Blog entry for:
Fri, Oct 20, 2023 06:58:08 AM
🤐 anonymity 🤐
posted: Fri, Oct 20, 2023 06:58:08 AM
lo and behold, a minute later, not only one of those in “losers,” in the rooms, i have been one for a bit of time and expect to remain one, at least just for today. letting go of my protective over-inflated self image was tough, as it was part of who i thought i was, rather than the mask i wore to throw everyone off the scent. it may have taken over a couple of decades to finally arrive at a place where i could uncover the person i had been hiding for nearly all of my life and allow that person to be seen by the world around me. as a result, i allow posers to be posers and those who need to appear bigger than life, to be just that, as i have been there, done that and certainly have many of the T-shirts. A as i learned to accept myself as an equal part of my fellowship and my home group, i began to understand what it meant to be “without name.” i am grateful that the fellowship survived my furtive and determined attempts to leave a mark on it. i also know that all i left behind in my wake was not destructive or disruptive, it simply was and if it served a purpose, those marks have survived, without attribution to me.
these days, i may skirt the issue of anonymity with this little exercise, as many who may stumble across these ramblings may recognize it's source, but even here i will not call out my peers by even their first names. i respect their anonymity even though i flout my own. i accept that i am more than just a collection of bad habits, “addictions,” and character traits. i am not defined by what i do, my checkbook balance, who i know or my reputation. all of those are part of me, but do not identify or mark me as this or that. these days, i am simply an addict in recovery, who is finally awake and sees his place in the world and how he got here, just for today.
∞ DT ∞
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!
freedom of choice 189 words ➥ Wednesday, October 20, 2004 by: donnotα freedom to choose ω 569 words ➥ Thursday, October 20, 2005 by: donnot
∞ freedom from active addiction means, among other things, the freedom to make choices for myself. ∞ 529 words ➥ Friday, October 20, 2006 by: donnot
α freedom of choice is a wonderful gift, but it is also a great responsibility. ω 519 words ➥ Saturday, October 20, 2007 by: donnot
α i am responsible for my own recovery and my own choices. ω 583 words ➥ Monday, October 20, 2008 by: donnot
∏ if i do not use the gift of freedom of choice that i have been given, ∏ 462 words ➥ Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by: donnot
• in active addiction, i often live my life by default • 431 words ➥ Wednesday, October 20, 2010 by: donnot
◊ enforced morality lacks the power that comes to me when ◊ 555 words ➥ Thursday, October 20, 2011 by: donnot
+ as difficult as it may seem , 430 words ➥ Saturday, October 20, 2012 by: donnot
¹ today, i will accept responsibility for my recovery, ¹ 626 words ➥ Sunday, October 20, 2013 by: donnot
¿ i am grateful for … 877 words ➥ Monday, October 20, 2014 by: donnot
ℜ freedom to choose ℑ 480 words ➥ Tuesday, October 20, 2015 by: donnot
⅔ abdicating ⅔ 605 words ➥ Thursday, October 20, 2016 by: donnot
🌫 being unwilling 🌫 736 words ➥ Friday, October 20, 2017 by: donnot
⚖ weighing my choices ⚖ 547 words ➥ Saturday, October 20, 2018 by: donnot
🤔 seeking the experience 🤯 411 words ➥ Sunday, October 20, 2019 by: donnot
🤔 choosing to live 🤩 599 words ➥ Tuesday, October 20, 2020 by: donnot
😲 living 😲 253 words ➥ Wednesday, October 20, 2021 by: donnot
😠 enforced morality 😒 640 words ➥ Thursday, October 20, 2022 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 1
2) The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying
a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless
and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence.
I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and
forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have
enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind
is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos. Ordinary men look
bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look
full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem
to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to
rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull
and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone am different from
other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).