As someone who has made many mistakes in life, I found temporary comfort in that statement. Then I thought to myself, "what if it's the same mistake being made over and over again? Has one then failed dismally at this thing called life? The optimist might say, "as long as you wake up to see a brand new day, there is always the opportunity to make right all your mistakes." Hope feels tiring to me; it sometimes feels easier to just stay in the same place for fear of the disappointment of failing yet again. One may argue that it's the easy way out, and fighting is the only way to succeed in this game called life. I say, it depends on what battles you are fighting.
I know someone fighting what seems like a losing battle against an illness called "addiction." As much as he tries, and however often he does try with all the sincerity in the world - that ball and chain keeps pulling him deeper into an ocean. He's drowning. I relate to this person because I know what it's like to suffer and make mistakes over and over again in spite of oneself. Then be perceived as the person who doesn't want to change or worse still - who will never change. Not many people understand addiction - especially not here in Botswana. This is unfortunate as so many Batswana are suffering. They see the addict as a rebel and social misfit totally oblivious to the fact that addiction is an illness like any other.
