Preference? I can choose from among options.
Addiction? I crave desperately for a quick fix.

The person with an addiction usually has a single-barrel approach to seeking temporary relief from pain. The drug addict wants drugs, the alcoholic wants alcohol and the food addict wants food, more than enough to nourish his body.
On the contrary, the unaddicted and self-actualizing person has preferences; not one, but "E Pluribus Unum" preferences and as many options from which he can choose to give him satisfaciton.
The key to personal freedom rests with a person increasing his options and allowing his preferences to be commensurate with his options. Helpful in achieving this condition when faced with finding satisfaction for a need a person may ask matter-or-factly and simply: "So what?" And he may follow that question with this question: "What is the worst thing that can happen to me if I choose a preference that does not conform to my usual manner of dealing with the matter confronting me?" Another technique that may be used is to write several preferences, one on each piece of paper, and randomnly take one of them. Then execute the preference selected. The person doing this is likely to discover that the preference was not self-defeating, the option was not critical, nor was the result crucial.
Fenelon offers invaluable insight, in one of his reflections, that can help a person so disposed to stay the course. He writes: "What wilt Thou have me to do? I am ready to do everything and to do nothing, to desire nothing and to desire everything."
The non-addicted and self- actualizing person, unlike the addicted person, has access to "E Pluribus Unum" preferences and he is able to satisfy his thirst not just with water or wine but with other substances that may include non-material substantive good. Also worthy of acknowledgment is: he does not just settle for anything. Being centered in the Cosmic Unfoldment he floats rather than swims.

Copyright 2004 by Uriah J.Fields