First off, I am a nonsmoker blogging about the benefits of quitting because all my life I have been surrounded by loved ones who smoked and paid the price. So much freedom and love was lost. However, my perspective will be the on the benefits that I experience me as I compare myself to those people who did not start their day with a fresh breath of air, but with rather a bad case of Halitosis from their bedtime smoking and a matinal puff…
My agenda is not to be judgmental, but show many smokers how many of the little things they miss out on. My god-given morning focus is on planning the day. For example, my walk to the store is smoke free. Dairy and fresh produce are my only concerns. Lighters, cigarettes, or other related paraphernalia are non-existent. Housecleaning is tedious enough. Why add cigarette stubs, ashtrays, empty packs and the common smells and odors left by smokers? That room once reserved for the one smoker in the house is now available to others as an office, study room, or guest room. This is true space ownership. There’s no quarantine for anyone in a house where all rooms are places where no one jeopardizes their health.
It is clear that the successful quitter now has the luxury of re-organizing his or her life and inviting friends and family back into the space that his or her deadly habits once appropriated. While we’d once left him alone (not wanting to get involved into quarrels or mood outbursts), now, happily he left that old self alone. There is a huge joy to celebrating life never having smoked, but also to have quit smoking, or to sincerely keep trying to quit.
As for me, (the nonsmoker blogger) I am trying to become a health advocate for all and I will continue trying. I see some common ground between myself and those who try quitting: practice does and will make perfect.