Blog entry for:

Wed, Apr 9, 2008 08:08:29 AM


∞ the longer i stay clean and work the program, the more freedom i experience. …
posted: Wed, Apr 9, 2008 08:08:29 AM

 

sooner or later, the compulsion to use was lifted from me completely, and that applies to other negative impulses that plague me. so i have never dies from a feeling and feelings just are and BLAH BLAH BLAH.
not that those statements are not true, and not that i do not need to hear them, it is just some days i need to escape from the clichés and bumper stickers and venture off into whatever direction my mind takes me. the first place my mind went was to my anonymous responder the other day. no not who she or he may be, but rather how i felt when i discovered that particular post. the first feeling was indignation, " now dare they say such things? who the f*ck do they think they are?"
anger sprang from that particular feeling, the resentment and a desire to lash out with a vengeance. and then a miracle happened. just as i was about to retaliate against who i suspected being the heinous culprit, i realized that i had already given an anonymous person, freely posting on an open blog far more power than they deserved, and i stopped dead in my tracks and waited for my spiritual program to catch-up with my emotional state.
so what was that post that drove me to such distraction and allowed me a full range of feelings? well here it is in all of its glory:
your future in service is...
partly tied to your need to be important. Sorry for the brutal honesty
but that is part of the program.
If I were your sponsor, which I am not,
an assignment for you would be that you could take no service position "higher" than GSR.
At that level you could really be of service and
not let your disease get the best of you.

so as i stopped and finally saw how ridiculous my behavior was, my feelings changed from what some consider negative feelings, to more positive ones. the caveat i issue here is that i do not put a positive or negative value judgment on feelings. yes anger, resentment and fear can allow me to believe that i can act out in response, but they are after all just feelings and they will pass. so anyhow after i stopped and took a breath, my feelings became first introspection, then calmness and finally certainty that i did know what i needed to do, and it was not to pound someone into the ground or to start some sort of spiritual war with battles, maneuvers, attacks and exit strategies. no it was to take what i was being told, file with all the other suggestions i have been given over time, and allow it to find its proper place within that collection.
well this morning i am in a place where i am quite content with myself and the world around me, i am certain that the actions i need to take today will be revealed as the day continues, so it is time to go walk my dog, take a bit more quiet time and see if i can accomplish what is in front of me today. it is a good day to recover, and i do not feel like acting-out, at least right now, but time will tell.

∞ DT ∞

 

djtConsulting Brand
The views expressed on this page are solely the opinion of the author.
While the author is a member of a 12 Step recovery fellowship, these writings are not intended to endorse or express the published wisdom of any fellowship.
These writings are not meant to be socially or politically correct, and if you take issue with any opinions expressed, please seek the guidance of someone wiser than me.

Another Look!

↔ i am free not to act out my negative feelings? ↔ 495 words ➥ Sunday, April 9, 2006 by: donnot
↔ i may feel like doing something destructive, just because i want to. i have done it before.↔  506 words ➥ Monday, April 9, 2007 by: donnot
μ i came to this fellowship with something less than an overwhelming desire to stop using μ 507 words ➥ Thursday, April 9, 2009 by: donnot
Δ sure, using drugs caused problems, and of course i wanted to be rid of the problems … 647 words ➥ Friday, April 9, 2010 by: donnot
¡ i am learning to experience my feelings and am starting ¡ 658 words ➥ Saturday, April 9, 2011 by: donnot
∅ it is okay to feel my feelings ∅ 348 words ➥ Monday, April 9, 2012 by: donnot
ℑ i am learning to experience feelings and ℑ 515 words ➥ Tuesday, April 9, 2013 by: donnot
℘ sooner or later, the compulsion to use ℘ 619 words ➥ Wednesday, April 9, 2014 by: donnot
¢ i wanted to be rid of the problems ¢ 675 words ➥ Thursday, April 9, 2015 by: donnot
⧝ acting out ⧝ 844 words ➥ Saturday, April 9, 2016 by: donnot
☕ not acting out  ☕ 904 words ➥ Sunday, April 9, 2017 by: donnot
🏚 something less than 🏗 736 words ➥ Monday, April 9, 2018 by: donnot
🌠 not willing 🌠 399 words ➥ Tuesday, April 9, 2019 by: donnot
🌩 feelings can 🌪 541 words ➥ Thursday, April 9, 2020 by: donnot
😈 negative feelings 😎 486 words ➥ Friday, April 9, 2021 by: donnot
🌋 i am learning 🌋 509 words ➥ Saturday, April 9, 2022 by: donnot
🤨 surrendering 🤨 471 words ➥ Sunday, April 9, 2023 by: donnot
🌁 less than 🌁 461 words ➥ Tuesday, April 9, 2024 by: donnot
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☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯

THE TAO TEH KING, OR THE TAO AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge

Book 1

3) Hence the sage is able (in the same way) to accomplish his great
achievements. It is through his not making himself great that he can
accomplish them.