Blog entry for:

Tue, Jan 20, 2015 07:43:08 AM


$ one promise, many gifts $
posted: Tue, Jan 20, 2015 07:43:08 AM

 

okay, so i took the mr fVcking obvious route here today. i never declared i was a spiritual giant, an enlightened being, or better than the average bear, so every now and again, pandering to the lowest common denominator is certainly par for the course, as the old cliché goes.
the promise of FREEDOM from active addiction means more to me today than anything else, and it seems the longer i stay clean, the more i come to appreciate that gift. one of the many side benefits i have received,as a result of the fulfillment of that SINGULAR promise, is the ability to laugh at myself, see my foibles and get to a place where i do not care what anyone says about me. in fact, even though i do my damnedest to maintain appearances, when i sit and do my daily inventory i am less concerned about what was said about me, and more concerned about whose ship i sank with my loose lips. i once enjoyed being on a pedestal, idolized by some of those who were in my life and more than ready to play the role of some sort of recovery giant, a man who controlled my own destiny and woe to any who happened to tarnish that image. today, well today, i know what i am, an addict in recovery. i know what my character defects and assets are, and i know how i act out on them. when i accept that package, exactly like it is, i do not need to fret and worry about what someone may be saying about me, or what they really think about me, because in the long run, unless they are paying my wages, it really does not matter. today, what i really care about is staying clean, and even that is not all that hard anymore, as i have become used to just doing the sh!t i need to do, to stay clean today.
i would like to say that i like and respect all of my peers. the truth is i respect many of them, and like most of them, and the rest? well the rest i accept for who they are. even those who have more clean time than i do, may not have anything that i want. many who have less clean time than me, have an abundance of what i desire today, so for me clean time is not a criteria for respect. what one does today, good bad and indifferent, i how i earn the respect of my peers. when i mess up, as i often do, i understand that others will talk about it, that just happens. i can be all butt hurt about it, or just move on. today for the most part, i am good about moving on. i know i am weak, fallible and lack integrity some of the time. i also know that i have and will put aside my desires, wants and perceived needs to go to the aid of someone who needs me. i know that to earn respect, i have to respect others. to earn trust, i have to be trustworthy. most importantly, to be a part of my fellowship, i NEED to show up in a consistent manner, and allow others to see me at my best and at my worst. no fluffy words to camouflage what is really going on. no pretending to walk the talk. just one more day clean, doing my best to walk the path and stumbling along the way. you know if i took two of something when the prescription said to take one, i would be scrambling all over trying to find the loophole to keep my clean time. pride will be my downfall, but i am glad today that i have friends and peers who will bring me down a notch or two, when i start walking a foot higher than everyone else. that is part of the gifts i get,m from the promise of FREEDOM, that i was given.

∞ 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!

∞  one promise  ∞ 101 words ➥ Thursday, January 20, 2005 by: donnot
∞ a promise or a gift ∞ 844 words ➥ Friday, January 20, 2006 by: donnot
α instead of high-pressure nonsense and frightening predictions, i was greeted ω 669 words ➥ Saturday, January 20, 2007 by: donnot
μ of course, after some time in recovery, good things start happening in my life. μ 280 words ➥ Sunday, January 20, 2008 by: donnot
σ i have been given gifts -- spiritual gifts, material gifts … 603 words ➥ Tuesday, January 20, 2009 by: donnot
« it is quite easy to imagine how it might have been, if i had arrived at the doors of fellowship » 430 words ➥ Wednesday, January 20, 2010 by: donnot
∴ this fellowship offers only one promise, and that is freedom from active addiction ∴ 799 words ➥ Thursday, January 20, 2011 by: donnot
⇑ i have been promised freedom from active addiction , 540 words ➥ Friday, January 20, 2012 by: donnot
¿ if YOU just work the steps and do not use drugs, ? 452 words ➥ Sunday, January 20, 2013 by: donnot
∗  relief comes over me when i realize that i never have to use again ∗  561 words ➥ Monday, January 20, 2014 by: donnot
☼ one promise: ☀ 659 words ➥ Wednesday, January 20, 2016 by: donnot
✑ high-pressure nonsense ✒ 816 words ➥ Friday, January 20, 2017 by: donnot
😏 fit company 😎 559 words ➥ Saturday, January 20, 2018 by: donnot
🎁 a promise of hope: 🎁 576 words ➥ Sunday, January 20, 2019 by: donnot
😎 once upon a time, 🤑 591 words ➥ Monday, January 20, 2020 by: donnot
🤔 heavy-handed spiel 🤨 561 words ➥ Wednesday, January 20, 2021 by: donnot
😎 i never 😎 542 words ➥ Thursday, January 20, 2022 by: donnot
💎 becoming fit 🎁 441 words ➥ Friday, January 20, 2023 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 2

4) Therefore the (ruling) sage acts without claiming the results as
his; he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it:--he
does not wish to display his superiority.