Blog entry for:

Thu, Feb 23, 2012 07:48:48 AM


♦  i can focus on the message of recovery ♦
posted: Thu, Feb 23, 2012 07:48:48 AM

 

not the personality of the messenger. do not shoot me i am only the messenger! generally i get a seat to myself on the bus but not today, so it goes i can whine and moan, which i just die, and move into acceptance.
every year when this reading comes around i get time to reflect on the nature of my character defects and how they manifest themselves into behaviors called shortcomings. on of them i seem to be overly fond of, is being a judgmental prick. in fact, just the other night, i had to recite my 7TH Step prayer, over and over again, after one of our eternal newcomers came back to the room and started to turn on the crocodile tears.
WHOOPS there i it goes again!
yes i get tired of hearing the same old story, or at last in my opinion, over and over again. moving into a pl;ace where i can give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe this time, it will be different. i know for me, if i do not change what i am doing and get out of my destructive and self-destructive behaviors, all i get is more and more misery. which brings me around to thinking about the men i sponsor. they are also messengers, and i often get confused about what message they are giving me. i get that sometimes it is more important to listen to what may sound like something i have heard them say in the past. when i am true to myself and not self-willing my life away, i get the fact that i need to practice being present and letting go of the judge, jury and executioner in my head.
i know that unholy trinity saved my life and saw me through many a sticky situation, back in the day. they may even have a task to do today, but most of the time, they just prevent me form seeing and hearing what i need to see and hear. what i am missing as a result, may be the very nugget of information that i NEED to save my life today, or it just be more of the lame excuses and rationalizations, i am unable to ascertain the difference when i have already set those furies free.
what i guess i am getting at is, that it is easier to dismiss the message when i have already dismiss the messenger for whatever reason. a spiritual as i like to think i am, i still have quite a ways to go, in this respect. even someone who cannot honestly accumulate more than 30 days in a row, has something to offer. it is up to me to listen, after all, part of my spiritual theory relies on hearing what i need to hear from those who are part of my life for however long they happen to be around.
as the bus speeds down the wet highway, in this winter dusting of frozen precipitation, i can rest assured that IF i let go, i can be a better man than i was yesterday, as long as i remember to behave my way into better thinking.

∞ 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!

∞  messages -- messengers  ∞ 306 words ➥ Wednesday, February 23, 2005 by: donnot
∞ carrying the principle of anonymity beyond the rooms ∞ 471 words ➥ Thursday, February 23, 2006 by: donnot
∞ i often get the message confused with the messenger, and negate what someone shares at a meeting ∞ 404 words ➥ Friday, February 23, 2007 by: donnot
↔ it is surprising how much more i can get out of meetings when i allow myself ↔ 358 words ➥ Saturday, February 23, 2008 by: donnot
↔ the 12th Tradition reminds me of the importance of putting **principles before personalities.** ↔ 256 words ➥ Monday, February 23, 2009 by: donnot
⊄ when i am having problems with what certain people have to share with me ⊄ 411 words ➥ Tuesday, February 23, 2010 by: donnot
≈ anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all the traditions ≈ 604 words ➥ Wednesday, February 23, 2011 by: donnot
¡ in recovery, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME ! 691 words ➥ Saturday, February 23, 2013 by: donnot
¢ it is surprising how much more i can get out of meetings ¢ 772 words ➥ Sunday, February 23, 2014 by: donnot
≈ it just may be resentments that are keeping me ≈ 586 words ➥ Monday, February 23, 2015 by: donnot
✶ messages ✶ 676 words ➥ Tuesday, February 23, 2016 by: donnot
⅘ principles before personalities ⅞ 799 words ➥ Thursday, February 23, 2017 by: donnot
🤔 focusing on 🤨 479 words ➥ Friday, February 23, 2018 by: donnot
📮 don*t shoot 🔫 429 words ➥ Saturday, February 23, 2019 by: donnot
💬 problems with 💭 492 words ➥ Sunday, February 23, 2020 by: donnot
📫 messengers 📨 518 words ➥ Tuesday, February 23, 2021 by: donnot
🗣 ever reminding me … 495 words ➥ Wednesday, February 23, 2022 by: donnot
💥 shooting 💥 554 words ➥ Thursday, February 23, 2023 by: donnot
🌬 a crash course 🌫 429 words ➥ Friday, February 23, 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

1) If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would
be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence
and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial
and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard
our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.