Something that Holly said on another thread made me think about a thought that still comes up and troubles me from time to time. This is that smoking is part of being youthful and free. When I was younger I partied allot. I drank and danced in clubs until the wee hours; spent days sizzling at the beach; went to house parties that lasted for days; went out all night and went to work right after. I ate like an animal or not at all. I looked and felt great and had allot of fun. And of course I smoked a pack a day or more for years.
As I grew older and my work became more important, i stopped going to parties. My body started to rebel and i stopped the binge drinking and other party favors and began to eat healthy and to run. Friends married, kids came, houses were purchased. Etc. My life changed. But still I smoked for many many years, after everyone I knew had quit, after my father, a smoker, died, after my mother got lung cancer.
And now that I am quit there is still part of me that thinks of smoking as freedom, as fun, and at times I think about having a binge of food and drinks and smokes with some of my friends who still at this later age do this. Why can't I be like them? Why do I care?, Why must I live this straight and narrow life? Why can't I be free?
But then I know this: Ingesting harmful substances is not freedom. It is not youthful. It is addiction. Self harm. It is time to learn other types of fun. To get pleasure from other types of activities.