Liesl Jobson
Keep it up, Big Boy. Recovery is hard to do. One slip could be fatal. Each step back from the slippery slope and you’re closer to where you must go.
Put on your clothes. Worry not about ironing. Sweep the house clean, but do it only once. Don’t get trapped by laundry.
Copy lyrics onto a piece of paper, folded in your wallet. Even if it’s empty. Especially if it is. Sing the words until you believe them. I’ve got all my life
to live, and I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive, I will survive! Wear your grandfather’s cufflinks. Gratitude will save your life.
You’re just a late bloomer, like that poor schlub in the Bible coming down from a bad trip. Maybe if Jesus had stopped by a week or a month later,
self-care would have been back in place and that herd of Gadarene swine would not have dived headlong into the lake. At least there’d be no conflict
between the church fathers and animal rights activists based on that particular exorcism.
Don’t obsess about good juju and bad. Addiction is epigenetic. Demons are everywhere but you needn’t offer them caviar. Behaviour is learned. Self-
care starts with chocolate. Healing is real. If somebody wants to give you a titanium hip, write a new liturgy, and say thank you. Be your own priest.
Featured on 23 September 2021