Freedom at the Bottom

When people hit rock bottom, they can be saved by whatever they believe in or want to believe in. The need to heal requires belief, even if it's just a placebo. It requires community and the feeling of belonging.

Belonging is something we yearn for as humans. In the early days of humanity, being cast out by our tribe often meant death. We had to belong to survive. This instinct still remains with us through many generations. We need to belong in our communities. While there are always outliers, this is generally the case. When we reach rock bottom, our brain tries to make sense of our experiences. This can happen through cognitive distortions or by relinquishing attachment to reality, which is our existence on earth. We relinquish control to a higher power, whether within, above, or whatever, wherever, or whomever that may be.

I was an atheist for many years, and I will tell you that being an atheist is incredibly difficult. When you’re an atheist, you have to be your very own God. You have to be responsible for the events in your life or blame them on others, as there is no one or nothing else to turn to. These emotions and experiences need to go somewhere; this energy needs to be expressed. There has to be comfort found in ‘what just is.’ You have to be comfortable knowing that no matter how low you get, you’ll be okay.

The miracle is the pain.

We need it to discover what we are experiencing and understand that everything does indeed pass and will be okay. Never forget: with great lows comes great freedom.