Blog entry for:

Sun, Apr 9, 2006 08:34:24 AM


↔ i am free not to act out my negative feelings? ↔
posted: Sun, Apr 9, 2006 08:34:24 AM

 

with the help of the spiritual tools and the other members of the fellowship that has given me this new life. quite a large pill to swallow and one that i never believed that i had to even think about taking. after all, this program is all about not using drugs! well, it was, once upon a time but, once the desire to stay clean was integrated into my life, i realized that there was still more work to do. DAMMIT JANET!
i heard some members with time sharing the fact that they did not know how to live this new life without using, and that they continue to work the program and attend meetings because the answers to their living problems could be found there. and then i heard some other members sharing that their life had improved to such an extent that they found the whole recovery gig unnecessary and were getting by just fine on an occasional meeting. well. i thought to myself, that is the path i want -- a great life and none of their constant diligence that was required in early recovery. cool, i thought, i will just latch on to one of those ‘winners’ and learn how to succeed.
as i became healthier however, i saw i was really mistaken in who the winners really were in those early days. trying to get one of them to sponsor you was harder than drilling for oil in Leadville. of course they had no time for sponsees, they were far to busy living outside the rooms and the last thing their busy schedule allowed for was some high maintenance newcomer! i also discovered the truth about who the real winners were. the real winners were those members who kept working a program , kept coming back and who actually learned to LIVE the spiritual principles of the program. and when the physical, emotional and spiritual compulsion to get high was finally lifted from me, i saw that there was a whole lot more shit to deal with in my life than my drug use. and gasp, i actually had more than a couple of behaviors that needed modification. and all of those less than desirable behaviors were directly rooted in changing the way i felt.
YUCK -- WTF --- OVER!
so what does my program of recovery provide today? mostly a manner of living in which i can take a bit of comfort knowing that at least today i do not have to act out, and that i really do have a choice in how i behave. i am no longer a slave to my feelings that needs to run away every time he feels a little bit of discomfort. i can be a better person and a better man by working the program as it has been passed down to me from my predecessors.

∞ 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!

↔ i may feel like doing something destructive, just because i want to. i have done it before.↔  506 words ➥ Monday, April 9, 2007 by: donnot
∞ the longer i stay clean and work the program, the more freedom i experience. … 582 words ➥ Wednesday, April 9, 2008 by: donnot
μ i came to this fellowship with something less than an overwhelming desire to stop using μ 507 words ➥ Thursday, April 9, 2009 by: donnot
Δ sure, using drugs caused problems, and of course i wanted to be rid of the problems … 647 words ➥ Friday, April 9, 2010 by: donnot
¡ i am learning to experience my feelings and am starting ¡ 658 words ➥ Saturday, April 9, 2011 by: donnot
∅ it is okay to feel my feelings ∅ 348 words ➥ Monday, April 9, 2012 by: donnot
ℑ i am learning to experience feelings and ℑ 515 words ➥ Tuesday, April 9, 2013 by: donnot
℘ sooner or later, the compulsion to use ℘ 619 words ➥ Wednesday, April 9, 2014 by: donnot
¢ i wanted to be rid of the problems ¢ 675 words ➥ Thursday, April 9, 2015 by: donnot
⧝ acting out ⧝ 844 words ➥ Saturday, April 9, 2016 by: donnot
☕ not acting out  ☕ 904 words ➥ Sunday, April 9, 2017 by: donnot
🏚 something less than 🏗 736 words ➥ Monday, April 9, 2018 by: donnot
🌠 not willing 🌠 399 words ➥ Tuesday, April 9, 2019 by: donnot
🌩 feelings can 🌪 541 words ➥ Thursday, April 9, 2020 by: donnot
😈 negative feelings 😎 486 words ➥ Friday, April 9, 2021 by: donnot
🌋 i am learning 🌋 509 words ➥ Saturday, April 9, 2022 by: donnot
🤨 surrendering 🤨 471 words ➥ Sunday, April 9, 2023 by: donnot
🌁 less than 🌁 461 words ➥ Tuesday, April 9, 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 2

1) Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. Those who
are skilled (in the Tao) do not dispute (about it); the disputatious
are not skilled in it. Those who know (the Tao) are not extensively
learned; the extensively learned do not know it.