Digging

One of my favorite bands is Royal Blood, and one of the lyrics I think about all the time is from the song “Honeybrains” from the deluxe edition of their recent album Back to The Water Below.

“Rock bottom is just a matter of when you're gonna give up digging.”

I very regularly see people unable or unwilling to take responsibility for things they can actually change. They put their happiness in the hands of someone else and find endless pain. “This time it's gonna be different” is the rallying cry of someone stuck in a cycle.

“Finding rock bottom” is sometimes an excuse to perpetuate the denial of having already found it. But if one is digging, the bottom is now. The only thing that makes the bottom any lower is continuing to dig. The truth is, the ground isn’t responsible for our digging. We are.

“Rock bottom is different for every person” is a confusing statement because there's seemingly no material basis to work from. However, that isn't the truth. A person's actions are concrete and undeniable, so the material basis for rock bottom is “when the person stops.” So either when they take responsibility for their life and health, or, in the case of substance abuse, when the substance kills them.

And yes, many people have circumstances beyond their control that make their lives worse. But, for instance, a person in an abusive relationship can leave it. It might be hard. It might take a few attempts. But waiting for a “rock bottom” only ensures one will continue to cycle through it. If you are being abused, physically or emotionally, that's rock bottom. You're there. And rock bottom will continue to get lower as you continue to dig — to not make the choice. You don't need an excuse to make your life better. People might convince you otherwise, but they are wrong.

If you're waiting for a rock bottom, you're already there.

Your life can be better than this.

-P