Most of us struggle with the idea of choice and destiny. These conversations can melt into a controversy about whether we have free-will to create our own lives, or that we are predestined to live a life that has already been decided. Whatever side you may find yourself on, there is something that both ideas do possess. In fact, they may even coincide with each other. Some would say that we are destined to live the life we create for ourselves.

If we have the free-will to become whoever we want, we make decisions and take action in order to commence that existence. In other words, a Doctor did not wake up as a doctor. They decided to go to medical school, applied, got accepted and did the intensive work that was required of them. Then they worked a residency, gained on-call experience, and finally were able to reap the rewards of their hard work. That doctor may decide tomorrow to leave the hospital and open a bookstore.

There is an unwavering perspective many people have on Fate. Often times we believe that fate demands a result. For this doctor, somehow, someway they will find themselves with a stethoscope around their neck…no matter how much they fight it.

The thing between fate and free-will is the perspective that choice is being taken away from us as humans, and that fate is a non-negotiable contract. The idea that someone or something else is controlling, or making our most intimate decisions, is utterly unbearable for a species that wants to be in control. A common result is that we begin to blot out our own realities in an attempt to defy fate.

Alcoholism and addiction can be a result of our environment, and preconditioned experiences and learned behaviors. They can occur to anyone…that doctor that spent years in medical school could find their experience difficult, and chose to turn to numbing their feelings as an attempt to cope with it.

All the actions people take are a result of free-will. Everyone is destined to choose their own life’s path. The single most important realization any person should have, is that they have the choice to continue suffering, or to crawl out of the recesses of despair woke up in.

Destiny does not have a totalitarian control over our lives. Fear likes to make monsters out of harmless ideas, and fear likes to make victims out of abusive behaviors. Whether you are more inclined to believe in free-will over fate, these two cannot exist without the other.

Alcoholism has become a destiny for a lot of people. It engulfs their lives and personalities to the point where there is little chance in escaping it. Alcohol and drug abuse can become the totalitarian ruler so many of us fear. The addiction is, in fact, scarier than fate or free-will, because it has enough power to take away a person’s sovereignty, leaving many people powerless.

Many people who suffer from alcoholism or addiction never take the necessary steps to free themselves from the bonds that were subconsciously placed around them. Alcoholism and addiction are not a conscious choice people make. No one wakes up and decides they want to become an addict (just like someone does not become a doctor overnight). It happens slowly, over time, through repeated behaviors and circumstances that were, at one point, an act of survival.

The miracle is that millions of people have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Millions of people have been given the chance, the support, and the tools necessary to move forward. Millions of people have been able to change their own lives through their own acts of free-will. They have been able to create a new destiny for themselves.

There is help available if you or a loved one wants it. New River Wellness Center is a professional institute that has been successful in helping people with various addictions, beliefs, and personalities. The staff at New River have been able to arm their participants with new coping tools to engage with life’s circumstances in a productive and healthy way. The professionals can provide both psychological and emotional support that many people need in order to let go of the demons that haunt them. This combination of support and attention will inspire participants to choose a new experience, and a new freedom. Please, reach out if you or a loved one may be suffering from an addiction that is taking away their freedom to choose.  

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