I have been clean for:
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โ€บ the more i try to make my life conform โ€น

Posted: Sat, Nov 24, 2012 08:24:36 AM

to my expectations, the more uncomfortable i feel. ironically, i was just talking to a sponsee last night about this. his actual motive for cal,ling was to game the system, so he could something he believes he is entitled to, and i enabled him to do so. i did however have the opportunity to sneak in a bit of recovery and although he did realize it, this was the topic. i understand wanting more getting less and being angry as a result. that is chapter and verse from my own playbook, page two. i understand, when my expectations, get inflated to the point where i believe i am entitled to something. and i understand that when they reach that point, self-will takes over, and i do whatever i can to manipulative the outcome to what i consider a favorable ending. when i cannot make that happen, well, i guess there is no better way to put this, i get pissed-off angry, ready to kill the next living thing that crosses my path. and then pout, whine and wallow in a sea of indignant self-pity. the rest of the story? well it has not gone to the conclusion yet, BUT i am certain, that with enough of these disappointing events in a period of time, i would reach the conclusion that doing this recovery gig, heck even staying clean, is not paying off, so why bother.
the HOPE in all of this? well because i have been doing the recovery gig to the best of my ability, for a few days in a row, i see long before i reach the fatal conclusion of my tale of woe, that it is my expectations that need a readjustment, not the world around me. daily maintenance, just like lack of daily maintenance is evidenced by how i handle the curve balls life on its own terms throws me. when i feel myself expecting anything or <GULP> expecting anything, i know that i am headed down a dark and dreary path. i can and often do, stop those thoughts and get to reexamine what i think i should be getting versus what it is I AM getting. when i can do this, and it gets easier with practice, i find that what i am getting is THE CHANCE TO RECOVER TODAY, and that gift is precious and beyond anything that i could have hoped for, way back when. on that note, i believe i will say adios and hit the trail into this day on life's terms.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

This day in older entries

๐ŸŒฑ for someone ๐ŸŒฑ
454 words ➥ Monday, November 24, 2025 by donnot
๐Ÿ— i can build ๐Ÿ—
156 words ➥ Sunday, November 24, 2024 by donnot
๐ŸŽŠ hospitality ๐ŸŽŠ
416 words ➥ Friday, November 24, 2023 by donnot
๐ŸŒป living in ๐ŸŒผ
492 words ➥ Thursday, November 24, 2022 by donnot
๐Ÿค“ staying clean ๐Ÿค‘
403 words ➥ Wednesday, November 24, 2021 by donnot
๐Ÿค” peace of mind ๐Ÿคฏ
467 words ➥ Tuesday, November 24, 2020 by donnot
&#128530 on finding ๐Ÿ˜ฉ
320 words ➥ Sunday, November 24, 2019 by donnot
๐ŸŒƒ adjusting my expectations ๐ŸŒƒ
408 words ➥ Friday, November 24, 2017 by donnot
๐Ÿ˜จ self-pity arises ๐Ÿ˜ญ
842 words ➥ Thursday, November 24, 2016 by donnot
๐Ÿ™‹ gratefully recovering ๐Ÿ™Œ
603 words ➥ Tuesday, November 24, 2015 by donnot
โ€ข acceptance of my life, โ€ข
652 words ➥ Monday, November 24, 2014 by donnot
โŒฉ there are certainly times when i entertain the thought โŒช
806 words ➥ Sunday, November 24, 2013 by donnot
โ™ฅ i HAVE been given much in recovery; staying clean DOES pay off โ™ฅ
599 words ➥ Thursday, November 24, 2011 by donnot
โŠ„ when the world does not measure up to my expectations โŠ„
599 words ➥ Tuesday, November 24, 2009 by donnot
ฯƒ there are days when i wallow in self-pity. it is easy to do ฯƒ
449 words ➥ Monday, November 24, 2008 by donnot
โ†” thanksgiving, expectation and gratitude โ†”
302 words ➥ Thursday, November 24, 2005 by donnot
grateful for my life? just as it is today?
153 words ➥ Wednesday, November 24, 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) With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be
liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become
a vessel of the highest honour. Now-a-days they give up gentleness
and are all for being bold; economy, and are all for being liberal;
the hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost;--(of all which the
end is) death.