Insanity. There is a common, although not the textbook, definition among my friends for the word Insanity: doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting different results. It runs along the same lines of a person asking the same question over and over again because they don’t like the answer being provided.

Denial: the action of declaring something to be untrue.

And lastly, this from the book Alcoholics Anonymous: “Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty.” I pray this is not the case.

I experienced a sad moment today prompting the text above. It breaks my heart when someone I care deeply about practices behavior that revokes their freedom. There is nothing I can do. No words are left to say. They would not be heard. Those words reside in the heart, and when one is ready to hear them, nothing will come between them. This is my belief.  Still my heart aches for their self-imposed suffering, for their insanity, for their denial.

I keep this vague to preserve their anonymity. I share it to provide me relief from the feelings.

There is a solution. Just ask someone for help. And be willing to receive it.