Be aware that the difference between heaven and earth is not so much altitude but attitude.

Life is warning you to get rid of an addiction every time you are emotionally uncomfortable in any way.

I am freeing myself from security, sensation and power addictions that make me try to forcefully control situations in my life and thus destroy my serenity and keeps me from loving myself and others.

Lots of people look for happiness through sensations, whether it's through sex, the taste of food, the sound of music, the sensations of movies and plays, creating a certain environment in their home, and so on. Looking for happiness through sensations keeps you constantly searching for the next "fix" and for more varied sensations. Sensations become addictions, and nothing is ever enough.

You stop viewing yourself as being "pushed around" by the world when you realize that only you can "push" yourself. To quote Buddha: "Nothing is upsetting you. You get upset because you are upsettable."

I welcome the opportunity (even if painful) that my minute to minute experience offers me to become aware of the addictions I must reprogram to be liberated from my robot-like emotional patterns.

Even when we get what we addictively want, our wanting to keep things that way automatically creates a new addiction.