Blog entry for:
Thu, Dec 16, 2004 06:06:31 AM
∞ complacency and commitment ∞
posted: Thu, Dec 16, 2004 06:06:31 AM
although i do not consider myself to have "extensive" clean time, i have been around a few days and yet to fall victim to this trap. i have seen others stumble and fall and it is a concern for me.
this is not about the balancing act of dividing my time between recovery and the rest of my life, although time management is an issue for me and i would love to have more time to do nothing and relax. it is about the creeping notion that somehow, after all these years, that somehow i am "fixed" and do not need to be quite as diligent in my program. i am a unique individual and maybe i am not really one of those addicts who need 3 meetings a week, nor consistent communication with my sponsor. i have worked the steps a couple of times, so i really do not NEED to start another cycle. the time i gain from not doing step work or going to meetings or stepping out of service or not sharing what i have with newcomers can be used to work on the other areas of my life that i have lacked the resources to do up until now.
AND THAT IS HOW MY DISEASE WINS
replacing recovery with LIFE will only KILL me. if i want to continue getting what i gotten since coming around, i MUST continue to do what i have been taught to do and as a close friend of mine likes to say that is
- read the literature
- go to meetings
- pray every morning and night
- get and use a sponsor
- and work the steps as if my LIFE depended on it
∞ 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!
α where is all that smoke coming from, anyhow? ω 472 words ➥ Friday, December 16, 2005 by: donnot∞ recognizing complacency in my recovery is like seeing smoke in a room. ∞ 370 words ➥ Saturday, December 16, 2006 by: donnot
… i will participate in the full range of my recovery. my commitment to the fellowship … 447 words ➥ Sunday, December 16, 2007 by: donnot
μ i must learn to recognize complacency. in the fellowship, i have all the help i need to do that. μ 196 words ➥ Tuesday, December 16, 2008 by: donnot
π regular participation in my recovery will enable me … 506 words ➥ Wednesday, December 16, 2009 by: donnot
⌈ complacency is the enemy of members with substantial clean time ⌋ 529 words ➥ Thursday, December 16, 2010 by: donnot
⊗ i need to spend time with other recovering addicts because ⊗ 397 words ➥ Friday, December 16, 2011 by: donnot
“ recovery literature kept in easy reach ” 965 words ➥ Sunday, December 16, 2012 by: donnot
ℜ my commitment to recovery is far stronger ℜ 897 words ➥ Monday, December 16, 2013 by: donnot
½ with continued complacency, i will not be able ½ 678 words ➥ Tuesday, December 16, 2014 by: donnot
😓 where there*s smoke … 565 words ➥ Wednesday, December 16, 2015 by: donnot
✍ the full range ✍ 456 words ➥ Friday, December 16, 2016 by: donnot
🤯 preventing an inferno 🤯 425 words ➥ Saturday, December 16, 2017 by: donnot
🔥 the enemy 🔥 396 words ➥ Sunday, December 16, 2018 by: donnot
🔎 complacency 🔬 519 words ➥ Monday, December 16, 2019 by: donnot
🎈 substantial clean time 🎈 507 words ➥ Wednesday, December 16, 2020 by: donnot
🕯 my commitment 🕯 619 words ➥ Thursday, December 16, 2021 by: donnot
🛠 participating in 🛡 788 words ➥ Friday, December 16, 2022 by: donnot
🤗 embracing 🤗 410 words ➥ Saturday, December 16, 2023 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).