The Thrill Is Gone
What is more (and I can hardly find words to tell you how important I think this), it is just the people who are ready to submit to the loss of the thrill and settle down to the sober interest, who are then most likely to meet new thrills in some quite different direction. The man who has learned to fly and become a good pilot will suddenly discover music; the man who has settled down to live in the beauty spot will discover gardening. This is, I think, one little part of what Christ meant by saying that a thing will not really live unless it first dies. It is simply no good trying to keep any thrill: that is the very worst thing you can do. Let the thrill go—let it die away—go on through that period of death into the quieter interest and happiness that follow—and you will find you are living in a world of new thrills all the time. But if you decide to make thrills your regular diet and try to prolong them artificially, they will all get weaker and weaker, and fewer and fewer, and you will be a bored, disillusioned old man for the rest of your life.
—C. S. Lewis
We all love the thrill of something new—a fresh relationship, a new place, an exciting experience. But thrills aren’t meant to last forever. If we cling to them or try to keep them alive artificially, they lose their power and leave us empty. C.S. Lewis reminds us that letting the thrill fade allows us to discover deeper joys—interests and passions we might never have found otherwise.
Jesus spoke of this when He said that something must die to truly live. In recovery, this might mean letting go of the rush or the high, trusting that a quieter, steadier joy is ahead. If we embrace the change instead of fighting it, we’ll find that life still holds plenty of wonder—just in unexpected places. The death of one thrill can be the birth of another, and in God’s hands, that cycle can lead to a lifetime of renewed life. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics