Blog entry for:

Tue, May 31, 2022 06:56:27 AM


🏚 taking care 🏛
posted: Tue, May 31, 2022 06:56:27 AM

 

of the next moment as it comes was sort of my credo in active addiction. of course, for every rule , there is an exception. when i was using i could pretend to not care about what the next hour may bring, unless of course it had anything to remotely to do with me getting the ways and means to get high. in those instances i was all over every second, attempting to get what i needed in the here and now, no matter the cost to myself, my self-esteem or those around me. in early recovery, however most of that laissez-faire attitude of come what may, changed. in those days, manipulating the justice system, my family, my peers and the world around me to get what i thought i needed, became my raison d'être. the amount of time and energy that i put into appearing as if i was the “model of the recovering addict” left me exhausted and of course feeling more empty than before. those first few years were trying and even though throwing myself into service, helped, it never quite hit the mark. in fact, it was not until last year, when i uncovered who i was not, that i finally started to figure out how to live in the here and now and keep it simple.
i do need to clear up a bit of the hyperbole of that last paragraph. there was not a switch that turned off a little over a year ago. in fact, since i finally accepted i was an addict and actually took steps to learn how to live a program of active recovery, i became less and less concerned about solving that which was not currently on my plate. there is, of course, more work for me to do, with respect of letting go of the future, that is making plans and allowing the results to unfold as they will, but i am better at bit today, than ever before. i am, a bit miffed at myself that i did not write this on Sunday. i am not quite sure how i got so distracted, but it is what it is and i have to accept that the placeholder i put in there, will suffice. this morning as i look to what is really important, missing a day of doing this dump did not kill me, and for once i really do not take on any baggage for being human. as a peer once said, “what anyone else thinks of me, is none of my business.” the irony of the source of that bit of wisdom does not fail to escape me, but i will certainly let that sleeping dog lie.
as i get to the end of what bubbled up from the depths this morning, i know that i am going okay, if i allow the unknown future to take its shape. i can fret, fume, plan and manipulate all that i choose to do, but in the long run, being okay with what is in the here and now is a better policy for this addict. oh yeah, by the way, i did run the Bolder Boulder yesterday and am a bit disappointed with my time: 58 minutes and sixteen seconds. that, of course, is me finding the dark side of all i do and working to minimize my effort. the fact is, at sixty-five years old, after most of a life time of abusing amnd ignoring m,y physical self, i did that deed and survived. i can take that as a win and resolve to do better in the next 10K i choose to run.

∞ 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!

∞ looking at today ∞ 378 words ➥ Tuesday, May 31, 2005 by: donnot
α one breath at a time, i can stay clean and learn to live ω 400 words ➥ Wednesday, May 31, 2006 by: donnot
∞ looking at life and all its details, all at once, may be overwhelming. ∞ 317 words ➥ Thursday, May 31, 2007 by: donnot
↔ life often seems too complicated to understand, especially for me, … 414 words ➥ Saturday, May 31, 2008 by: donnot
↔ when i stopped using drugs, i came face to face with a world that was confusing, even terrifying ↔ 502 words ➥ Sunday, May 31, 2009 by: donnot
~ when i stopped using drugs, i came face to face with a world ~ 502 words ➥ Monday, May 31, 2010 by: donnot
⁄ i live a day at a time but also from moment to moment ⁄ 428 words ➥ Tuesday, May 31, 2011 by: donnot
ℜ happily, i do not  have to fix all of the “problems” i may have, at once ℜ 642 words ➥ Thursday, May 31, 2012 by: donnot
∂  today, i will tackle only the problems i face today ∂  548 words ➥ Friday, May 31, 2013 by: donnot
→ happily, i never have to fix everything at once. ⇒ 572 words ➥ Saturday, May 31, 2014 by: donnot
β keep it simple β 782 words ➥ Sunday, May 31, 2015 by: donnot
☈ leaving the problems ☇ 534 words ➥ Tuesday, May 31, 2016 by: donnot
↬ even with clean time, ↫ 735 words ➥ Wednesday, May 31, 2017 by: donnot
😵 a world that is 😵 482 words ➥ Thursday, May 31, 2018 by: donnot
🙻 maybe i cannot 🙻 660 words ➥ Friday, May 31, 2019 by: donnot
🍄 moment to moment 🍄 517 words ➥ Sunday, May 31, 2020 by: donnot
🌫 one breath 🌫 366 words ➥ Monday, May 31, 2021 by: donnot
🌶 finding balance 💫 360 words ➥ Wednesday, May 31, 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 1

1) When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'--
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill;--
What space the gulf between shall fill? What all men fear is indeed
to be feared; but how wide and without end is the range of questions
(asking to be discussed)!