Blog entry for:

Fri, May 9, 2008 09:41:23 AM


α when i am confused or in pain, my sponsor sometimes tells me to **write about it.** ω
posted: Fri, May 9, 2008 09:41:23 AM

 

the rewards i find through the simple action of writing are many. clarity of thought, keys to locked places inside of me, and the voice of conscience are but a few. blah -- blah -- blah. not that i think that writing is a bad thing nor do i believe that i am above writing out my steps or doing a writing assignment about an issue i may be having. no what what struck me this morning was how incomplete the list of benefits is, even though it goes on and on and on. i know that there is only a single printed page, to make such a list, and brief as it is, i still tire some days of hearing it. dang it, i know what benefits i can get from writing, the greatest of these is freedom from my obsession with myself. i also understand that this particular passage was not written for me specifically, and to believe otherwise throws me back into that obsession with self cycle.
so how do i resolve this inherent conflict? well i could resort to a behavior i used when i was a f*cking new guy, just ignore those passages that i do not think could possibly pertain to me. that was a neat trick and as a result, i missed many of the things i could have been learning in my tumultuous early recovery. that little mind slip also kept me believing that i was somehow different, and unique. and i was sort of, cross-fellowshipping, taking the social life of recovering addicts and taking the spiritual life of recovering alcoholics. the result of that particular hybrid program of recovery were nearly disastrous for me, but i did finally come home to where i belonged from the start. but even though it is minor i do digress!
so these days when i find a passage in the daily meditation book that i think is far too mundane, or not pertinent, i have to stop and figure out why i i find it so. is it because i have slipped into being unique? well this morning that is not the case. is it because i am somehow cured and beyond contemplating what thousand of addicts around the world are contemplating today? well i know i am not cured, nor have i moved into some form of advanced recovery. or is it just that as a human being, i find that hearing the same things over and over again, a bit tiresome? well that might be the case today. the irony is, is here i sit writing away about writing in recovery, whining about a passage that deals with writing about recovery. and so it goes…
…anyhow, this particular piece of prose has brought me out of where i was earlier and back into seeing myself as i am, just another addict, who has good days and bad ones. who can move from close-mindedness towards open-mindedness in a minute. and one who can find something in every repeated passage, or cliché that happens to come my way, if i allow myself to do so. and of course that is always the trick, allowing myself to be open to any idea that happens to come my way, today and every day. so i have a bit of yard work to do, some paid work to do, a cigar to enjoy and a recovery to allow to happen. it is time to sign off with the thought that it is yet another good day to write about it!

∞ 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!

↔ writing about it... ↔ 213 words ➥ Monday, May 9, 2005 by: donnot
∞ the physical action of writing that helps ∞ 385 words ➥ Tuesday, May 9, 2006 by: donnot
∞ there is something about the physical action of writing ∞ 245 words ➥ Wednesday, May 9, 2007 by: donnot
Δ though i may groan as i drag out the notebook and pen, i know that it will help Δ 510 words ➥ Saturday, May 9, 2009 by: donnot
⊕ there are a myriad of rewards that are the result of the simple action of writing ⊕ 749 words ➥ Sunday, May 9, 2010 by: donnot
— i sit down with a notebook, ask for guidance, pick up my pen, and start writing — 706 words ➥ Monday, May 9, 2011 by: donnot
√ one of the ways i can search for truth in recovery is to write √ 412 words ➥ Wednesday, May 9, 2012 by: donnot
∧ by laying it all out on paper, ∧ 550 words ➥ Thursday, May 9, 2013 by: donnot
¡ write about it ! 669 words ➥ Friday, May 9, 2014 by: donnot
⇒ i know i can get to the bottom of ↵ 476 words ➥ Saturday, May 9, 2015 by: donnot
↱ searching for ↲ 812 words ➥ Monday, May 9, 2016 by: donnot
♖ simply thinking ♜ 866 words ➥ Tuesday, May 9, 2017 by: donnot
🏁 getting to the bottom 🏁 806 words ➥ Wednesday, May 9, 2018 by: donnot
😵 when i am 😵 600 words ➥ Thursday, May 9, 2019 by: donnot
↭ not sufficient, ↭ 646 words ➥ Saturday, May 9, 2020 by: donnot
🤮 finding out 😖 601 words ➥ Sunday, May 9, 2021 by: donnot
🍋 what i hear 🍒 530 words ➥ Monday, May 9, 2022 by: donnot
💙 love 💙 523 words ➥ Tuesday, May 9, 2023 by: donnot
🌸 love, there is no 🌸 462 words ➥ Thursday, May 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

2) Therefore (to guard against this), the sage keeps the left-hand
portion of the record of the engagement, and does not insist on the
(speedy) fulfilment of it by the other party. (So), he who has the
attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement,
while he who has not those attributes regards only the conditions
favourable to himself.