Blog entry for:
Fri, Feb 7, 2014 07:26:23 AM
♦ i will have faith that the will of the POWER ♦
posted: Fri, Feb 7, 2014 07:26:23 AM
that fuels my recovery is good, and that i am loved.
that statement, in and of itself, embodies so much irony for me, that i can barely stand it. i mean seriously, since i choose to remove any sort of personification from the my view of the POWER that fuels my recovery, the terms “will for me” and love, have no meaning in that context, and yet i use them for lack of anything better.
with that little bon mot out of the way, i can move forward into my brain drain this morning. the evolution of my take on divinity, leaves me in a different place than my peers, who look to a religious definition. for me, what is, just is. life happens, and the events that transpire through my life, are generally caused by me making decisions. if i choose to cruise 80 MPH on ice, and end up flipped upside down in a ditch on the side of HWY 119, it is not the will of a capricious HIGHER POWER, it is simply the result of me being stupid. if i choose to overeat and become obese, it is not because i was predestined to be heavy, it is because i allowed addiction to take over a normal and healthy activity, and use food to change the way i feel. if my Mom or Dad, passes away, it is not cosmic punishment for something i did or did not do, it is just part of the cycle of life. to believe anything else, in any of those instances, is selfish and self-serving. although i may view the universe from its center, it does not mean that the universe revolves around me. i really have to laugh, when some of my peers take on this whole HIGHER POWER issue and say things like if you want to hear God laugh, make plans. how self-centered is that statement?
which brings me back to the program part. given that the lack of a better term, what is the will of the POWER that fuels my recovery? well, in most of that i am totally clueless, and i am more than okay, not knowing. one thing i know for certain, is part of that will, is for me to stay clean and in recovery today. that belief, and i cannot call it anything but belief, is founded in the evidence of the series of coincidences, misfortunes and adventures that led me to the rooms, and kept my a$$ in the chairs, long enough for me to accept the fundamental truth about myself: i am an addict. so will i have a job at the end of business today? will an asteroid strike my house and make me homeless? will terrorists strike Moe's Bagels and destroy my work place as well? will Yellowstone explode? as absurd as those questions may seem, they are not far away from what some of my peers talk about when they look to the will of the POWER that fuels their recovery. there really, in my not so humble opinion, a universal conspiracy to keep me sick, broke, unhealthy and without a future. GOD, as you have it, does not test my FAITH. i do not see myself as some sort of modern day JOB or JONAH. i see myself, as an addict, who has decided that just for today, i will stay clean and do whatever it takes to stay clean. for this addict, that means asking for the power to stay clean. then i must seek to get that power from the people and institutions that i interact with in the course of today, because that is how the POWER that fuels my recovery operates. i have to be awake and willing to grasp the opportunities as they are presented to me, and not sleepwalk my way through today. for me, if i do that, i know today will be a good day, no matter what comes down the pike.
that statement, in and of itself, embodies so much irony for me, that i can barely stand it. i mean seriously, since i choose to remove any sort of personification from the my view of the POWER that fuels my recovery, the terms “will for me” and love, have no meaning in that context, and yet i use them for lack of anything better.
with that little bon mot out of the way, i can move forward into my brain drain this morning. the evolution of my take on divinity, leaves me in a different place than my peers, who look to a religious definition. for me, what is, just is. life happens, and the events that transpire through my life, are generally caused by me making decisions. if i choose to cruise 80 MPH on ice, and end up flipped upside down in a ditch on the side of HWY 119, it is not the will of a capricious HIGHER POWER, it is simply the result of me being stupid. if i choose to overeat and become obese, it is not because i was predestined to be heavy, it is because i allowed addiction to take over a normal and healthy activity, and use food to change the way i feel. if my Mom or Dad, passes away, it is not cosmic punishment for something i did or did not do, it is just part of the cycle of life. to believe anything else, in any of those instances, is selfish and self-serving. although i may view the universe from its center, it does not mean that the universe revolves around me. i really have to laugh, when some of my peers take on this whole HIGHER POWER issue and say things like if you want to hear God laugh, make plans. how self-centered is that statement?
which brings me back to the program part. given that the lack of a better term, what is the will of the POWER that fuels my recovery? well, in most of that i am totally clueless, and i am more than okay, not knowing. one thing i know for certain, is part of that will, is for me to stay clean and in recovery today. that belief, and i cannot call it anything but belief, is founded in the evidence of the series of coincidences, misfortunes and adventures that led me to the rooms, and kept my a$$ in the chairs, long enough for me to accept the fundamental truth about myself: i am an addict. so will i have a job at the end of business today? will an asteroid strike my house and make me homeless? will terrorists strike Moe's Bagels and destroy my work place as well? will Yellowstone explode? as absurd as those questions may seem, they are not far away from what some of my peers talk about when they look to the will of the POWER that fuels their recovery. there really, in my not so humble opinion, a universal conspiracy to keep me sick, broke, unhealthy and without a future. GOD, as you have it, does not test my FAITH. i do not see myself as some sort of modern day JOB or JONAH. i see myself, as an addict, who has decided that just for today, i will stay clean and do whatever it takes to stay clean. for this addict, that means asking for the power to stay clean. then i must seek to get that power from the people and institutions that i interact with in the course of today, because that is how the POWER that fuels my recovery operates. i have to be awake and willing to grasp the opportunities as they are presented to me, and not sleepwalk my way through today. for me, if i do that, i know today will be a good day, no matter what comes down the pike.
∞ 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!
↔ this is not a test ↔ 314 words ➥ Monday, February 7, 2005 by: donnot↔ life is... ↔ 402 words ➥ Tuesday, February 7, 2006 by: donnot
α the hardships of life are a series of cosmic tests designed to teach me something? ω 570 words ➥ Wednesday, February 7, 2007 by: donnot
μ life can be terribly painful at times, but the pain is not inflicted on me by my HIGHER POWER. μ 498 words ➥ Thursday, February 7, 2008 by: donnot
α i came to recovery with the impression that the hardships of life are a series of cosmic tests ω 559 words ➥ Saturday, February 7, 2009 by: donnot
¿ the belief that the hardships of life are some sort of cosmic test ¿ 627 words ➥ Sunday, February 7, 2010 by: donnot
Α i have found a loving, personal HIGHER POWER, to whom i can turn Ω 855 words ➥ Monday, February 7, 2011 by: donnot
♥ there is no harm that life can do me ♥ 840 words ➥ Tuesday, February 7, 2012 by: donnot
• when something traumatic happens and i may be tempted to wail, • 396 words ➥ Thursday, February 7, 2013 by: donnot
¿ is it really a test of my character , 599 words ➥ Saturday, February 7, 2015 by: donnot
✠ this is ☮ 606 words ➥ Sunday, February 7, 2016 by: donnot
☯ life just happens, ☤ 672 words ➥ Tuesday, February 7, 2017 by: donnot
🌬 a series of 🌡 722 words ➥ Wednesday, February 7, 2018 by: donnot
😬 when something traumatic happens, 😭 576 words ➥ Thursday, February 7, 2019 by: donnot
🗣 testing, testing, 🗫 737 words ➥ Friday, February 7, 2020 by: donnot
💪 testing my recovery, 💀 444 words ➥ Sunday, February 7, 2021 by: donnot
🗹 a series 🗹 401 words ➥ Monday, February 7, 2022 by: donnot
🤕 not a test, 🤒 512 words ➥ Tuesday, February 7, 2023 by: donnot
🌬 recovery makes 🌀 542 words ➥ Wednesday, February 7, 2024 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 2
1) The movement of the Tao
By contraries proceeds;
And weakness marks the course
Of Tao's mighty deeds.