Blog entry for:
Wed, May 20, 2020 07:45:12 AM
🌈 the simple routines 🦡
posted: Wed, May 20, 2020 07:45:12 AM
of daily living, that i once scorned as boring, are now some of the things i am grateful for today. those routines are what the rock that is keeping grounded during these **interesting** times globally and my waiting for my diagnosis, on a personal level. if not for the support of my peers, my significant other and my recovery community, one does not have to wonder before i would be sticking my hand in the medicine jar. as much as i try to minimize the effect of that nuclear option, i am quite sure it would not be a **slip,** no matter how i want to spin it. at decades clean, it is unnerving to uncover THE very thing that would allow me to give myself permission to take a **break** from the No Matter What club. what is, simply is and what i will find out of Thursday is already written, waiting to be revealed and i am hoping that behind door number three, there is **new car.**
i often write about sitting listening for answers, whether it is first thing in the morning as i allow myself to drift towards the quiet, empty void, or last thing at night as i consider how i lived my life during my waking hours. i can honestly say that meditation did not come easy for me. it was once a struggle to even consider taking the time to sit still and stop the internal dialogue long enough to hear anything of use. i persisted at attempting meditation for many years and often considered myself a lost cause to this practice and walked away, living in the lie that my daily recovery routine, such as it was, would be “good enough.” today, there is certainly a feeling of accomplishment that i slavishly persisted in trying to do it better, as it opened me up to the spiritual path that was always set before me and i was to afraid to embrace. FEAR keeps me sick, as i have been so blatantly reminded of, these past five days.
do not get me wrong, i am still riddled with anxiety and the desire to distract myself from thinking about “what if…” right here and right now, though, i feel a connection to something greater than myself. whether that means the POWER that fuels my recovery, the care and concern of my friends, family members and peers or just my innate desire to live another day, does not matter. it is those daily routines and the lack of chaos, well relative lack of chaos that is fostering that connection. i cannot even begin to wonder the state i would be in, if i had survived in active addiction, to reach this point in history. the good part is, today, i do not have to wonder about that, because i am clean, i have a desire to live this day to the best of my ability and to get some steps under my belt, before my on-call duty kicks in. it is a good day to have a daily routine.
i often write about sitting listening for answers, whether it is first thing in the morning as i allow myself to drift towards the quiet, empty void, or last thing at night as i consider how i lived my life during my waking hours. i can honestly say that meditation did not come easy for me. it was once a struggle to even consider taking the time to sit still and stop the internal dialogue long enough to hear anything of use. i persisted at attempting meditation for many years and often considered myself a lost cause to this practice and walked away, living in the lie that my daily recovery routine, such as it was, would be “good enough.” today, there is certainly a feeling of accomplishment that i slavishly persisted in trying to do it better, as it opened me up to the spiritual path that was always set before me and i was to afraid to embrace. FEAR keeps me sick, as i have been so blatantly reminded of, these past five days.
do not get me wrong, i am still riddled with anxiety and the desire to distract myself from thinking about “what if…” right here and right now, though, i feel a connection to something greater than myself. whether that means the POWER that fuels my recovery, the care and concern of my friends, family members and peers or just my innate desire to live another day, does not matter. it is those daily routines and the lack of chaos, well relative lack of chaos that is fostering that connection. i cannot even begin to wonder the state i would be in, if i had survived in active addiction, to reach this point in history. the good part is, today, i do not have to wonder about that, because i am clean, i have a desire to live this day to the best of my ability and to get some steps under my belt, before my on-call duty kicks in. it is a good day to have a daily routine.
∞ 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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δ i can live life just as fully as Δ 252 words ➥ Sunday, May 20, 2007 by: donnot
δ active addiction kept me isolated for many reasons. Δ 235 words ➥ Tuesday, May 20, 2008 by: donnot
δ i avoided all non-addicts, belittling those who had **normal** lives δ 539 words ➥ Wednesday, May 20, 2009 by: donnot
∪ eventually, i even avoided other addicts because i refused to share anything ∪ 508 words ➥ Thursday, May 20, 2010 by: donnot
¦ i find myself doing and enjoying things ¦ 600 words ➥ Friday, May 20, 2011 by: donnot
• my life narrowed, and my concerns were confined • 620 words ➥ Sunday, May 20, 2012 by: donnot
¡ what a change from my past ! 740 words ➥ Monday, May 20, 2013 by: donnot
♦ enjoyment has returned to my life, ♦ 547 words ➥ Tuesday, May 20, 2014 by: donnot
• living life just as fully • 598 words ➥ Wednesday, May 20, 2015 by: donnot
★ coming out ☆ 704 words ➥ Friday, May 20, 2016 by: donnot
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😊 the ** normal ** people 😎 593 words ➥ Friday, May 20, 2022 by: donnot
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☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 1
1) The Tao in its regular course does nothing (for the sake of doing
it), and so there is nothing which it does not do.