“The mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day. Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough.
At last a very young Mouse got up and said:
“I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful. All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat’s neck. When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming.”
All the mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before. But in the midst of their rejoicing over their good fortune, an old mouse arose and said:
“I will say that the plan of the young mouse is very good. But let me ask one question: Who will bell the Cat?”
The moral of the story: “It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.”
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In our work, I’ll do it when I feel better (2013), the moral of the story there is pretty much the same as in Belling the cat. We tell ourselves that I’ll bell the cat of my addiction , which is killing me, only when I feel better. Of course, it never happens. I never feel better. I tell myself that I can’t even muster up the energy to even begin the process of taking on my sadness and those deadly feelings of helplessness. But bell the cat I did! I knew that either I start helping myself out of the pit of my despair or lose my mind. The “cat” in my fight had me physically, mentally and spiritually immobilized. Only because I had hit the wall did I begin to do something. I admitted that there is a problem and I had to DO something!
In the 1st Step of Depressed Anonymous which tells us quite directly and without equivocation “We admitted that we were powerless over depression and that our lives had become un-manageable.” OK. There you have it. I began to tie the bell around the old cat’s neck! That is the first step–to admit –and then to do something about it. It’s the beginning of a personal movement toward health and peace. But as we all know, this mouse (me) is never alone. I have a whole group of folks just like myself who have tied the ribbon around their addictions. Taking one Step after another we all have found a way to live our life without fear and depression.
For more information please read Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville and check out other books/ literature at Visit the Store at our site.