shydawg
02-22-2009, 06:17 AM
What to do?... Whatta ya gonna do?!
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On the road of life on lifes' terms...
there'll be joy and sorrow, laughter and tears.
Relationships, jobs, service...
all of these are areas of growth in our lives.
It's easy to get caught up in our own small world.
When we expect perfection, our lifes become a series of disappointments. We all go through problems and trials with living life on lifes' terms. There may be conflict in our home, our home group, or our friendships. Sometimes change is very painful and it may seem easier to give up, than to continue on.
Often we grow fearful and revert to old defense mechanisms, like attacking, shutting down, or running. This is when we need to stop and look at ourselves. When we don't deal with a situation, it keeps coming back to confront us. Then we wonder if we can endure. But recovery teachs us we can endure and become stronger. And we learn that by facing each difficulty, one by one, lifes' terms aren't nearly so hard.
We've heard it said, "We pass this way but once."
But we have learned this isn't necessarily true in recovery.
It's bad enough to get lost in the city or in the mountains.
But much worse to get lost on our life's journey of recovery!
Someone asked a store clerk if they carried compasses.
She answered, "We have compasses for making circles, but not for going places."
Have you ever confused the two?
Has it seemed your life is going in circles instead of actually going somewhere?
Then maybe you're lost, or at least unsure what direction you should be heading.
Living well has little to do with comfort or speed.
But it has much to do with direction and effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 10,080 minutes in a week, that's a 168 hours.
It takes 3-5 minutes to read one page from a book.
A meeting takes 1 and 1/2 hours.
Book One of the Basic Text can be read, on average, in 7 hours.
Got time for your recovery?!
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For every hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song -
These were the things that made me strong!
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!
Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive;
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive.
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.
Author Unknown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're tired, overwhelmed, and feel as though this problem, this hard time, will last forever. It won't. You don't just "think" it's been hard, it has been.
You've been tried on what you've learned, on your beliefs and on your faith. You believed, then doubted, then worked at believing some more. You had to have faith even when you felt helpless, you had to believe so you could continue.
Others may have tried to convince you not to follow your beliefs. You haven't gotten to this place with total support. You had to work hard, in spite of what was happening around you.
At times what motivated you was anger, sometimes it was fear. Things went wrong, problems occurred. There were obstacles, frustrations, and annoyances en route.
You didn't plan on this being the way it evolved. Much of it's been a surprise, some of it, not at all what you desired. So much has happened, many times you were convinced you'd been abandoned. Your head told you that there was no plan or purpose.
Yet part of you, the deepest part that knows truth, senses, perhaps has sensed all along, that each incident has a connection. Every struggle on this journey has a resolution.
Your struggle hasn't been in vain... if you have learned from it. You've been changed from the inside out, and moved to a different level. Now you can again move forward, be guided, and gain Freedom! The choice is always Ours.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the road of life on lifes' terms...
there'll be joy and sorrow, laughter and tears.
Relationships, jobs, service...
all of these are areas of growth in our lives.
It's easy to get caught up in our own small world.
When we expect perfection, our lifes become a series of disappointments. We all go through problems and trials with living life on lifes' terms. There may be conflict in our home, our home group, or our friendships. Sometimes change is very painful and it may seem easier to give up, than to continue on.
Often we grow fearful and revert to old defense mechanisms, like attacking, shutting down, or running. This is when we need to stop and look at ourselves. When we don't deal with a situation, it keeps coming back to confront us. Then we wonder if we can endure. But recovery teachs us we can endure and become stronger. And we learn that by facing each difficulty, one by one, lifes' terms aren't nearly so hard.
We've heard it said, "We pass this way but once."
But we have learned this isn't necessarily true in recovery.
It's bad enough to get lost in the city or in the mountains.
But much worse to get lost on our life's journey of recovery!
Someone asked a store clerk if they carried compasses.
She answered, "We have compasses for making circles, but not for going places."
Have you ever confused the two?
Has it seemed your life is going in circles instead of actually going somewhere?
Then maybe you're lost, or at least unsure what direction you should be heading.
Living well has little to do with comfort or speed.
But it has much to do with direction and effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 10,080 minutes in a week, that's a 168 hours.
It takes 3-5 minutes to read one page from a book.
A meeting takes 1 and 1/2 hours.
Book One of the Basic Text can be read, on average, in 7 hours.
Got time for your recovery?!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For every hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song -
These were the things that made me strong!
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!
Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive;
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive.
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.
Author Unknown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're tired, overwhelmed, and feel as though this problem, this hard time, will last forever. It won't. You don't just "think" it's been hard, it has been.
You've been tried on what you've learned, on your beliefs and on your faith. You believed, then doubted, then worked at believing some more. You had to have faith even when you felt helpless, you had to believe so you could continue.
Others may have tried to convince you not to follow your beliefs. You haven't gotten to this place with total support. You had to work hard, in spite of what was happening around you.
At times what motivated you was anger, sometimes it was fear. Things went wrong, problems occurred. There were obstacles, frustrations, and annoyances en route.
You didn't plan on this being the way it evolved. Much of it's been a surprise, some of it, not at all what you desired. So much has happened, many times you were convinced you'd been abandoned. Your head told you that there was no plan or purpose.
Yet part of you, the deepest part that knows truth, senses, perhaps has sensed all along, that each incident has a connection. Every struggle on this journey has a resolution.
Your struggle hasn't been in vain... if you have learned from it. You've been changed from the inside out, and moved to a different level. Now you can again move forward, be guided, and gain Freedom! The choice is always Ours.