~ End of the Road ~ 

Bill Withers, in his song ‘Lean on Me’, said Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow. But if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow.’ 

This reminds me of the bottoms that we experience throughout our lives. As it is said in Alcoholics Anonymous, “Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping off place. He will wish for the end.”

What I have come to realize is that this ‘end of the road’, or these bottoms, are not just experienced by people who struggle with substance use. They are experienced by many people, whether they have mental health diagnoses or not. Everyday people, when they have experienced multiple traumas, stress that is beyond their understanding, break ups, divorce, etc., may feel like they are at a “jumping off place.”

There might be times in our lives where we feel like giving up, like things just aren’t going our way. Life might seem like it has decided to go sideways. I would like to remind everyone of what Jelly Roll said in his speech on the Fentanyl Crisis in Congress, “I know this is a bit of a curveball, but I like a little baseball myself.” 

Therefore, I challenge you to remember what John Lennon, founding member of the Beatles said – “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” 

My challenge to you is this – learn to play baseball. Enjoy the curveballs. Pitch the balls, hit some strikes, hit some homeruns, tag some people out, tag some people in, find times to be the umpire, the coach, or times in your life to just sit parts of the game out and let the rest of the game be as it may. Life is not meant to be a glum lot. And remember, it’s okay to not be okay. 

Peace & love to all 

~ KO