Blog entry for:
Thu, Jun 14, 2018 07:35:00 AM
😖 the **bad** things 😕
posted: Thu, Jun 14, 2018 07:35:00 AM
that happened to me were once the evidence of a capricious and uncaring HIGHER POWER. at least that was one of the interpretations, i used to justify my lack of FAITH. times change, i grow, and today that notion has been replaced by a FAITH that i will get exactly what i NEED from the POWER that fuels my recovery, IF i pay attention and take advantage of the opportunities that come rolling my way. learning to open my mind and let go of ALL of my preconceived ideas about the nature of the spiritual side of life, was one of the hardest tasks i ever accomplished. ironically, in the long run, my journey brought me to a place where arbitrary and capricious are no longer attributes i can use to describe the POWER that fuels my recovery, in fact, i have dropped using all anthropomorphic features of that POWER in entirety. so the question that i need to ask, is how can i have FAITH in an idea that is so ill-defined and nebulous?
for me, that was always my greatest FEAR and the idea that kept me locked in a concept of a HIGHER POWER that was a mirror image of my peers. GOD is GOD and although i was not entirely comfortable with that idea, i refused to let it go. my FEAR kept me locked in superstition and rote adherence to something i could not give myself over to, 100%. oh sure, i made all the correct noises, used proper language and implemented rituals based on that less than adequate understanding, but in reality, it was all window-dressing. do not misunderstand me, just because i have found a path that fits me better, does not mean that i once again look down my nose on my peers, seeing them as superstitious peasants in want of a better idea. my life as someone who is “spiritually superior” is no longer a reality, because what my peers use as a HIGHER POWER, is none of my bidness, period. what works for them, works for them. i am no longer the arbiter of anything outside of the mundane world.
what my journey to finding a POWER that i could have FAITH in taught me was that what i lacked was FAITH in myself. because of what i once saw myself as, my reluctance to have FAITH in myself leads me into all sorts of unnatural positions and none of them have ever been pain-free.
this morning as i arise and prepare to commute to work, i have a bit of gratitude for the long strange trip to come back to where i once may have started. because of my stubborn resistance to my feeling and intuition, i now have the experience of a journey to share with my peers. just for today, i know i will get what i need to stay clean and perhaps if i am awake and paying attention, much, much more.
for me, that was always my greatest FEAR and the idea that kept me locked in a concept of a HIGHER POWER that was a mirror image of my peers. GOD is GOD and although i was not entirely comfortable with that idea, i refused to let it go. my FEAR kept me locked in superstition and rote adherence to something i could not give myself over to, 100%. oh sure, i made all the correct noises, used proper language and implemented rituals based on that less than adequate understanding, but in reality, it was all window-dressing. do not misunderstand me, just because i have found a path that fits me better, does not mean that i once again look down my nose on my peers, seeing them as superstitious peasants in want of a better idea. my life as someone who is “spiritually superior” is no longer a reality, because what my peers use as a HIGHER POWER, is none of my bidness, period. what works for them, works for them. i am no longer the arbiter of anything outside of the mundane world.
what my journey to finding a POWER that i could have FAITH in taught me was that what i lacked was FAITH in myself. because of what i once saw myself as, my reluctance to have FAITH in myself leads me into all sorts of unnatural positions and none of them have ever been pain-free.
this morning as i arise and prepare to commute to work, i have a bit of gratitude for the long strange trip to come back to where i once may have started. because of my stubborn resistance to my feeling and intuition, i now have the experience of a journey to share with my peers. just for today, i know i will get what i need to stay clean and perhaps if i am awake and paying attention, much, much more.
∞ 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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α even after i come to believe in a Power greater than myself ω 172 words ➥ Thursday, June 14, 2007 by: donnot
∞ major setbacks in my life and the insecurity such events may give rise to … 275 words ➥ Saturday, June 14, 2008 by: donnot
α it took time, effort, open-mindedness, and faith to acquire a working belief … 597 words ➥ Sunday, June 14, 2009 by: donnot
⇒ if i maintain my spiritual condition daily ⇐ 749 words ➥ Monday, June 14, 2010 by: donnot
² if i maintain my spiritual condition daily ³ 910 words ➥ Tuesday, June 14, 2011 by: donnot
∞ i have worked hard to build my faith in a loving and caring HIGHER POWER. ∞ 721 words ➥ Thursday, June 14, 2012 by: donnot
∏ my old beliefs and ideas about **GOD** ∏ 636 words ➥ Friday, June 14, 2013 by: donnot
∼ when i first began searching for a POWER ∼ 452 words ➥ Saturday, June 14, 2014 by: donnot
• maintaining my faith • 540 words ➥ Sunday, June 14, 2015 by: donnot
🌜 trusting the 🌛 842 words ➥ Tuesday, June 14, 2016 by: donnot
➿ moving out ➽ 788 words ➥ Wednesday, June 14, 2017 by: donnot
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🎰 a working belief 🎲 734 words ➥ Sunday, June 14, 2020 by: donnot
🌩 dealing with 🌪 382 words ➥ Monday, June 14, 2021 by: donnot
🌈 surviving my setbacks 🌈 262 words ➥ Tuesday, June 14, 2022 by: donnot
🕸 faith in 🕸 628 words ➥ Wednesday, June 14, 2023 by: donnot
⚠ it does not matter ⚠ 437 words ➥ Friday, June 14, 2024 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 2
2) It is only by this moderation that there is effected an early return
(to man's normal state). That early return is what I call the repeated
accumulation of the attributes (of the Tao). With that repeated accumulation
of those attributes, there comes the subjugation (of every obstacle
to such return). Of this subjugation we know not what shall be the
limit; and when one knows not what the limit shall be, he may be the
ruler of a state.