Blog entry for:
Sat, Feb 28, 2015 07:40:47 AM
◊ my FAITH and the care of the POWER ◊
posted: Sat, Feb 28, 2015 07:40:47 AM
that fuels my recovery, give me the courage i need to face whatever feelings may come up on a daily basis.
as many of you know, i have been struggling to fit the round peg of my current spiritual path, into the square hole of the norm of the fellowship that has given me this new manner of living. my struggles are BECAUSE, no one, tells me what i need to believe or which spiritual path i need to follow, but that is just a bit of background. no the irony here, is that i GET that feelings just are. the need not be judged to be ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ ‘negative’ or even ‘positive,’ they simply ARE. attributing those feelings to an infallible HIGHER POWER, moves them into the realm of “mysterious ways,” and i view that as a cop-out, a dismissal of my responsibility and moving towards the dark side of ignorance. i have feelings because i am human and in a drug-induced state of emotional numbness. some of those feelings i like, because i was taught to like them by culture or i am hardwired by nature. some i do not like, but in the end, a feeling is just a feeling, period. for me the greatest gift is two-fold, the ability to feel emotions in the first place, and secondly the ability to feel them without attaching a value judgement on whatever it is i am feeling. that ability may come from the POWER that fuels my recovery, or it may come from the work i have done to arrive at this place in my recovery. the most likely answer is a combination of those two factors, and i am who i am becoming today. FAITH does provide courage, but as i do not see the POWER that fuels my recovery as any sort of creative, sentient intelligence, in human terms, the whole point of IT being or not being infallible, escapes me. i have FAITH that i am given what i need, right here and right now, and it really does not matter if that comes from the guiding hand of GOD, or the harmony and flow of the universe. my FAITH is such that no matter how good or how fVcked i feel, right here and right now, allowing myself to feel that feeling, instead of fighting to change it, is the next right thing to do.the anger i felt at paying to be disrespected and begged to be used, is no different than the joy i felt when someone told me what they were really feeling or seeing a friend celebrate his seventh anniversary of his clean date, last night. the only difference is how i deal with those disparate feelings. the rage, well i felt it, and when the i run out of my prepaid collect call misery, i will be moving on. the joy? well i will savor and allow to fill my often icy cold appearing heart.
i came to recovery, quite good at concealing how i felt, except when i was pissed off angry, which was most of the time. i pout on this hard, cold and sometimes icy front, as a reaction to all those years of using, and as a result, i get some distance from the parade of newcomers and the those stuck in the revolving door. the pain i feel, each and every time, someone makes another rotation out the door, has not diminished, i am only becoming inured to it. as this set of steps progresses, i am seeing that being aloof, while part of who i am, is not who i want to be and th3e gift that i am receiving from the POWER that fuels my recovery, is to take those changes in and allow them to become part of me.
anyhow, got some miles to go, so beds to make and deeds to be done. it is a great day to allow myselkf just to be okay with whatever feelings come down the pike.
as many of you know, i have been struggling to fit the round peg of my current spiritual path, into the square hole of the norm of the fellowship that has given me this new manner of living. my struggles are BECAUSE, no one, tells me what i need to believe or which spiritual path i need to follow, but that is just a bit of background. no the irony here, is that i GET that feelings just are. the need not be judged to be ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ ‘negative’ or even ‘positive,’ they simply ARE. attributing those feelings to an infallible HIGHER POWER, moves them into the realm of “mysterious ways,” and i view that as a cop-out, a dismissal of my responsibility and moving towards the dark side of ignorance. i have feelings because i am human and in a drug-induced state of emotional numbness. some of those feelings i like, because i was taught to like them by culture or i am hardwired by nature. some i do not like, but in the end, a feeling is just a feeling, period. for me the greatest gift is two-fold, the ability to feel emotions in the first place, and secondly the ability to feel them without attaching a value judgement on whatever it is i am feeling. that ability may come from the POWER that fuels my recovery, or it may come from the work i have done to arrive at this place in my recovery. the most likely answer is a combination of those two factors, and i am who i am becoming today. FAITH does provide courage, but as i do not see the POWER that fuels my recovery as any sort of creative, sentient intelligence, in human terms, the whole point of IT being or not being infallible, escapes me. i have FAITH that i am given what i need, right here and right now, and it really does not matter if that comes from the guiding hand of GOD, or the harmony and flow of the universe. my FAITH is such that no matter how good or how fVcked i feel, right here and right now, allowing myself to feel that feeling, instead of fighting to change it, is the next right thing to do.the anger i felt at paying to be disrespected and begged to be used, is no different than the joy i felt when someone told me what they were really feeling or seeing a friend celebrate his seventh anniversary of his clean date, last night. the only difference is how i deal with those disparate feelings. the rage, well i felt it, and when the i run out of my prepaid collect call misery, i will be moving on. the joy? well i will savor and allow to fill my often icy cold appearing heart.
i came to recovery, quite good at concealing how i felt, except when i was pissed off angry, which was most of the time. i pout on this hard, cold and sometimes icy front, as a reaction to all those years of using, and as a result, i get some distance from the parade of newcomers and the those stuck in the revolving door. the pain i feel, each and every time, someone makes another rotation out the door, has not diminished, i am only becoming inured to it. as this set of steps progresses, i am seeing that being aloof, while part of who i am, is not who i want to be and th3e gift that i am receiving from the POWER that fuels my recovery, is to take those changes in and allow them to become part of me.
anyhow, got some miles to go, so beds to make and deeds to be done. it is a great day to allow myselkf just to be okay with whatever feelings come 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!
FAITH, FEAR and FEELINGS 257 words ➥ Monday, February 28, 2005 by: donnotα no bad feelings? only lessons to be learned? Ω 393 words ➥ Tuesday, February 28, 2006 by: donnot
↔ the feelings i am given, good or bad are given to me for a reason. ↔ 520 words ➥ Wednesday, February 28, 2007 by: donnot
α one such gift is the renewed ability to feel the emotions i had deadened for so long with drugs. ω 505 words ➥ Thursday, February 28, 2008 by: donnot
μ but what about the **bad** feelings like anger, sadness, fear, and loneliness? μ 738 words ➥ Saturday, February 28, 2009 by: donnot
∏ i hear other addicts talking about the gifts the program has given them ∏ 607 words ➥ Sunday, February 28, 2010 by: donnot
¨ my newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the future ¨ 639 words ➥ Monday, February 28, 2011 by: donnot
∠ i welcome my emotions, firm in the belief that i have the courage ∠ 407 words ➥ Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by: donnot
¹ the feelings i am given, ¹ 723 words ➥ Thursday, February 28, 2013 by: donnot
♠ i will welcome my feelings, firm in the belief that ♠ 605 words ➥ Friday, February 28, 2014 by: donnot
❂ the greatest gift ❂ 579 words ➥ Sunday, February 28, 2016 by: donnot
😝 uncovering the courage 😣 518 words ➥ Tuesday, February 28, 2017 by: donnot
🚌 but what about 🚍 655 words ➥ Wednesday, February 28, 2018 by: donnot
🙻 a **Higher Power** 🙻 727 words ➥ Thursday, February 28, 2019 by: donnot
🌧 what about 🌤 439 words ➥ Friday, February 28, 2020 by: donnot
🏃 the things 🏃 420 words ➥ Sunday, February 28, 2021 by: donnot
🌄 does not make mistakes 🌄 456 words ➥ Monday, February 28, 2022 by: donnot
😈 good or bad, 😇 539 words ➥ Tuesday, February 28, 2023 by: donnot
😵 reliability matters 😵 520 words ➥ Wednesday, February 28, 2024 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 2
3) Therefore when the sovereign occupies his place as the Son of Heaven,
and he has appointed his three ducal ministers, though (a prince)
were to send in a round symbol-of-rank large enough to fill both the
hands, and that as the precursor of the team of horses (in the court-yard),
such an offering would not be equal to (a lesson of) this Tao, which
one might present on his knees.