Blog entry for:

Mon, Feb 13, 2006 05:54:54 AM


∞ service to my fellowship, service to myself ∞
posted: Mon, Feb 13, 2006 05:54:54 AM

 

thinking about my life, which i have been doing a bunch lately, and where service fits it has given me some new perspectives this morning. i really do owe a debt to the fellowship that gave me this new life and i know that i will never ever be able to repay it. in the old days when i was faced with a debt that seemed beyond my means to resolve i ran away and hoped they would forget about me. today i have learned the spiritual principle of responsibility and do the best i can day-to-day to take care of my debts. what that means is that now that i have some clean time and some recovery i have to give back to the fellowship my time, my presence, my skills and most of all myself. and i am willing to invest all of those resources today to ensure that the doors remain open for the still suffering.
something else i have learned across the course of my recovery is that i no longer need to be a victim, anymore. i had to tell a long time friend this morning that i find his behaviors unacceptable to me, and that we need to reconsider our friendship. i can whine and moan about what he has or has not done to me, but that is part of the problem, and i remain the victim rather than a healthy partner in that relationship. i am sad that it has had to come to this, but i am happy that i finally stood up for myself and am changing the last of my unhealthy relationships. after all, service to the fellowship is for me, and service to myself is for me, and come to think about it is all about me today!

∞ DT ∞

 

djtConsulting Brand
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.

Another Look!

∞ i feel that without this fellowship i would surely have died from active addiction. ∞ 573 words ➥ Tuesday, February 13, 2007 by: donnot
↔ i feel that without the fellowship i would surely have died from my disease. ↔ 400 words ➥ Wednesday, February 13, 2008 by: donnot
ω i must learn to respond in a constructive way to the destructive influences … 698 words ➥ Friday, February 13, 2009 by: donnot
∑ service brings out both the best and the worst of me ∑ 352 words ➥ Saturday, February 13, 2010 by: donnot
‡ as long as the ties that bind this fellowship together are ‡ 586 words ➥ Sunday, February 13, 2011 by: donnot
¹ i will be unafraid to discover who i am ¹ 625 words ➥ Monday, February 13, 2012 by: donnot
♣ through service that i begin  ♣ 436 words ➥ Wednesday, February 13, 2013 by: donnot
〈 i will strive to be of service to our fellowship. 〉 554 words ➥ Thursday, February 13, 2014 by: donnot
⊗ AM I willing to help my group ⊗ 434 words ➥ Friday, February 13, 2015 by: donnot
⌣ the ties that bind ⌣ 659 words ➥ Saturday, February 13, 2016 by: donnot
☟ making the decision ☝ 858 words ➥ Monday, February 13, 2017 by: donnot
🙈 this fellowship 🙊 563 words ➥ Tuesday, February 13, 2018 by: donnot
🗬 the existence 🗩 511 words ➥ Wednesday, February 13, 2019 by: donnot
💪 maintaining an atmosphere 💪 550 words ➥ Thursday, February 13, 2020 by: donnot
💨 my own agenda 💨 501 words ➥ Saturday, February 13, 2021 by: donnot
🌪 the effect 🌩 371 words ➥ Sunday, February 13, 2022 by: donnot
🐐 the common 🐐 419 words ➥ Monday, February 13, 2023 by: donnot
🌻 opening up 🌻 498 words ➥ Tuesday, February 13, 2024 by: donnot
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☯ 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 1

1) When one is about to take an inspiration, he is sure to make a
(previous) expiration; when he is going to weaken another, he will
first strengthen him; when he is going to overthrow another, he will
first have raised him up; when he is going to despoil another, he
will first have made gifts to him:--this is called 'Hiding the light
(of his procedure).'