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ฯ† the beauty of using, i believed, was that it gave me the ability ฯ†

Posted: Wed, Oct 7, 2009 08:46:52 AM

to be and feel anything i wanted, however the price i paid for this illusory freedom was a dependence beyond my worst nightmares. the irony in that statement? well for me, it was the fact that the structure of denial that i had built up, reaffirmed that false belief and dismissed any evidence that might support the actual truth, that i was dependent on getting high, in order to survive the daily grind of living. what i thought of this morning, was the difficulty i am having with one of the men i sponsor, every time i start to go up against his denial structure. i now understand, what a battering mine had to take before i finally let go, and allowed a bit of this program to sink in and start the destructive process of destroying that structure. thinking back, i can see, what i felt most was FEAR. how could i survive without the very structure that protected me in my darkest days of using, never mind, that structure allowed me to be a thief, a liar, a cheat, a con man and an uncaring, self-centered person. using only bolstered that façde. the power i felt, illusory and fleeting as it was, sustained me between the times when i was not high.
so recognizing that i was dependent on something when i came to the rooms was quite a shock. learning that i had to switch my dependencies, was even more so, after all, i heard the logic machine cranking up, switching from one irrational belief system to another, was hardly a pathway to greater health. or was it?
well, as i have walked this path, learning to become dependent of the program, and a concept of a POWER GREATER than me, i feel healthier. the evidence of an actual restoration to a healthier state? well i can now maintain relationships. i can be an equal partner. i can recognize when i am being selfish and self-centered and choose not to act out. i can get through today, without having the desire to use, and most likely without having any thought of using. i can be trusted to with some of the darkest secrets i have ever heard. most of all, i can do my best to act with integrity, being true to myself, honoring my word and doing what i said i was going to do. none of that was possible when i was in active addiction. it is true that i am still stubborn, opinionated and can be quite passionate and looking at those qualities now, they are changing into assets, passion used to be rage, opinionated used to be self-righteousness, and stubborn used to be closed-minded. what exactly could be the source of such deeply manifest changes? well the only answer i can come up with, is provided by the reading at hand -- a growing dependence of a HIGHER POWER that i have come to know as a result of the program that has given me this new manner of living.
as much as i resisted the change, i changed anyhow, all from just a tiny crack in the structure i so carefully crafted to protect me from the realities of life in active addiction. my sponsee? well i will keep hammering away on his structure and perhaps he too, will find that wall of denial is not actually providing him with any solace or comfort after all.
i have FAITH that if someone like me can get this, than anyone else can also. so it is off to start a new cycle of neighborhood tours. it is after akll a good day to take care of myself.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

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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

2) It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skilfully overcomes;
not to speak, and yet it is skilful in (obtaining a reply; does not
call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its demonstrations are
quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective. The meshes of
the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting nothing escape.