Blog entry for:
Sat, Jan 9, 2016 09:43:50 AM
😀 returning the kindness 😀
posted: Sat, Jan 9, 2016 09:43:50 AM
that my sponsor has so freely given me.
some times i feel like a nut, some times i just get into the grammar Nazi mode and change what i take as my seed to fit my over-wound sense of what sound good. today, i feel a bit of both and as a result changed it up a bit. so for the second snow storm in a row, my little city has been in the so-called sweet spot. what was one to three inches south of town turned into over five here, so the snow is really starting to pile up in my yard and flower beds. if this is El Niño, you can have it! a bit of a weather whine, because of course i realize that i have as much power over the weather as i have over addiction, or the addiction of the men i sponsor.
i spoke yesterday of one of those who returned, albeit for only an hour, after years of being in the wind, and as i sat this morning, my mind was on one of the men i currently sponsor, and how powerless i am over where he seems to be headed. as much as i would love to give him, what my sponsor has given me, i realize that he has to be willing to accept it/ being human, i get butt-hurt when my offerings are spurned, so generally i just stop offering. i give up to be succinct and accurate, even though i know the spiritual principle of HOPE is being tossed into the proverbial sh!tcan, when i do exactly that. as i st here this morning, enjoying a cigar before heading over to my home group, i certainly understand what the men who sponsored me, must have felt from time to time. i rarely call my current sponsor, thinking that a text is good enough and what i am learning, is that may not always be the case. just as the snow keeps piling up, so does the sh!t in my head, and just like the sun and wind remove the winter wonderland from my yard, so does a phone call to my sponse. where i end up going, is that it has been so long since we spoke to each other that he needs a break from whatever craziness i have accumulated in my head. all of a sudden i am way to fVckered up to just call and say “hi, how are you doing!” then the “national call your sponsor day” comes along, and i feel guilt-ridden and ashamed i have not included him in my life.
honestly i feel that since there are no ginormous issues in my life, i need not bother him with the penny-ante crap that is day to day living. i talk myself out of picking up the phone, just to check in and see how he is doing. i tell myself after all, i ma not that sort of needy, touchy-feely new age kind of guy, and he already knows that, so why belabor the point. and then all of a sudden it has been months since we last spoke.
today, well i have sent off a text and a bit later i might actually make that call. i am clean today, because of the offerings he has given me and despite those i too have spurned. as the changes to my life take effect and start to affect me, i am struck by how self-centered and self-absorbed i can be, at least in this respect. anyhow, and yes i know what that means, i guess i could stop being so maudlin and move along. accept that i am not perfect, i still have a long way to go to achieve that milestone and do my utmost to do a bit better than i did yesterday. it is a good day to be clean and i am grateful that i have a sponsor, even when i try to pretend that i do not. it is a good day to celebrate my active program of recovery.
some times i feel like a nut, some times i just get into the grammar Nazi mode and change what i take as my seed to fit my over-wound sense of what sound good. today, i feel a bit of both and as a result changed it up a bit. so for the second snow storm in a row, my little city has been in the so-called sweet spot. what was one to three inches south of town turned into over five here, so the snow is really starting to pile up in my yard and flower beds. if this is El Niño, you can have it! a bit of a weather whine, because of course i realize that i have as much power over the weather as i have over addiction, or the addiction of the men i sponsor.
i spoke yesterday of one of those who returned, albeit for only an hour, after years of being in the wind, and as i sat this morning, my mind was on one of the men i currently sponsor, and how powerless i am over where he seems to be headed. as much as i would love to give him, what my sponsor has given me, i realize that he has to be willing to accept it/ being human, i get butt-hurt when my offerings are spurned, so generally i just stop offering. i give up to be succinct and accurate, even though i know the spiritual principle of HOPE is being tossed into the proverbial sh!tcan, when i do exactly that. as i st here this morning, enjoying a cigar before heading over to my home group, i certainly understand what the men who sponsored me, must have felt from time to time. i rarely call my current sponsor, thinking that a text is good enough and what i am learning, is that may not always be the case. just as the snow keeps piling up, so does the sh!t in my head, and just like the sun and wind remove the winter wonderland from my yard, so does a phone call to my sponse. where i end up going, is that it has been so long since we spoke to each other that he needs a break from whatever craziness i have accumulated in my head. all of a sudden i am way to fVckered up to just call and say “hi, how are you doing!” then the “national call your sponsor day” comes along, and i feel guilt-ridden and ashamed i have not included him in my life.
honestly i feel that since there are no ginormous issues in my life, i need not bother him with the penny-ante crap that is day to day living. i talk myself out of picking up the phone, just to check in and see how he is doing. i tell myself after all, i ma not that sort of needy, touchy-feely new age kind of guy, and he already knows that, so why belabor the point. and then all of a sudden it has been months since we last spoke.
today, well i have sent off a text and a bit later i might actually make that call. i am clean today, because of the offerings he has given me and despite those i too have spurned. as the changes to my life take effect and start to affect me, i am struck by how self-centered and self-absorbed i can be, at least in this respect. anyhow, and yes i know what that means, i guess i could stop being so maudlin and move along. accept that i am not perfect, i still have a long way to go to achieve that milestone and do my utmost to do a bit better than i did yesterday. it is a good day to be clean and i am grateful that i have a sponsor, even when i try to pretend that i do not. it is a good day to celebrate my active program of recovery.
∞ 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!
∞ my sponsor and maturity in recovery ∞ 287 words ➥ Sunday, January 9, 2005 by: donnot∞ my sponsor ∞ 284 words ➥ Monday, January 9, 2006 by: donnot
μ the manner that my sponsor has helped me, has prompted me to seek my answers within myself, μ 441 words ➥ Tuesday, January 9, 2007 by: donnot
∞ though my sponsor has given so generously and has never demanded repayment, ∞ 758 words ➥ Wednesday, January 9, 2008 by: donnot
λ whatever i can do to return the kindness my sponsor has shown me λ 405 words ➥ Saturday, January 9, 2010 by: donnot
¢ my journey into relationships began with my sponsor ¢ 609 words ➥ Sunday, January 9, 2011 by: donnot
ƒ i treat my sponsor with respect ƒ 320 words ➥ Monday, January 9, 2012 by: donnot
♥ my sponsor cares for me ♥ 370 words ➥ Wednesday, January 9, 2013 by: donnot
ℵ my earliest involvements with others began with my sponsor ℵ 805 words ➥ Thursday, January 9, 2014 by: donnot
° returning the kindness my sponsor has unconditionally offered ° 549 words ➥ Friday, January 9, 2015 by: donnot
🌈 my sponsor is 🌋 577 words ➥ Monday, January 9, 2017 by: donnot
🚔 helping me 🚑 504 words ➥ Tuesday, January 9, 2018 by: donnot
📞 an abundant source 📳 679 words ➥ Wednesday, January 9, 2019 by: donnot
🕺 an abundant source 💃 484 words ➥ Thursday, January 9, 2020 by: donnot
🥺 could or would 🧭 389 words ➥ Saturday, January 9, 2021 by: donnot
🌘 becoming a 🌒 447 words ➥ Sunday, January 9, 2022 by: donnot
🌌 my sponsor 🌌 498 words ➥ Monday, January 9, 2023 by: donnot
🌘 participation, 🌒 536 words ➥ Tuesday, January 9, 2024 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 2
1) What makes a great state is its being (like) a low-lying, down-
flowing (stream);--it becomes the centre to which tend (all the small
states) under heaven.