For those of you who have found me recently, you may not know of the life I led prior to my current one. Before becoming a Mom, I was a professional living in New York City. Many of these years consisted of helping people through their addiction. I was a social worker for many years working in a major drug rehab in the city. I encountered all walks of life there, and learned quite early on how misunderstood addiction is in our society. I can tell you quite confidently with my background, being an addict isn’t something someone chooses to be. It is a disease that does not see boundaries, and takes over (and sadly sometimes away) lives.
I was recently reading twitter in the wake of Whitney Houston’s passing and was highly disturbed by some celebrities responses to her death. In particular, two well-known names that struggled with addictions of their own. They implied she deserved to die because she choose this path for herself. This saddened me. That even recovering addicts can not see the disease for what it is, never mind the greater society. It is like telling someone dying of lung cancer that they did it to themselves for smoking all those years, so you made your bed now lay in it.
The problem with our society is we put celebrities in contexts that they are unable to fulfill. We idolize them, and forget they are only human too. The moment people learn that they have faults their once loyalty can often turn to scrutiny. The part often lost is judgement is we are all connected. Her soul no different than ours. She entered this world the same way, and went out the same.She dealt with her own life review, and barred her own cross.
Addiction could care less what your name is, how much money you make, or where you are from. We had our share of celebrities come through our rehab since it was in the hub of Manhattan. One in particular came in and offered more money, and used the “do you know who I am” as a way of trying to rationalize why we should make him better-quicker then all the rest. As if recovery cares you can pay extra or have a very public name. It doesn’t. I see that celebrity still struggling, while some of my other patients who once were homeless, are now drug-free and being productive again.
Nobody who is sick deserves to be noted as deserving an ill fate. Addiction is ugly and misunderstood. It needs to be treated more like cancer, and less like a choice of a job. We need to hold those that struggle with this in the arms of mercy, as we would any other sick individual.
The part I love about Whitney’s story is what she knew in heart in the days prior to her death. Ironically, when I found out of her passing and there was little to no information, I posted my favorite song of hers on my Facebook account. Her music was such a huge part of my childhood and you would have thought I choose one of her hits. I posted her Bodyguard soundtrack version of “Jesus Loves Me”. Not for any other reason then the fact her singing it spoke to my soul. The day after her death I learned it was also the last song she ever sang publicly. Days after that, we are finding out she told friends she believed she would meet Jesus soon, and that her end was near. A belief I have always had; told yet again. Our soul often knows when our times running out. In high school a boy I had a crush on died suddenly. His parents later told me that the week prior he was telling his Mother how he wanted to be buried someday. This opened up an unexpected and oddly appropriate conversation for days to come. He never told her he knew he was dying, but he knew.
Whitney Houston did not die from addiction even if it played a part in her death. Her purpose here was finished. She completed what she was meant to do, and now she is in the place we all long to be. A place we are all stars in.
seekingup
Seeking Up 