Blog entry for:

Sat, Jul 29, 2006 11:40:55 AM


∞ As i learn to gently accept myself, i can start to view others with the same accepting and tolerant heart. ∞
posted: Sat, Jul 29, 2006 11:40:55 AM

 

these people, too, are only human, trying to do their best and sometimes falling short.
so exactly what is the big deal if i cannot forgive my human failings, i say to myself after reconsidering the reading this morning. after all, i need to have some standards of behavior and a yardstick to see how well i am living up to my potential. well for this addict, the character defect of self-abuse rises to a new level when i start to look at myself. i am supposed to be getting better, and yet i still have failings, defects and shortcomings. i could throw the standards away and behave exactly as i wish to, with little regard for who and what i hurt in the process. hey, that was the way i walked into recovery and just thinking about reverting back to that state gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. or i can learn to accept that it is not my job to rebuild myself as a human being. my job is to do my step work, participate in my recovery and be a part of this fellowship, allowing the process to work in its own sweet time. but dammit, i want to be perfect NOW! and since that is not possible, i want all those around me to be perfect too. perhaps what does not work overnight for me, will work in an instant for them. and then i start the slide down the slippery slope into the abyss of unmet expectations and resentments -- i might as well use!
so what does the reading suggest for me to do? forgive myself for being human, accept that as long as i am a part of the solution, i will become more than i was, and let others find this for themselves. sounds simple but alas, like most of the other tasks the program suggests on a daily basis it probably is not too easy to do. nevertheless it is a worthy task for 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!

forgiveness and tolerance 275 words ➥ Thursday, July 29, 2004 by: donnot
↔ looking in the mirror ↔ 408 words ➥ Friday, July 29, 2005 by: donnot
∞ as i learn to gently accept myself, ∞ 209 words ➥ Sunday, July 29, 2007 by: donnot
∞ working the steps helps me understand my own limitations and my humanity ∞ 484 words ➥ Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by: donnot
↔ my behavior toward other people in my life is a mirror of my behavior toward myself ↔ 579 words ➥ Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by: donnot
þ as i realize my need to be forgiven, i tend to be more forgiving þ 471 words ➥ Thursday, July 29, 2010 by: donnot
≅ i realize that i will never be perfect and that i will ≅ 1042 words ➥ Friday, July 29, 2011 by: donnot
« today, i can and will treat others » 662 words ➥ Sunday, July 29, 2012 by: donnot
≈ just as i am often unforgiving of my own mistakes, ≈ 507 words ➥ Monday, July 29, 2013 by: donnot
ƒ when i demand perfection of myself, ƒ 449 words ➥ Tuesday, July 29, 2014 by: donnot
‰ as i realize MY ‰ 707 words ➥ Wednesday, July 29, 2015 by: donnot
∃ expectations ∄ 1217 words ➥ Friday, July 29, 2016 by: donnot
🥀 i certainly will, 🦎 802 words ➥ Saturday, July 29, 2017 by: donnot
😜 my limitations 😜 490 words ➥ Sunday, July 29, 2018 by: donnot
👁 expecting others 👁 169 words ➥ Monday, July 29, 2019 by: donnot
🤔 only human 😶 487 words ➥ Wednesday, July 29, 2020 by: donnot
🗡 a mirror 🤳 492 words ➥ Thursday, July 29, 2021 by: donnot
🤕 tolerance 🙄 669 words ➥ Friday, July 29, 2022 by: donnot
😵 being prudent 😲 364 words ➥ Saturday, July 29, 2023 by: donnot
🚶 trying to do 🚶 466 words ➥ Monday, July 29, 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

2) The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying
a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless
and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence.
I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and
forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have
enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind
is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos. Ordinary men look
bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look
full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem
to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to
rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull
and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone am different from
other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).