My Addiction (by Ehidiamen U-Mark)

ADDICTION. Whenever the word comes up, it brings to mind images of junkies and alcoholics, passed out on some high. Indeed, as one dictionary puts it “It is a habit or practice, that damages, jeopardizes or shortens one’s life but when ceases causes trauma”. If you are being truthful to yourself, most of you agree with this definition as this is what most of us think about addiction. We hear addiction and all that comes to mind is negatives. Well here’s a shocker, I don’t fully agree with that description. If this were a questionnaire, I would tick the box that says “strongly disagree”.

I would rather align myself with the definition that describes addiction as “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice that is psychologically or physically habit forming, to such an extent that its cessation causes trauma”. Pause. Now go back and read that sentence, it makes mention of habit forming. I believe that addiction can either be good or bad, positive or negative. ~as we all know, there are always two sides to a story, two sides to a coin and the same can be said for addiction.

If I may be bold to say, scratch that, I am bold enough to say that I am an addict. Yes, you read that right, I am an addict and my addiction is READING. *laughs*. What were you expecting?? Drugs? Alcohol? Stealing? NO, my poison is reading. When I say reading, I am not referring to academic books, nah, I have what can only be referred to as a love-hate relationship. I love when exams are on the horizon and hate once it’s passed. My reading addiction has to do mainly with fictional work, I love to lose myself in the stories of men and women whose imaginations and thinking patterns have transcended the plane of the normal man. To lose myself in a world where anything and everything happens. I revel in the ups and downs, the sorrows and the rejoicing, the heartbreaks and the makeups. I always find myself connecting with the people in the books and the environments, it is my drug and I don’t see myself letting go anytime soon.

Of late, I find myself digressing from fantasy and into real world principles from those who have gone before. I have developed an interest in motivational and inspirational books and hopefully it’s not just a passing phase. But that is beside the point, what I am trying to get across to you, is the fact that not every addiction needs to be bad as I have once heard a notable man of God say “I am addicted to preaching the word of God”. Of course, most addictions that we know of are, but not everyone needs to be. You can have an addiction that is beneficial to your life, that one thing that you can’t do without that has no negative effect on your life and the people around you. Find that habit, and make it your addiction. Repeat it as often as possible until it becomes a part of your person.

However, be careful what you make your addiction. Any one single addiction can be your downfall and any one single addiction can be your launching point. The choice is yours, choose wisely and you will grow, choose poorly and you will languish. A word they say, is enough for the wise.