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๐Ÿ˜Œ to become ๐Ÿ˜Ž

Posted: Sun, Apr 24, 2022 09:22:28 AM

a responsible, productive member of society was never something i envisioned having the desire to achieve. i **believed** that life on the outside and margins of society was the bomb and where i was quite happy spending the few remaining years i had left to me. i fatalistically believed that i would never see my fiftieth birthday, much less my sixty-fifth, so why give one whit about what society thought about how i lived. after all, in the long run i was not going to leave any sort of “mark” on the world. and so the story goes, active addiction and living a lie was not kind on this addict and the defenses that i had to build to protect myself from reality, are still being dismantled to this day.
as i prepare for my weekly 10K rehearsal, i am reminded that i no longer need to dwell in that house of pain. taking responsibility for my life, my fitness, my mental state and my financial condition, are gifts that spring from my recovery program. the ONLY thing i was promised, back in the day, was freedom from active addiction, and i am grateful that allowed me to get a whole lot more. the fact that i can tell someone that if they want others to be kind to them, they need to be kind to others, as well as being kind to themselves, is certainly a paradigm shift from when i was getting whatever i could for the lowest cost possible, from everyone i was interacting with, back in the day. sometimes, being kind to myself, means that i overextend myself, physically or emotionally. sure there may be a bit of pain afterwards, but the payoff in growth is ample reward for moving beyond the limits i set for myself. it simple stupefies me, that not everyone in my life feels the same way and that doing the bare minimum is how they choose to live. been there, done that, and certainly got more than one of the T-shirts.
the morning is slipping past me and i have stuff left to do, before i can chill at Havana Manor, this afternoon. one consequence of being a responsible member of society is that i am expected to meet the commitments i have agreed to. it also means that i can choose to wear clean clothes, which means i either have to buy new clothes every week, or do my laundry. as i have yet top reach a financial position where a weekly new wardrobe can be a part of my life, that means i CHOOSE the latter. lots more to do in that same vein, so instead of writing about what i need to do, i might as well post this and get that stuff done, just for today.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

This day in older entries

๐Ÿ˜‘ deciding to ๐Ÿ˜
393 words ➥ Friday, April 24, 2026 by donnot
๐Ÿ•ก making the time ๐Ÿ•–
463 words ➥ Thursday, April 24, 2025 by donnot
๐ŸŒ„ my life seems ๐ŸŒ‡
421 words ➥ Wednesday, April 24, 2024 by donnot
๐Ÿ™‡ FAITH ๐Ÿ™
527 words ➥ Monday, April 24, 2023 by donnot
๐Ÿ—ฑ becoming able ๐Ÿ—ฑ
444 words ➥ Saturday, April 24, 2021 by donnot
๐ŸŒฑ the courage ๐ŸŒฑ
525 words ➥ Friday, April 24, 2020 by donnot
๐Ÿ— building a life ๐Ÿ”จ
634 words ➥ Wednesday, April 24, 2019 by donnot
๐ŸŒต as i grow ๐ŸŒป
56 words ➥ Tuesday, April 24, 2018 by donnot
โ˜› the key to โ˜
775 words ➥ Monday, April 24, 2017 by donnot
โ‰Ÿ TWELVE steps โ‰Ÿ
666 words ➥ Sunday, April 24, 2016 by donnot
[ a simple way ]
611 words ➥ Friday, April 24, 2015 by donnot
โˆ  i will have the wisdom to use the Twelve Steps in my life, โˆ 
515 words ➥ Thursday, April 24, 2014 by donnot
ยฆ before coming to recovery, my life was centered around using. ยฆ
483 words ➥ Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by donnot
โˆ‚ when my energy is no longer channeled into addiction โˆ‚
584 words ➥ Tuesday, April 24, 2012 by donnot
ฮด when i work the Twelve Steps to the best of my ability ฮด
177 words ➥ Saturday, April 24, 2010 by donnot
โ†” serving my disease, or beginning to serve God and others? โ†”
240 words ➥ Monday, April 24, 2006 by donnot
โˆž courage and wisdom โˆž
361 words ➥ Sunday, April 24, 2005 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) Thus we may see,
Who cleaves to fame
Rejects what is more great;
Who loves large stores
Gives up the richer state.