Blog entry for:

Sat, Feb 13, 2010 08:35:26 AM


∑ service brings out both the best and the worst of me ∑
posted: Sat, Feb 13, 2010 08:35:26 AM

 

it is through service that i get in touch with some of my most pressing defects of character. while this is a good thing and provides loads of material for my daily inventory the drawback is the manner in which those defects are revealed. for me, it is a mirror effect, i others acting out and judge them quite harshly because they are acting in the manner that i WANT to act. the closer to the mark their behaviors come to something inside of me, the more judgmental i become. the more judgmental i become, the angrier i get, and then the rationalizations and justifications start to fly, and before i know it i am in a sh!tstorm of feelings, reactions and all sorts of nonspiritual behaviors.
in fact, today one of the many tasks i have before me, is to go to a service meeting and report on my activities over the past month. i will write an honest report, BUT what i need to do is to leave any emotional attachment to what others think their job is and what i have been told my job is behind and move forward into the spirit of service. in fact the next thing i am going to do, is to write me first draft of my report, before i go out running, then come back and revise as necessary. i am grateful for this reading this morning, because it reminds me of what STEPS 6 and 7 are all about, recognizing who i am, accepting that without reservations and allowing a POWER greater than me, to act in my life to remove those defects of character. my job is to do my vest not to react to the feelings that may arise, after all, to expect someone else to see or care how i am feeling is more than a little unfair.
so on that note, i do believe that report writing is the next right thing to do, and then into what i WANT to do this morning.

∞ 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!

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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

2) The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying
a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless
and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence.
I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and
forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have
enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind
is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos. Ordinary men look
bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look
full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem
to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to
rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull
and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone am different from
other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).