It seems to me that in the early days of recovery I adhered to the process of; "...progress not perfection..." most of the time to justify my lack of recovery in a particular area.
I am now wondering if I did this as a "cop-out" during this phase of recovery. Each time my sponsor or one of you group members would "jack me up" about a particular character defect I had been working on less than diligently I would retort; "...it says progress not perfection" and I now know I meant "go away and leave me alone I like suffering".
After all I came to the process of recovery the king of excuses and cop-outs, I had an excuse for everything. I would lie about anything and usually did. When the truth was the best way I would still lie, sounds pathological right? It was. I would use the statement; "progress not perfection" as a shield or club, whichever fit the best in the moment.
Today I choose to stay in Reality or The Present Moment, whichever you choose. I have decided that the "easier softer way" is in fact the way of Truth and honesty. Born of the conviction that "IT" is always my source, I know I can say, do, face any situation in a given moment. There is no need to hide out away from life. Nothing is scary today.
Today when people I sponsor opt to use this line one me, I simply remind them that "now" is so much better than later to tackle change in their lives. They do not have be in pain and suffer, all they need to do is live life in Reality and in The Present Moment, for that is where The Divine resides.
Am I certain that I have this process down pat today? No. If I were perfect in every way the Great Reality or IT would not need me here on earth to demonstrate His/Her Love. I believe that I am the arms and feet of a Heavenly Father and IT uses me and all my trappings of life to teach others. Better I should do the footwork and "pass it on".
Love and Light
richard
Showing posts with label Reality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reality. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
"Congruous? Sounds difficult to me!"
When entering into recovery, I slowly, very slowly had to deal with the fact that I had become a chameleon in life. Whatever it took in the present moment I would be. If life seemed like it wanted me to lie, I did. If life required me to stroke your ego, I did. No matter how badly I had to prostitute my morals or good character, I did what it took for me to survive. I actually had no moral compass nor had any clue which way morality lie. I was an empty shell of humanity existing at a human level and nothing else.
It was excruciating to have to admit I was not only "...powerless..." over anything, for I was of course a US Navy Chief Petty Officer. Powerless? Not in my vocabulary. Of course initially I was focused on "things" outside I might be "powerless" over. You people who knew what recovery was all about for you were living it, understood that I needed to realize I was "powerless over" that which caused my "powerlessness". My substance abuse was but a "...symptom of underlying problems". All those problems and symptoms were within, not without. I did not want to hear I, the inside of me was the problem. That meant I was inferior to my contemporaries, which at that time were in the "drunk tank" of life with me.
I was to find out that the phrase; "as within, so without..." was going to become a mantra in life for me. At first glance I did not understand it, then I fought it, then I ignored it. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The concept that something within me was going to dictate what was around me frankly just went over my head. What? For such a self thought smart guy I really was not that hip on what made me tick. Oh? God? Remember I had not even yet begun to reconcile that idea. There came the rub with this; "as within so without". Without a source or force to call upon to create my own reality, how could I? Ahhh, the beginning of understanding how I was powerless over everything within me for I had learned to operate from the wrong source within me. Get the right "source" and get well.
So here I was at the beginning of recovery just a solid mess of questions, fears, moral ills and unable to completely turn my life around. Completely? Who said I had to completely at the very first cut, had to change my life totally and completely? Of course I had said that to myself. Wrong. You ladies and gentleman urged me to accomplish one day at a time and one thought and idea at a time. You urged me to consider that the spiritual principles underlying the 12 steps would enable me to not only see the correct path to recovery of my "inside", they would provide the mechanics and build the want or desire to accomplish this life changing feat. Well now, good solid direction!
Day by day I began to look inward and realize that I was a mess. I was not able at any juncture to "walk my talk" more than a portion of an hour or day at the beginning. My entire existence had been fabricated on lies and untruths about myself and all of life which included you, humanity. I was a basket case of recovering emotions and spirituality for the first nearly 12 years of recovery. One day I was in tune, the next day out of balance. One year up, up, and away Superman of service and love for my fellow humanity and the next "Lucifer" himself. Around 20 years of working at this thing called emotional recovery leading to spiritual growth things started making sense. I began to be entirely honest with me and you. I began to understand what made me hip, slick and cool on the inside. It was of course the explosion of "light" I had seen in so many of you. I was beginning to sense, feel and pay attention to my own "light" and the source of that light was God as I understand "IT".
For the next 17 years of recovery I was called upon to starting an interior house cleaning process that would rival all others I had done. I would also have to become my own "observer" in life. I watched what I said. I became sensitive to what I was doing. I felt for my fellow human on a level I never knew existed. I was on "The Way" as they used say in the first days of my fellowship of recovery. I was beginning to live in balance. I was actually becoming "well" on a human level and on an interior basis. Recovery and beyond were my thoughts.
What does any of that have to do with today? I have determined from my own actions that all of this step stuff and recovery stuff leads me to a congruous or harmonious life. That would be harmony between the inner and outer worlds. I know that "I Am" in control of my Reality. I find only "I" can keep my Self in Harmony between "Heaven (inner) and Earth (outer). Of course all this occurs one breath, one moment, one minute, one hour, one day, one....etc. at a time. I need to be ever vigilante of my thoughts and actions that they are being congruous with the rest of Life. Congruous? My definition would differ from all the dictionary's in that I would call it "my perception" as view through the filters of "IT", the God of my understanding.
Suffering from a "progressive illness" reminds me that as quickly as I grow in "the Sunlight of the Spirit" my illness keeps pace. At an unconscious level both "IT" and my illness function, today it is my choice to give power to "IT" as opposed to my illness. That is the choice I was promised so many years ago and remains true today.
Love and Light,
richard
aka ezduzit777 on Twitter and
Richard Curtis on Facebook
It was excruciating to have to admit I was not only "...powerless..." over anything, for I was of course a US Navy Chief Petty Officer. Powerless? Not in my vocabulary. Of course initially I was focused on "things" outside I might be "powerless" over. You people who knew what recovery was all about for you were living it, understood that I needed to realize I was "powerless over" that which caused my "powerlessness". My substance abuse was but a "...symptom of underlying problems". All those problems and symptoms were within, not without. I did not want to hear I, the inside of me was the problem. That meant I was inferior to my contemporaries, which at that time were in the "drunk tank" of life with me.
I was to find out that the phrase; "as within, so without..." was going to become a mantra in life for me. At first glance I did not understand it, then I fought it, then I ignored it. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The concept that something within me was going to dictate what was around me frankly just went over my head. What? For such a self thought smart guy I really was not that hip on what made me tick. Oh? God? Remember I had not even yet begun to reconcile that idea. There came the rub with this; "as within so without". Without a source or force to call upon to create my own reality, how could I? Ahhh, the beginning of understanding how I was powerless over everything within me for I had learned to operate from the wrong source within me. Get the right "source" and get well.
So here I was at the beginning of recovery just a solid mess of questions, fears, moral ills and unable to completely turn my life around. Completely? Who said I had to completely at the very first cut, had to change my life totally and completely? Of course I had said that to myself. Wrong. You ladies and gentleman urged me to accomplish one day at a time and one thought and idea at a time. You urged me to consider that the spiritual principles underlying the 12 steps would enable me to not only see the correct path to recovery of my "inside", they would provide the mechanics and build the want or desire to accomplish this life changing feat. Well now, good solid direction!
Day by day I began to look inward and realize that I was a mess. I was not able at any juncture to "walk my talk" more than a portion of an hour or day at the beginning. My entire existence had been fabricated on lies and untruths about myself and all of life which included you, humanity. I was a basket case of recovering emotions and spirituality for the first nearly 12 years of recovery. One day I was in tune, the next day out of balance. One year up, up, and away Superman of service and love for my fellow humanity and the next "Lucifer" himself. Around 20 years of working at this thing called emotional recovery leading to spiritual growth things started making sense. I began to be entirely honest with me and you. I began to understand what made me hip, slick and cool on the inside. It was of course the explosion of "light" I had seen in so many of you. I was beginning to sense, feel and pay attention to my own "light" and the source of that light was God as I understand "IT".
For the next 17 years of recovery I was called upon to starting an interior house cleaning process that would rival all others I had done. I would also have to become my own "observer" in life. I watched what I said. I became sensitive to what I was doing. I felt for my fellow human on a level I never knew existed. I was on "The Way" as they used say in the first days of my fellowship of recovery. I was beginning to live in balance. I was actually becoming "well" on a human level and on an interior basis. Recovery and beyond were my thoughts.
What does any of that have to do with today? I have determined from my own actions that all of this step stuff and recovery stuff leads me to a congruous or harmonious life. That would be harmony between the inner and outer worlds. I know that "I Am" in control of my Reality. I find only "I" can keep my Self in Harmony between "Heaven (inner) and Earth (outer). Of course all this occurs one breath, one moment, one minute, one hour, one day, one....etc. at a time. I need to be ever vigilante of my thoughts and actions that they are being congruous with the rest of Life. Congruous? My definition would differ from all the dictionary's in that I would call it "my perception" as view through the filters of "IT", the God of my understanding.
Suffering from a "progressive illness" reminds me that as quickly as I grow in "the Sunlight of the Spirit" my illness keeps pace. At an unconscious level both "IT" and my illness function, today it is my choice to give power to "IT" as opposed to my illness. That is the choice I was promised so many years ago and remains true today.
Love and Light,
richard
aka ezduzit777 on Twitter and
Richard Curtis on Facebook
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