Ramona

Keep em comin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nope

You say that you can go long periods of time without smoking but it's the stress that brings you back. I am familiar with this. I could always quit for 1 or 2 months with almost no problem. My relapses occurred later on - when the craving took a surprise hit on me. It was during these isolated events of major duress that I crawled back to my smokes. It's not important that you can go 5 hours smoke free after a meal or that you can go out for an entire night without a smoke. You're still addicted and programmed to receive your nic-injection when you really want it. You are a slave like the rest of us were slaves. You creep around and jack up your nicotine levels in the middle of a school day!!! This does NOT sound fun. Free yourself.

Sounds like a good man Markus. Responsible, hardworking and humble. May he rest in peace.

Oh the tumultuous nature of human relationships!!! Glad things are on the up-and-up. Enjoy each other, will ya??? :D

"Please don't wake me, no don't shake me, leave me where I am, I'm only sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeping" ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Sweet and interesting dreams to you!!!

N O P E E E (2u)

Noped it up.

:) Nice. :)

Thanks MQ and Markus for the compliments!!! And Marti, I agree that we have greater clarity than an active addict. Our decision making skills are improving. We don't smoke away our perspective! It's hard work but it's worth it.

I choose OFF THE TABLE. Nice post. I love my new lungs.

To sit with an insecurity. To sit with a problem. To sit with OURSELVES. This is the hardest part. "Why aren't they responding?" "What's going on?" "Was that the right thing to do?" "Will it be horrible?" "Why are they looking at me like that?" "OMG - this deja-vu is killing me!" "I'm a terrible person," "I'm a great person." Ad infinitum. Remember when we smoked along with all these thoughts and feelings? Your brain sure does. Smoking is how we coped with thoughts themselves. Any thought can present a new trigger if it's a thought we haven't thought as a non-smoker. To wait for a solution. To wait for an outcome. To wait for validation. This is the hardest part. Sometimes non-action is the most powerful and appropriate option we can choose. We want to solve our conflicts sooner than they're ready to be solved. We want to act. Everyone always wants to act. Nobody wants to be acted upon. Smoking used to give us the illusion that we were arbiters of our own destiny. When something went wrong we could act upon that something by smoking. We have been trained all these years to grab our will into our own hands and set that cigarette ablaze. Sparks and flames. Flash and whistles. News flash: smoking does not give you power. Being controlled by a chemical (along with that chemical's delivery system) is not equivalent to free will or autonomy. As non-smokers we must now learn to wait and see. When we know there's nothing we can do about something, we need to know there's nothing we can do about something. We need to let time do its thing. Patience. Presence. Acceptance. Grace. The problems in our lives will find their natural solutions in their own time. Wanting the solutions to happen right now is not an excuse to take that puff. Never Take Another Puff.

Coincidentally I've been revisiting Chodron's writing. Pretty gosh darned amazing stuff.

Two years is amazing. Thanks for your insight on this board. I love coffee too. :D

S E V E N !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yee-haw and howdy-doo.

Whoa - that was a dramatic post. At the beginning I'm like, "no, no, no - don't say that you smoked." It built up and I readied myself. Then I was like: PHEW - she made it. Keeping making it Jackie.

Also, isn't it funny when you go out of your comfort zone only to realize, "HEY - I'm more comfortable than ever before!" We never know what will bring us peace and serenity unless we try new environments, new people, new scenarios, new habits.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<HUGS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I need you to stay strong! You are one of the peeps on here who particularly understands the strength this addiction can have. I feel you are non-judgmental and non-preachy. Your perspective is important to me. CRY IT OUT!!!!

PS: Book by christopher mcdougall - just in case there are more than one. PSS: Rowly - how did race go???

I la la loved that book!!! So happy you're gonna check it out. On a totally different note: horribly stressful event at work this evening. It left me rage-filled, confused and indignant. AND, consequently, it left me wanting to smoke. But this crave was easy to squelch because as soon as I got home from work I PUT ON MY RUNNING CLOTHES and I took off!!! Did a beautiful 3.5 miler through the town. Thank you God for my capable body.

!!NOPE!!

Kudos to you on three hard-fought months. Keep fighting this good fight!!!

Woooo-hoooooooooooooooooo!

Not one puff ever.