Druggie!

When Carol asked a question about coffee, how much we drink every day and when, everyone gave their stats. I was being silly and said: "I grind fresh beans and snort lines all day, often with a rail of powered milk and one of powdered sugar."

She laughingly replied: "druggie!"

We both chuckled, and that was that.

But I kicked it around a bit later, thinking: We're all druggies, it's just a question of what drug."

Do you chase after the usual suspects? Sex, alcohol, chemical drugs? What about food? These fairly common objects of lust and consumption often carry negative connotations. But what of the drugs of success and power? A common yardstick is money. You know how well you're doing by the way that people vote for you with their dollars. Is that about the money itself or is it about the love and approval it represents? That doesn't sound like a bad thing, right?

Do you battle for power in a relationship or at work? Is that one of your drugs?

My personal drug of choice is to always have a great day, today and every day. That involves asking myself; "What is the best possible use of my time, right now? The answer may be to simply walk the dogs, interact with Carla and the girls, or it could be kicking back and watching old reruns of "Leave it to Beaver" while making crude beaver jokes about Ward and June.

But maybe the best use of my time is also about trying to do an excellent job at work, to touch people and make them laugh. It could be mornings at the gym, plugging away to keep my ageing carcass moving. I told my buddy there that I haven't changed much since I was a young man. I was stiff all the time then and am stiff all the time now. The only difference is that the stiffness has dissipated away from one specific part of my body to generously inhabit my knees, joints and spine.

I tell him that it is for realizations like that for which God invented alcohol.

Regardless of our justifications for drug use, we're all druggies. People who do seemingly unselfish acts of charity, are druggies. They want that feeling that often accompanies intentional compassion. Christians have done it forever. Practice giving as a way to earn your ticket to heaven. That's the drug you're seeking.

There is no such thing as an unconnected, charitable act. It's always about us and how things make us feel. That's the only way any living organism can behave. It's all about us. It's personal.

Humans, and all life forms only have two courses of action available to them. Avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. Even the suicide victim is trying to avoid the pain of life and seeking what they perceive to be the pleasure of oblivion.

That's it. All of life explained.

Every time you shift in your chair, you are avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. Worry about all of it if you want to, but your options to take action are limited, pleasure or pain?

What's your pleasure?