Most of us know the negatives of smoking. But what about the positives?
- Smoking breaks provide a time for grounding, slowing down, and focusing on breathing. Most smokers I know who take their breaks consistently are friendly, conversational people, as a generality more approachable than many non-smokers. I see people taking their breaks, and see the practice of pausing and breathing as a great one.
- It's an efficient weight-loss program. Keeps most slender, and wards off hunger.
- It keeps the pretentious, I'm-better-than-you people away. Or at least they keep their distance.
- Smoking bonds people with a commonality among eachother.
- It causes one to develop thicker skin. Judgements and dirty looks abound, causing one to instrospect and pull strength from within. One learns not to depend on others for self-esteem and worth, but to pull that up from the inside.
- In a way, it's people listening to their bodies. On a daily basis, "how do I feel right now?," "how am I going to manage myself physically?"
- It's a quick way to feel better.
Let it be clear that I DON'T recommend smoking. I personally don't smoke and don't plan on starting. I work on a hospital floor where I see smokers coming in with bladder cancer. Lung cancers go to other floors. Deadly stuff. And still I respect my co-workers, neighbors, ex's, and good friends who smoke. Let not this frank discussion separate us. There are positives too, if we're being un-censored-frank. Just sayin'.
Many people, in discussing smoking with their children, prefer to leave out, even with near-adults, the other half of the story. Should we? And among adults, do we only discuss the one side?
Many of us work within systems where we struggle to retain our individuality, or humanity. I work as a nurse currently, and often there is a push to work faster, do more, talk less, to literally time our human interactions down to the minute, to be efficient. But in the corporate push for profitability is often lost our humanity.
