http://www.jimmys-adventures.net/elephant-trekking-thailand/
A Brief Introductiona to Addictions Recovery Measurement System
As I climbed 15-feet on a wooden ladder to the top of an old platform, next to this wall of leathery gray flesh, I caught a good whiff of fresh animal dung that immediately cleared my sinuses. Attempting to hide my fear from my wife with a poker face, and already feeling a little queasy, we were then advised by an old man who held a hammer in his right hand, to step into a shaky bamboo cradle seat atop of this seemingly gentle 8000 lb mammoth giant. As the sweat dripped off my forehead, I knew there was no turning back from the plunge into the humid jungle while perched on an elephants?back that we had so enthusiastically planned. At last, we were elephant trekking in Thailand. Apart from the slow bumpy ride, and my thighs being chafed on the course sides of this enormous peaceful beast, the serene walk through the forest with its?beautiful and unique flora on top of one of the strongest ancient animals alive, was an unforgettably pleasant experience for both of us.
Recently, as I was daydreaming about elephant trekking in Thailand, I began to think about an old video that is used in the addictions?field entitled, the Elephant in the Living Room.?This is a rather silly story of a family that pretended to function normally with a real life elephant walking around in their living room. It exemplifies the dynamics of the co-dependent, dysfunctional family that continues to enable the alcoholic family member and deny the presence of alcoholism in the family.
Try to imagine having some quality family time – conversations, watching television, or just relaxing all together when the elephant continues to tramp around the living room, bumping into things and knocking them over. It smells bad, eats a ton of hay and bananas daily, it takes up half the living room space, and it makes loud trumpet noises all day long. Then try to imagine convincing your children, friends, and other family members to keep it a secret, or that the elephant does not really exist. The idea is that if you just pretend long enough that it’s not really there, and it’s not really an elephant, that it may just go away by itself. Some things like the common cold, poison ivy, and stress headaches usually due subside with time. Chronic diseases and life-style addictions (e.g., alcoholism, drug addiction, obesity, gambling , etc.) on the other hand continue to progress with time. Just ignoring a chronic problem rarely makes it go away for good, because of the continued negative consequences that effect everyone involved.
The author works for an ebay business agent and serves as a roofing specialist at for the company at http://lawyersauckland.co.nz
Elephant trekking (thailand; phuket; patong)