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∫ everything i had loved had been given to my addiction ∫

Posted: Thu, Aug 6, 2009 09:18:03 AM

once i got clean, i put all my energy into recovering material possessions, only to feel more dissatisfied. inner peace, a sure sense of direction, and emotional security, however, do not come from material things, but from within me.
okay perhaps the second time is the charm, i tried to to do something fancy and it failed and of course, even though i thought about saving my work, i only half-assed it, so the wonderful, spiritual, witty and intelligent blog that i just crafted is somewhere down the bit bucket and i am stuck starting from scratch.
yesterday, in the late afternoon, after working hard all day, i took a silly little quiz. while that is not all that important, when i got my results i was quite insulted, angry, and yes i had the desire to prove the author of the quiz wrong. since the author is not part of my reality, the next thing i could have done is go shopping. the amazing thing is, that idea did not cross my mind, purist form hell or not, i took an entirely different tack and as a result i got to grow spiritually, instead of materially. do not get me wrong, many of the bright and shiny things i have were reactions to feelings. although the hole in my soul, that is created and maintained by the part of me i call my addiction has been diminished in surface area, the depth is still bottomless, and i am certain that the opening can be stretched wide enough to accommodate anything i choose to put down it. in the past, my little fit of pique would have certainly sent me shopping, as i have found that shopping and eating and hundred other ‘normal’ activities can be turned into things to feed that addict within, although i would love to think of myself as some sort of spiritual, oh i do not know, for lack of a better term guru, and i find that i can still be obsessed with physical appearances (mine) and material wealth (mine too!). this reading reminds me of where i need to set my sight, namely for the spiritual wealth that is within my grasp and leave the rest alone. since i am hardly so ascetic yet, i will move in that direction while enjoying the benefits of material comfort. so it is off to pound the pavement and see how far i can run this morning, it is a great day to refocus on who i can become, instead of whine about who i am not.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

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Tao Te Ching

☯ 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

2) Therefore when one is making the Tao his business, those who are
also pursuing it, agree with him in it, and those who are making the
manifestation of its course their object agree with him in that; while
even those who are failing in both these things agree with him where
they fail.