Blog entry for:
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 08:01:13 AM
— when i am living willfully, i go beyond thinking for myself —
posted: Tue, Jul 23, 2013 08:01:13 AM
i think only of MYSELF.
yes, i want, i demand and certainly i can manipulate, events to turn out as i desire them to do. on the flip side, i can also make a plan or two, do the work i need to do, and allow the plan to turn out as it will, which more times than exceeds my wildest expectations.
in the end, there really does not appear to be that much difference between those courses of action, however as my sponsor often reminds me, the destination is not the important part, after all, we are all headed to the same end, it is what happens along the way that is important. i like to think of myself as a results focused sort of person, when in truth the only results that i am focused on, are those that are a benefit directly to my life. recovery just happens to be one of those processes. if i had followed my original self-centered plan and forced the results i had wanted way back when i was just starting to walk this path, i have no clue where i would be today. i remember my criminal lawyer, one of my party buddies, asking me if i was really planning on not using for the rest of my life. i told her, nah,. it was just until we had enough time in, that she could file for a reconsideration of my sentence i could walk out free and clear, with her next job to get rid of my felony record. those words, while quite true, never seemed to pass, as once the recovery journey got it claws in me, i held on for dear life, no matter how bumpy the ride. well she is dead from complications from alcohol abuse, and here i sit all these later, writing about her and seeing that although i was more than a reluctant passenger on this recovery journey, i seem to be here to stay, or at least it appears so just for today. i am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of something more and if i have to speak twice more this week than so be it, it has been quite some time, since i last opened my mouth at a local meeting and once those gates break open? who knows! what i do know today is that it is time to shower off, dress up and head on out to the office to figure out how to do the next right thing, just for today!
yes, i want, i demand and certainly i can manipulate, events to turn out as i desire them to do. on the flip side, i can also make a plan or two, do the work i need to do, and allow the plan to turn out as it will, which more times than exceeds my wildest expectations.
in the end, there really does not appear to be that much difference between those courses of action, however as my sponsor often reminds me, the destination is not the important part, after all, we are all headed to the same end, it is what happens along the way that is important. i like to think of myself as a results focused sort of person, when in truth the only results that i am focused on, are those that are a benefit directly to my life. recovery just happens to be one of those processes. if i had followed my original self-centered plan and forced the results i had wanted way back when i was just starting to walk this path, i have no clue where i would be today. i remember my criminal lawyer, one of my party buddies, asking me if i was really planning on not using for the rest of my life. i told her, nah,. it was just until we had enough time in, that she could file for a reconsideration of my sentence i could walk out free and clear, with her next job to get rid of my felony record. those words, while quite true, never seemed to pass, as once the recovery journey got it claws in me, i held on for dear life, no matter how bumpy the ride. well she is dead from complications from alcohol abuse, and here i sit all these later, writing about her and seeing that although i was more than a reluctant passenger on this recovery journey, i seem to be here to stay, or at least it appears so just for today. i am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of something more and if i have to speak twice more this week than so be it, it has been quite some time, since i last opened my mouth at a local meeting and once those gates break open? who knows! what i do know today is that it is time to shower off, dress up and head on out to the office to figure out how to do the next right thing, just for today!
∞ DT ∞
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.
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!
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Δ i can continue in my slavery to self-will, making unreasonable demands and becoming frustrated Δ 642 words ➥ Sunday, July 23, 2006 by: donnot
α there is nothing in the program that says i should not think for myself … 457 words ➥ Wednesday, July 23, 2008 by: donnot
∞ when i am living willfully, i go beyond thinking for myself … 552 words ➥ Thursday, July 23, 2009 by: donnot
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{ if i find myself at odds with everything around me , 643 words ➥ Monday, July 23, 2012 by: donnot
♠ i will plan to do the will of the POWER that fuels my recovery, ♠ 351 words ➥ Wednesday, July 23, 2014 by: donnot
∑ i tend to forget ∑ 710 words ➥ Thursday, July 23, 2015 by: donnot
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☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 2
3) Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous)
meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from
which it rises). Hence princes and kings call themselves 'Orphans,'
'Men of small virtue,' and as 'Carriages without a nave.' Is not this
an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see
the foundation of their dignity? So it is that in the enumeration
of the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes
it answer the ends of a carriage. They do not wish to show themselves
elegant-looking as jade, but (prefer) to be coarse-looking as an (ordinary)
stone.