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๐ŸŒŠ an acknowledgment ๐ŸŒž

Posted: Sat, Sep 28, 2019 10:12:09 AM

of despair was the last thing i was ready to do when i fell face forward into the rooms, after severe ass-kicking by the 20th Judicial District of Colorado. no, the act of recognizing that despair would not come for many years. the fact that it took eighteen months before i finally had enough of my experiment in self-sufficiency is telling in and of itself. denial was my constant companion and rewriting my history to fit the stories i took for the “TRUTH,” was and everyday occurrence. FEAR ruled my recovery and HOPE was not something i dared to look for, as i had very little FAITH that even if i surrendered to the program, i was going to be able to stay clean.

Ben S,
CONGRATS on 365 days clean.
Keep coming back, my friend.


somewhere in my third set of steps, more than likely between STEPS ONE and TWO, i started to let go of the story about how i was not desperate when i arrived in the rooms. when my sponsor suggested that i was desperate as any newcomer, but my desperation was quieter, it upset all sorts of the fragile worldview and cascaded into the start of the process that is ongoing today. today i am quite certain i paid the price of admission and reserved my seat in the rooms. i am not about to let anything or anyone chase me out. i find it amusing when i hear my peers share about “building a case” against the fellowship, as i have an ironclad one, that i built years ago. IF i was not seeing the benefits of staying clean and living a program of recovery, i would walk away with little or no regret. when i see others walk away and stay clean, i know the Jedi mind trick they use to do so. i choose to live a program of recovery because it still feeds my need to be a better person than i was yesterday. the day may come where my selfish wants and needs are not being met by this program and i will CHOOSE a path, when it becomes apparent.
today, i am quite certain i was desperate way back when, even if it was desperately desiring to stay out of prison. today, the HOPE that kept me clean in those days between FEAR and FAITH, is still part of my life. just for today, i will continue to selfishly live a program, that continues to provide me the life i am coming to believe i deserve. grace and mercy were not part of the world i used in,. and discovering there is more to life than the dank and dirty life i once lived is quite a reward and one i can celebrate today.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

This day in older entries

๐ŸŒŒ all of my life, ๐ŸŒŒ
509 words ➥ Monday, September 28, 2026 by donnot
๐Ÿ™Œ when i finally ๐Ÿ‘
335 words ➥ Sunday, September 28, 2025 by donnot
๐Ÿ•ฑ the antidote ๐Ÿ•ฑ
457 words ➥ Saturday, September 28, 2024 by donnot
๐Ÿ˜Ž connecting ๐Ÿ˜Ž
420 words ➥ Thursday, September 28, 2023 by donnot
๐Ÿฑ the measures ๐Ÿฑ
347 words ➥ Wednesday, September 28, 2022 by donnot
๐Ÿ•ด the management ๐Ÿ•บ
528 words ➥ Tuesday, September 28, 2021 by donnot
๐Ÿพ controlling my life ๐Ÿ‘ฃ
520 words ➥ Monday, September 28, 2020 by donnot
๐Ÿš€ an affirmation ๐Ÿš€
364 words ➥ Friday, September 28, 2018 by donnot
๐Ÿฏ when i attempt ๐Ÿฐ
710 words ➥ Thursday, September 28, 2017 by donnot
โŠ› my long experiment โŠ›
699 words ➥ Wednesday, September 28, 2016 by donnot
ยน HOPE ยน
551 words ➥ Monday, September 28, 2015 by donnot
โ‡’ the despair arising from my long and occasionally โ†ต
654 words ➥ Sunday, September 28, 2014 by donnot
โ€  no matter what measures i try to make my life better, โ€ 
429 words ➥ Saturday, September 28, 2013 by donnot
ยซ i will reaffirm my THIRD STEP decision ยป
638 words ➥ Friday, September 28, 2012 by donnot
ยก gradually, as i become more God-centered !
436 words ➥ Wednesday, September 28, 2011 by donnot
โˆž steps TWO and THREE lead me gradually out of despair โˆž
456 words ➥ Friday, September 28, 2007 by donnot
โˆž trading despair for hope โˆž
335 words ➥ Wednesday, September 28, 2005 by donnot
reaffirming my decision
172 words ➥ Tuesday, September 28, 2004 by donnot

Tao Te Ching

☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯

The Tao Teh King, or The Tao and Its Characteristics
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge

Book 2

2) (The infant's) bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its
grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and
yet its virile member may be excited;--showing the perfection of its
physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming
hoarse;--showing the harmony (in its constitution).