Feeling Lucky...

First of all, sorry for missing so many days. I've been very busy at work during the day and most of my nights have consisted of finishing up the work I did not get to do earlier and/or reading...several books!! I'm almost done with Freakonomics. A few days ago, I was reading the chapter on the economics of drug dealing. Putting aside Levitt's elegantly supported theory for why crack dealers live with their moms, I have been, for many days, pondering the very idea of drug dealing and drug users. I have been, to say the least, feeling extremely fortunate to have been completely away from the world of drugs. Some would call that naiive and "bubble-like". I call it fortunate and lucky! To be frank, I'm not even sure how I made it through my adulthood without ever coming across a situation that necessitated a decision to get involved with drugs. Was it really me?? Was I the strong one? But how was I "strong" if I was never put up to the test? Alternatively, was it my environment that saved me from this potentially dangerous phenomenon? If so, had I not had a say in selecting my surroundings? So, again, why not take all the credit for myself?

I will actually give you an answer today! I don't think I can give myself any of the credit on this one! I attribute my "drug-free" passage so far to several different factors: one of the most important factors is my parents. I have to admit, they did a darned good job of raising me and a part of that meant that they instilled the right principles in my mind: education, athletics, community service. In other words, they kept me too busy to ever think about anything outside of the box they provided for me.

Another critical factor was my group of friends. I don't care what anyone says, I firmly believe that your friends, especially in teenage years (but really, for all your life) shape your behaviors. I owe my positive crowd a big thank you.

And the most important and most unprecendented of all factors was my belief (stemming from my attraction towards spirituality) that every action has to have a reaction and the spiritual reaction of getting involved with drugs, for me, was a failure to control myself...sounded pathetic to me! So, I controlled myself!! But not because I was strong; rather because I had a belief that more or less forced me to think this way. Today, many many years since the teenage years, I have nothing but thanks to give :)