Blog entry for:
Fri, Sep 4, 2015 08:58:55 AM
† cluttered spirit †
posted: Fri, Sep 4, 2015 08:58:55 AM
before i get started, a couple of things in current events certainly have caught my attention.
Number ONE: If you will NOT do your job because you are morally opposed to YOUR job description, QUIT. going to jail does not make you a martyr, it makes you stupid and intolerant. your rights END where they interfere with the rights of everyone else. the snarky side of me asks: “if marriage is so sacrosanct to you, why do you have three ex-husbands? after that religion does say a man and woman for LIFE!”
Number TWO: Buffs football looks like it will be another very long and far from stellar season.
Number THREE:as long as you get a judge to sign-off on your bad behavior, Tom Brady, you can cheat and get away with it, nice trick when you have the money to pay the lawyers.
all of the above is ripped from the headlines of the news this morning, and if something there offends, i make my amends right now, those are my opinions and can be certainly subject to revision upon further examination or new facts brought to light.
there are more than a few metaphors and similes in the daily readings, that i find a bit labored, HOWEVER, today's of a cluttered spirit due to unfulfilled amends being likened to a messy house is one i find very appropriate for me. i would take it one step further, at least in my case, my house was not just cluttered, is was packed full like a hoarder, and i was never, ever going to clean it out, after all, it was all mine and no one was going to take my stuff away. the biggest problem was i denied that there was anything wrong, and certainly that i had done any harm. when one of my peers, said that they could not really think of anyone to put on their very first list, i was more than a bit amazed, and then all of a sudden it dawned on me, that was me as well, way back when. as i stay clean i GET to clean my house and daily inventories keep it more spic and span than ever. not that it is antiseptic or even clean-room clean, but my spirit really does not have that much clutter today and for that i am grateful. as i drove home from my service commitment last night, when i could finally shut-off the shouting about the idiocy and bigotry in Kentucky, i considered the state of my spirit and where i was going. i was sort of doi8ng my TENTH STEP and officially starting the final week of my annual recovery cycle,m and i got a chance to consider where i have gone in the past eleven months and three weeks. i got to make an amends. i reconnected with two old friends, i reached out to a friend who had tragedy in his life, even though we had not spoken in years and i advanced into a new stage of my career. spiritually, i have finally come to terms with where my heart has been leading me, since the first day i walked into the rooms, a take on the spiritual side of the program, that does not quite look like that of my peers, but feels exactly like who i am becoming.
as a result of that journey out of darkness, i see things in quite a different light and today i am more than okay walking that spiritual path. yes the fact remains i am no different than my peers, i just express my spirituality in a different manner. if getting everything i need to stay clean is loving and kind, so be it, for that is what i GET every day from the POWER that fuels my recovery. that POWER is certainly more powerful than addiction and if providing me spiritual abundance is the demonstration of that love, i can certainly fall in line with my peers.
anyhow, as this is my first paid day off in nearly a year, i could write all day. i choose, however to end it here with the thought that maybe the incident in Kentucky is the expression of the will of her HIGHER POWER and not some sort of twisted dogma of bigots, than i can feel sympathy for her, after all, my opinions these days are subject to change.
Number ONE: If you will NOT do your job because you are morally opposed to YOUR job description, QUIT. going to jail does not make you a martyr, it makes you stupid and intolerant. your rights END where they interfere with the rights of everyone else. the snarky side of me asks: “if marriage is so sacrosanct to you, why do you have three ex-husbands? after that religion does say a man and woman for LIFE!”
Number TWO: Buffs football looks like it will be another very long and far from stellar season.
Number THREE:as long as you get a judge to sign-off on your bad behavior, Tom Brady, you can cheat and get away with it, nice trick when you have the money to pay the lawyers.
all of the above is ripped from the headlines of the news this morning, and if something there offends, i make my amends right now, those are my opinions and can be certainly subject to revision upon further examination or new facts brought to light.
there are more than a few metaphors and similes in the daily readings, that i find a bit labored, HOWEVER, today's of a cluttered spirit due to unfulfilled amends being likened to a messy house is one i find very appropriate for me. i would take it one step further, at least in my case, my house was not just cluttered, is was packed full like a hoarder, and i was never, ever going to clean it out, after all, it was all mine and no one was going to take my stuff away. the biggest problem was i denied that there was anything wrong, and certainly that i had done any harm. when one of my peers, said that they could not really think of anyone to put on their very first list, i was more than a bit amazed, and then all of a sudden it dawned on me, that was me as well, way back when. as i stay clean i GET to clean my house and daily inventories keep it more spic and span than ever. not that it is antiseptic or even clean-room clean, but my spirit really does not have that much clutter today and for that i am grateful. as i drove home from my service commitment last night, when i could finally shut-off the shouting about the idiocy and bigotry in Kentucky, i considered the state of my spirit and where i was going. i was sort of doi8ng my TENTH STEP and officially starting the final week of my annual recovery cycle,m and i got a chance to consider where i have gone in the past eleven months and three weeks. i got to make an amends. i reconnected with two old friends, i reached out to a friend who had tragedy in his life, even though we had not spoken in years and i advanced into a new stage of my career. spiritually, i have finally come to terms with where my heart has been leading me, since the first day i walked into the rooms, a take on the spiritual side of the program, that does not quite look like that of my peers, but feels exactly like who i am becoming.
as a result of that journey out of darkness, i see things in quite a different light and today i am more than okay walking that spiritual path. yes the fact remains i am no different than my peers, i just express my spirituality in a different manner. if getting everything i need to stay clean is loving and kind, so be it, for that is what i GET every day from the POWER that fuels my recovery. that POWER is certainly more powerful than addiction and if providing me spiritual abundance is the demonstration of that love, i can certainly fall in line with my peers.
anyhow, as this is my first paid day off in nearly a year, i could write all day. i choose, however to end it here with the thought that maybe the incident in Kentucky is the expression of the will of her HIGHER POWER and not some sort of twisted dogma of bigots, than i can feel sympathy for her, after all, my opinions these days are subject to change.
∞ 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!
uncluttering 117 words ➥ Saturday, September 4, 2004 by: donnot∞ clearing the clutter ∞ 124 words ➥ Sunday, September 4, 2005 by: donnot
δ a cluttered spirit is just as hard to live with as a messy home Δ 444 words ➥ Tuesday, September 4, 2007 by: donnot
α as long as i still owe amends, my spirit is cluttered with things i do not need. ω 217 words ➥ Thursday, September 4, 2008 by: donnot
† i gain a deep sense of satisfaction from making my amends † 582 words ➥ Saturday, September 4, 2010 by: donnot
⇒ carrying the extra load of an apology owed, ⇐ 831 words ➥ Sunday, September 4, 2011 by: donnot
¢ i will clear away the garbage that is cluttering my spirit ¢ 514 words ➥ Tuesday, September 4, 2012 by: donnot
• my spirit rejoices at THE freedom • 377 words ➥ Wednesday, September 4, 2013 by: donnot
» when i make amends i am doing it for myself « 799 words ➥ Thursday, September 4, 2014 by: donnot
♤ tripping over ♠ 812 words ➥ Sunday, September 4, 2016 by: donnot
🛣 as long as 🛤 809 words ➥ Monday, September 4, 2017 by: donnot
👣 ignoring disorder 🐾 400 words ➥ Tuesday, September 4, 2018 by: donnot
🛠 doing it for myself 🛣 478 words ➥ Wednesday, September 4, 2019 by: donnot
🕵 waiting to 🕴 285 words ➥ Friday, September 4, 2020 by: donnot
🛠 doing the work 🛠 354 words ➥ Saturday, September 4, 2021 by: donnot
🚯 picking up after myself 🚯 476 words ➥ Sunday, September 4, 2022 by: donnot
🤔 choosing 🤔 499 words ➥ Monday, September 4, 2023 by: donnot
🤔 i GET to 🤔 427 words ➥ Wednesday, September 4, 2024 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 1
1) Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep
the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which
are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves;
not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way
to keep their minds from disorder.