I have been clean for:
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๐Ÿšฃ remaining steadfast, ๐Ÿšฃ

Posted: Fri, Dec 29, 2023 09:19:37 AM

what exactly does that mean? my source material sort of, kind of defines it as doing what i need to do to stay clean today. what i do to stay clean, may or may not be what my peers do and what i read this morning makes that quite evident. i can honestly say that before i started actually working a program of recovery, the only thing i was steadfast about was getting what i thought i needed to get on a daily basis, regardless of what i had to do and the consequences of those actions. much has changed since those “good old days” and all of it for the better.
of course, today is the day when i could not stop my mind for going in all directions about memories from days way gone by, as i was attempting to sit. as a result i shaved off two whole minutes from my session. the cheating on time did not there as i shaved thirty seconds off my workout. two and a half minutes may not seem like a lot, but when i consider the whys and wherefores, i see that those decisions were really not in my best interest. i quickly made excuses for myself, as i justified my way through not finishing what i started. the biggest and most juiciest of those rationalizations was, “at least i did most of what i set out to do.”
here i sit, vacillating between self-flagellation and total dismissal and i can not sit still to find a spot somewhere in between. the fact is, i have been to the gym for over an hour since i returned there in late October. the fact is, i meditate twenty minutes, every day and have for nearly a decade. i am correct in that demonstrates steadfastness and discipline and my behaviors were a “slip” of sorts into a bit of being lazy, rather than trying a bit harder and of course i do deserve to give myself a break. now, if it becomes common place, well that becomes a far different story and one i will need to address head on.
looking at my life and what i was and what i have become, i get a good picture of what and who i may become. i know this has been a theme i have played around with, over the past few weeks and it is one that keeps, as i say in my line of work, “popping off the stack.” having arrived at a place of acceptance that my Mom has continued her decline into the vicissitudes of aging and dealing with my brother's anger as he comes out of his oh so comfortable denial about what is going on with her, has made me realize that i certainly have nothing figured out, save for the fact that IF i want to have a life worth living i have to be disciplined and steadfast in doing whatever it takes to make it so, just for today.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

This day in older entries

๐Ÿ—œ steadfastness is ๐Ÿ—˜
471 words ➥ Monday, December 29, 2025 by donnot
๐ŸŒฌ coming to understand ๐ŸŒซ
273 words ➥ Sunday, December 29, 2024 by donnot
๐Ÿ˜ก a broader vision ๐Ÿ˜ก
493 words ➥ Thursday, December 29, 2022 by donnot
๐ŸŒŒ areas of my life ๐ŸŒ
522 words ➥ Wednesday, December 29, 2021 by donnot
๐Ÿ‘Ž as bad, ๐Ÿ‘
370 words ➥ Tuesday, December 29, 2020 by donnot
๐Ÿ‘€ taking a good look ๐Ÿ‘€
438 words ➥ Sunday, December 29, 2019 by donnot
๐Ÿ‘ถ an awkward realization, ๐Ÿ‘ด
439 words ➥ Saturday, December 29, 2018 by donnot
๐Ÿšฉ not necessarily ๐Ÿš‘
649 words ➥ Friday, December 29, 2017 by donnot
๐Ÿ˜‡ neither as selfish ๐Ÿ˜ˆ
802 words ➥ Thursday, December 29, 2016 by donnot
โœŒ through the eyes โœŒ
476 words ➥ Tuesday, December 29, 2015 by donnot
ฮด i can see that i am probably neither as bad, ฮด
504 words ➥ Monday, December 29, 2014 by donnot
โ‡” if i truly want to be free, โ‡”
649 words ➥ Sunday, December 29, 2013 by donnot
ยฟ even malicious remarks about my supposed shortcomings can *
395 words ➥ Saturday, December 29, 2012 by donnot
โ‡‘ i seek to see myself as i truly am, โ‡‘
376 words ➥ Thursday, December 29, 2011 by donnot
ฮฑ accepting feedback or seeing myself ฯ‰
371 words ➥ Thursday, December 29, 2005 by donnot
โˆž seeing myself... โˆž
281 words ➥ Wednesday, December 29, 2004 by donnot

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 2

3) Thus it is that a great state, by condescending to small states,
gains them for itself; and that small states, by abasing themselves
to a great state, win it over to them. In the one case the abasement
leads to gaining adherents, in the other case to procuring favour.