something we didn’t want.
This need-want tornado sucked me in and caused me to value the more immediate of the two. Yet my sick and impatient mind could always justify either and/or justify them concurrently. Want and need had become one in the same and thus I never said no.
This justification however didn’t stop with tobacco-the phenomenon extended to all corners of my life and undoubtedly put me in situations that I am not proud of. Looking back on the last twenty-three years, I presume that I have been pretty happy despite these lapses in judgement and have worked hard in my in my contributions to this world. This recognition of the distinction between demand and desire has shown me though that I haven’t left it all out on the field yet. The spiritual awakening attained through my hard-earned freedom from tobacco shows me that I have so much more to gain and give in life.
If you have found your way to Kill the Can, you have taken the biggest and hardest step towards whittling away at your desire to quit tobacco. The need for tobacco or more the lack thereof can be found and proven in the thousands of pages just like this one of men and women who have improved their lives in countless ways through quitting. I promise you it will not be easy, but the clarity of mind, body and soul is well worth the struggle especially when you’re helping others along the way.
NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan community member jet1484
