The Gravity of Addiction

An AA meeting share, “Addictions have a gravitational pull.”

This is a worth thinking about; a comparison of gravity and addiction is instructive.

Silent and Weak. Gravity is silent and weak. We are not aware of it until we fall. Addiction is silent and weak. The urge to indulge in an addiction does not slap the addict in the face; it grows in his soul, and addicts don’t feel or see the force of the addiction until it is too late.

Persistent. Gravity is a weak but persistent force. It pulls continuously, never relenting. Addiction is persistent and pulls continuously. It is this persistence that makes it a force to be feared.

Powerful. Gravity, though weak, holds planets and suns in their place. Addiction, though weak, can seize an addict and drive him to destruction.

Proximity Matters. Gravity’s strength increases as you get closer. For an addict, proximity to the temptation affects the power of the addiction.

Ubiquity. Gravity is everywhere throughout the universe and touches everything. For the addict, addiction is everywhere. Addiction is where the addict is, like a secret forcefield around the addict. And addictions and addicts are all around us, touching all of us. A list of addictions includes consumables like alcohol, drugs, food, tobacco, and marijuana; behaviours such as shoplifting, internet, television, and gambling; and emotions like anger, fear, and victimhood. A list of addicts includes alcoholics and drug-addled street people; adults and children; rich and poor. Addiction and addicts touch everyone and everything.

Defeat and Resistance. We can resist gravity but never defeat it. We can create anchors, like nailing a picture to the wall. We can suspend it, like hanging a weight in the air with a rope. Or we can create forces that push against it, as we do when we fly a plane, using the lift of the wings through the air. Likewise, addiction cannot be defeated. But we can set up anchors, like the Fellowship of AA, ropes like habits of prayer and meditation, and forces created by working the Steps, giving our wings lift as we move through life.

Solutions- Miraculous. Science fiction writers create miraculous anti-gravity powers. Likewise, anti-addiction solutions are miracles. Spiritual awakenings are miracles of spiritual power, as every Recovering Alcoholic knows.

Addictions have a gravitational pull and, thank God and with God, miraculous solutions.