[kin]

In a faraway place, villagers capture monkeys using a banana and coconut trap.

A small hole is made in a coconut, just big enough to fit a monkey hand, and a banana is placed within.

A monkey then comes along, puts his hand inside the coconut, and grab the banana. The monkey tried to pull out his hand but it is far too big to fit through the hole, it is now trapped inside the hole but the monkey still refuses to surrender his banana.

His captor then approaches and capture the monkey.

Why didn’t the monkey just let go of the banana?

The monkey is a victim of habit. By refusing to change and sticking to an act that has served him well in the past (eating a banana), he allows himself to get captured.

The monkey was trapped by his refusal to admit that something that has previously been good for him has now become dangerous.

Don’t get trapped by unhelpful thoughts or actions. Just let go of the banana!

Gambling is the banana!

Don’t be the monkey!

[kin]

Chapter 1

I walk down the street, There is a deep hole in the sidewalk, I fall in. I am lost.I am hopeless, It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street, There is a deep hole in the sidewalk, I pretend I dun see it, I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place. But I believe it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street, There is a deep hole in the sidewalk, I see it is there I still fall in, it‘s a habit I know where I am It is my fault I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street, There is a deep hole in the sidewalk, I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

Where are you now?

[kin]

The story was about a mountain climber, who wanted to climb the highest mountain. He began his adventure after many years of preparation, but since he wanted the glory just for himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone. The night felt heavy in the heights of the mountains, and the man could not see anything. All was black. Zero visibility, and the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds.
As he was climbing, only a few feet away from the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at a great speed. The climber could only see black spots as he went down, and the terrible sensation of being sucked by gravity. He kept falling… and in those moments of great fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of his life. He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard.
His body was hanging in the air. Only the rope was holding him, and in that moment of stillness he had no other choice but scream, “HELP ME GOD!!”
All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky answered, “What do you want Me to do?”
“Save me God!!”
“Do you really think I can save you?”
“Of course I believe You can.”
“Then cut the rope tied to your waist.”
There was a moment of silence and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength.
The rescue team found the climber dead and frozen on the next day…his body hanging from a rope – His hands holding tight to the rope only 10 feet away from the ground.

When are you going to let go of the gambling?

[kin]

The fat cat is the betting houses or bookies. The gambler keep losing and giving their hard earn money to them This cat grows fat.

The skinny cat is the mother, wife and children The gambler is not giving them enough This cat grow skinny.

The sleeping cat was the gambler The gambler does not have the awareness to know what is happening around them. This cat is sleeping. You really need to wake up!

[kin]

God created all things visible and invisible, like the visible tree and its invisible root. If a recovering person is free from gambling but not deep rooted with spiritual principles. Any strong winds will uproot the tree.

Just like the person is waiting for some good or bad news to happen and
he/she will lose his/her sobriety.

Some things to think about
A recovering person can stop gambling
But the living problems is not going to stop

Everyone can stop gambling but the trick is staying stop

[kin]

A stone cutter may strike the rock 99 times with no apparent effect, not even a crack on the surface. Yet with the hundredth blow, the rock splits in two. It was not the final blow that did the trick, but all that had gone before. I may pursue a goal for months without obvious results and become convinced that I was wasting my time. But if I continue going to meeting, sharing about my struggle, taking it one day at a time, and being patient with myself, I may awaken one day, to find that I have change, seemingly overnight. I have a gut feel that all these months of faith and hard work will made the changes possible one day and the results would reveal themselves abruptly one day. It took me a long time to become a addict and it may take a long time for me to recover.

You must be patient.

[kin]

In life, many things are uncertain and unpredictable. Like a ship sailing in the sea, sometimes it goes a little off course due to strong winds or currents, this is like the living problems we face every day, it can sometime throw us off our balance, it is perfectly ok to drift from time to time.
It is not the end of the world, but what is more important is the awareness and the ability to recognize and “catch oneself” before it is too late, the willingness to change, refocus and continue to head in the right direction.

[kin]

He said to them,”A fight is going on inside me; it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person too.” They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Grandpa simply replied, “The one you feed. Are you feeding your addiction or your recovery?

[kin]

Gambling addiction is like a tiger lying in wait for its prey. Unfortunately, we are the prey! The tiger is extremely patient as it waited for the optimal moment to pounce on its unsuspecting victim.

The tiger is well camouflaged with denial, minimization, rationalization, and other psychological defenses, so it is hard to distinguish the tiger from its surroundings. Its stealth makes it hard to identify as it is sneaking up and preparing to attack.

Addiction is cunning and baffling. Many time its victims do not know they are being stalked until it is too late.

This tiger doesn’t disappear. It doesn’t go away. It merely recedes into the background. It is always there, waiting for a lapse in our spiritual program. For example: When we are feeling down and out because we have gotten into a bitter argument with someone, or when we have received a special recognition at work or promotion and feel that we deserve to celebrate. The tiger will act on any opportunity to regain control of our life.

The first thing to look out is whether our disease is once again trying to establish a foothold in our life. It may be setting us up to take charge and run the show. It is always looking for that opportunity to convince us to return to gambling.

A person in early recovery looks for all the ways that his gambling isn’t as bad as those around him / her. I wasn’t that out of control, I am not indebted. I did not borrow to gamble. The list goes on and on and on.

Before long, he convinced himself that he can return to gambling, he just need to control it better this time around. This is a person who has not truly surrendered.

This disease is capable of convincing us to go ahead and gamble again.

“This time it will be different, I am not a gambling addict.” The addicted part of us will insist on this position, despite overwhelming evidences.

This disease will selectively ignore information that validates our powerlessness. This filtering is called the Selective Inattention. The information that indicate we are an addict and are unable to control our gambling is ignored.

Watching out how this beast may be sabotaging our recovery is crucial.

Watch and listen. It will be our own life that we save if we keep our vigil.

[kin]

The two primary characteristics of selfishness are:
1.Being concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself.
2.Having no regard for the needs or feelings of others.

[Jonny123987]

You seem to have it all figured out! Sweet!

[i-did-it]

Kin this is a great description of gambling – 

i have fed the cat fat for too long and now I am annoyed that the skinny cat is so skinny and I am impatient for it to put on weight. 

This sleeping cat has has awoken and doesnt like how it’s world changed while it slumbered .

i love this as I can picture the cats so clearly . 

[kin]

The chains of gambling are too light to be felt until they are too strong to be broken!

[Unlucky]

hello Kin , I wish I could  fast forward  to the chapter where I was going around the hole.  But unfortunately, I’ve seen this hole before and yet I keep falling in . I’m working on it . I am a work in progress,  thank you for your perspective 

[BadGambler26]

I love the post, so relatable to me. I feel like there is a hole on every street at the minute. Today is the first day of a very long journey. 

[kin]

The act of gambling compulsively despite negative consequences, affects millions of people around the world and can quickly ruin lives if treatment is not sought.

[kin]

I imagine if I was judge in court for my gambling, the judge will tell me the following:

You are given so MANY CHANCES

You have ABUSED the trust and WASTED every opportunities every single time.

This was your LAST CHANCE but you continued to DISOBEY

Your conduct has been UNREMORSEFUL and UNREPENDENT

Your behavior was WILFUL and IRRESPONSIBLE

You are hereby sentence GUILTY!

Why wait? Why wait until you have to beg for a chance to change after a heavy sentence. Why don’t you take the chance and change when it was given to you FREE now.

[kin]

Our world seems to be made up of primarily two classes:  the haves and the have nots! The poor and the rich. Those who have too much, and those who do not have enough.

“LORD, Please Give Me Just Enough!”

“Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD ?’

Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. . .”

Proverbs 30: 7-9, NIV.

Dear God, we need balance in our lives. As we come before You today, we ask that You will teach us how to acquire this balance and then live lives that are pleasing in Your sight! In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

[kin]

In recovery, it’s very easy to give example

but it’s very difficult to become an example.

[Author]

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