#be compassionate

[juicyspacesecrets]

Something something the festive cheer something

[wordsofwisdomandsoul]

[nevergetstuck]

[spiritualseeker777]

[gqandw]

Be compassionate and take responsibility for each other.

Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom

[tessaanneslittleporchstudio]

Spread Kindness! 💛💙🤍

[i-love-an-alcoholic]

The man behind the bottle

I've been asked why I even bother with S. He's an alcoholic after all. A drunk, a troublemaker, a burden to everyone around him. A son, a brother, an uncle. A human being.

S is shy, a little withdrawn at first but once he is comfortable with you he turns into an easygoing, surprisigly good conversationalist, who is genuinely interested in you. He loves soccer, music, video games and drama series. He can play guitar and drums. He'll watch any sport that's on TV and likes to bet on them, but almost never wins anything. He's one of the hardest-working people I know and loves to talk about work (it does get a little annoying at times).

It's easy to reduce an addict to just their problem, and forget about the person behind. Whenever someone asks for advice to help their loved ones struggling with addiction there's a lot of "just leave them", "don't waste your time" or "they'll never change" instead of actual useful advice. Addiction is difficult to treat, but is giving up without a fight truly the best course of action? There's a whole medical speciality for it, there's a lot of research around the subject and there are people who have gone through hell to get to the other side.

I wouldn't be here if people hadn't seen me as a person needing help instead of someone beyond it.

S has come a long way, but he's not there yet. I can't make decisions on his behalf, but I can talk to him, be there for him, and give him tough love when it is needed. He is worth it, and so is anybody with addiction.