Blog entry for:

Thu, Apr 14, 2005 05:43:01 AM


↔ asking for willingness ↔
posted: Thu, Apr 14, 2005 05:43:01 AM

 

imagine my life without my defects of character?? if i was a practicing catholic, i would be well on the road to sainthood! Saint Donno HMMMMMMMMMMMMM, interesting concept.
but i do not think the church will be putting my name in the beatification queue anytime soon, so i do not have to worry about for quite some time. there was a time i believed that my defects of character were what made me a unique individual and was afraid to become entirely willing to have them removed. after all, the last thing i want to become is a boring clone without any personality or identity. these days i realize that my defects of character and the associated behaviors are actually a block to becoming the man that i wish to become. i also realize that they are a part of me and have come to accept them, and integrate into my life the spiritual principles that are the opposite of the behaviors i act out when i exercise them. and just like getting in physical shape is difficult and painful when i first start working out, so is getting myself in spiritual shape. there is pain from using spiritual muscles that i have never used, and learning how to properly exercise my new found spiritual regimen is a process that takes continuous practice to achieve. does this mean that i should just stop because i will never achieve perfection or am not worth the effort? a resounding NO! it just means that i do the best to allow my true self to be expressed by practicing what i have learned over the course of my recovery.
so when i imagine what my life would be without defects of character i see a man who is happy and accepting of who he is today, i see a man that is open and giving of his time, love and self, i see a man who walks through the world leaving a better place behind him in at least some small manner, and i see a man who is comfortable in his own skin and humbly accepts who and what he is. do i need to ask for the willingness to have my shortcomings removed? yes, every single day, because it is part of my current nature is to rebel and be a selfish, self-centered bastard. do i want more than that today? YES, so i will continue following the suggestions and do my best to become that man.
∞ 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 2

1) He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance
of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in his not
daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one appears to
be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But

When Heaven's anger smites a man,
Who the cause shall truly scan? On this account the sage feels a difficulty
(as to what to do in the former case).