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๐Ÿ˜“ where there*s smoke โ€ฆ

Posted: Wed, Dec 16, 2015 07:25:32 AM

always a good reminder for me, as is the conversation i sort of had last night, with a friend. i have been reaching out to him, via the communication channels that are at my immediate disposal, and have got nothing but crickets. this happens and i thought very little of it, after all, he just happens to be one of the people in my life struggling with all sorts of things. finally i resorted to a social media app, that i knew he used and BOOM, got a response. the conversation, quite terse and brief, came down to a couple of statements:
  1. he wanted what he once had, back
  2. he was scared
as much as i would love to reach out and snatch him back into this recovery gig, once and for all, i know it is his responsibility to step back towards the light. with that in mind, and how he got to where he is today, i can look to my own program and wonder if i smell the smoke of complacency. here is where i could list off all the actions i take to keep my recovery from going stale, and pat myself on the back for my diligence and perseverance. well i will simply say, that i DO take responsibility for my recovery today and i DO, do my best to live a program of active recovery.. i take to heart the line in our text that says: “we have never seen an addict fail to find recovery, that lives this program.”
while relapse may not be “failing to find recovery,” it certainly is not a symptom of success in my opinion.obstinate adherence to not using no matter what, may allow the recovery process to remain intact, but simple abstinence is not enough for me. i want more than just surviving clean, i want to thrive, and simple abstinence, while it works, is not a place i want to return to. if all i wanted was to stay clean, i could have left this program years, perhaps even a decade ago. no i want everything this program has to offer, and i am greedy son of a gun when it comes to claiming my share of the the infinite spiritual abundance i am being offered. just as when i was in active addiction, i want more, only the more i want cannot be paid for in easy installment payments and does not get steep discounts as the holidays approach. nope, what i want only comes when i choose to throw away my notions of how my life should go, of who is worth giving to, and what the spiritual side of this life may look like. when i am honest, open-minded and willing, i have the opportunity to tap into that abundance, even though it feels like i am drinking from a fire hose from time to time.
life is interesting today, and because of the weather event that dropped nearly 10 inches of snow on my locale, yesterday, i need to wrap this up and get heading on towards my next stop on today' train of activities. it is a good day to be vigilant and check to see if i have done enough to foster my growth in recovery.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

This day in older entries

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&#9997 the full range โœ
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โŠ— i need to spend time with other recovering addicts because โŠ—
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ฯ€ regular participation in my recovery will enable me โ€ฆ
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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

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.