Demon Alcohol

 At the risk of showing my true age, one of my favorite bands during my wild, misspent youth was a group of musicians calledThe Kinks. I was fortunate enough to attend one of their concerts in themid-70’s and fell in love with a song they played called Demon Alcohol. Lead singer, Ray Davies, pretended to be drunkwhile waving a whiskey bottle around the stage as he described the downward spiral ofalcoholism. I waved a pint of tequila back at Ray as he sang, only I wasn’t pretending tobe drunk. Wasted was the word we used back in the day, and wasted I was –little did I know how accurate the word truly was, and that I would waste 20years of my life with alcohol and drugs before realizing my life had spun out of control.Regardless, the song struck a chord with me as I laughed and sang along withRay that night and remains one of those bittersweet memories you take to thegrave with you.
It wasn’t until I decided to kick the alcohol habit two decades later that thesignificance of the word Demon truly hit home. I thought words like demons, devils and evil spirits were all ajoke until then. But, as any hardcore addict can tell you, the “demon” or“monkey on your back” is more than just a metaphor used to describe addiction.The grip of addiction is controlled by a very real entity. It’s a very real dark,powerful, and persistent energy that has no intention of letting go and a “power greater than one’s own” is required to shake it. It's not something we can beat using our own willpower.
You can call that power Universal Love, a Higher Power, God,the Great Spirit, or whatever you want to call it – but, by all means, call it like it’s your last lifeline on Who Wants To BeA Millionaire - because it might very well be your last lifeline, literally. Of course, ifyou’re like most addicts, you’ll wait until you your world tumbles downaround you before you’re even willing to consider the idea of handing the problem over to an invisible power greater than your own. It’s your call, ofcourse. This blog post is just a message from someone who's been there. If you're currently hooked on booze or dope, it's written to lead you to water – whether or not youdrink the water is up to you.
Addiction is a very real entity, which is why it’s called aspiritual disease. Trust me when I say that a spiritual disease requires aspiritual healing in order to shake the demon off your back and send it backfrom whence it came. 
In the meantime, I'll blow the dust off my old 8 tracks and play you a tune...