My name is Daniel Elliott, and I am a single parent. I was born in Waco, TX, but I grew up in Hewitt, TX, a small town outside of Waco. In 2009 I moved to Austin, TX, and have lived here ever since.

At 29 years old, my son was born (in May of 2017). My life underwent a heavy transition during that period, greatly impacted by a five-year-long (and counting) custodial battle. In August of 2022, I won custody over my son, but I had to take a hard look in the mirror during that painstakingly long time leading up to my victory.

Why was I going through what seemed to be the lowest part of my life? I needed to examine all my behaviors and admit that I was eating poorly, not exercising, smoking marijuana, drinking in excess, dabbling with harder drugs, lusting, and having a lot of meaningless sex. My life was in a deep spiral, and I found myself in a dark place without being able to have my son in my life.

Finally, I decided that if I wanted to change my life, I had to stop doing things that I KNEW were detrimental to my future successes. I learned that you can’t keep doing the same thing expecting a different outcome. This is the very meaning of insanity, and if I am insane, then I deserve the consequences of what my downhill lifestyle was cultivating.

I was tired of the hopelessness, so I started focusing on my physical health. I’ve always been the type of person who lifted weights and exercised. Throughout my younger years, from 5th grade – Senior year, I played football, and jogging has always been one of my favorite things to do, though I never took it seriously when it came to getting rid of my vices.

So, I started there, and that’s when I found the actual battle; a battle within myself where I was dealing with addictions that I didn’t realize were an issue. Once I knew what I was facing, I started picking them off the list one compulsion at a time. First, I addressed the harder drugs. Then, moved on to drinking and marijuana. Those were harder to kick than I thought, but I got rid of those vices with time focused on prayer and meditation.

The urges never really went away, but I got stronger in dealing with them. Once I kicked the self-medicating vices, I had to face another one that I didn’t want to admit was wrong; lust, sex, fornication, whatever you want to call it. I was finally sober from substances, but my mind was still a victim/demonized to lust.

Once I decided to stop having meaningless intimate relationships, I noticed a SERIOUS withdrawal and an almost uncontrollable urge to indulge even more! Whether it be porn, sex with FWB (friends with benefits), masturbation, etc., it was no different from my urges towards drinking, drugs, and smoking. In fact, it almost seemed worse!

For me to completely control my addiction, it helped me understand its power and not just see it as a physical act. This partially came to being understood after having my son but continued to surface as I researched the spiritual implications.

Now, with zero vices to alter my focus and nothing to drain me of vital life forces, I see the Earth and the world through a different lens of purpose over pleasure. I understand it’s not about me, but it does take everything within me to bring out the best in others around me. When utilizing my strength in my restraint, an inner purpose or flame motivates me to serve others in this journey that I am blessed to comprehend from within.