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Post Info TOPIC: Thought for the day
justadrunk


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Thought for the day
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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go

Making Life Easier

Life doesn't have to be hard.

Yes, there are times we need to endure, struggle through, and rely on our survival skills. But we don't have to make life, growth, recovery, change, or our day-to-day affairs that hard all the time.

Having life be that hard is a remnant of our martyrdom, a leftover from old ways of thinking, feeling, and believing. We are worthy, even when life isn't that hard. Our value and worth are not determined by how hard we struggle.

If we're making it that hard, we may be making it harder than it needs to be, said one woman. Learn to let things happen easily and naturally. Learn to let events, and our participation in them, fall into place. It can be easy now. Easier than it has been. We can go with the flow, take the world off our shoulders, and let our Higher Power ease us into where we need to be.

Today, I will stop struggling so hard. I will let go of my belief that life and recovery have to be hard. I will replace it with a belief that I can walk this journey in ease and peace. And sometimes, it can actually be fun.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelde



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Q


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I don't know. Sometimes I find the Hazeldon stuff is at odds with AA. I mean, I understand that that meditation is ultimately about acceptance, which is of course a cornerstone of sobriety, but I had to work very VERY hard in my early sobriety.

For one thing, my car had been repossessed, and my commute to work consisted of walking half-an-hour to the bus stop, an hour-long bus ride, followed by 2 1/2 hours of train rides. ONE WAY! I was physically exhausted, and my emotions were battered by my defeat and the host of people angry with me. My sponsor was driving me to countless meetings, and he had numerous stepwork assignments for me. It was a very challenging time that required an abundance of very hard work.

I used to get annoyed at the signs at the meetings that said, "Easy Does It" - I can't post my response to that phrase in this family-friendly forum, but it involved no small amount of four-letter invective.

Working the program did get easier, and more instinctual, but it wasn't because I took it easy at the start. It's because I worked it very very hard, until it soaked in and became habitual.



-- Edited by Q on Wednesday 19th of June 2013 02:55:37 PM



-- Edited by Q on Wednesday 19th of June 2013 04:03:53 PM

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The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.  ---William James
Pythonpappy


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Great post Tasha, ... ... ... ATTITUDE is everything ... ... ... Thank God we have the power to choose which 'attitude' we wish to have for any given day ...



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justadrunk


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Q - All of that hard work was still easier than being an active alcoholic in my opinion. I went through similar rings of fire... but just today during a chat with my sponsor, she mentioned the day she came over to my house and I was passed out drunk on the couch with 3 tiny kids in my care. I had no recollection of it... was in a black out... so it was nice that she offered me that tid bit of info. I got to make an amends to her of which she laughed of course... get back in gear with my living amends to my kids... of which I am slacking lately and being ungrateful that I have even get them in my care today... and then I got to feel that pang... just when I needed it, because I'm spending the weekend at a wedding that is in brewery! 2 1sts. Not that I felt in danger of drinking this weekend... but considering I belong in prison or dead - this is easier - and easy does it means exactly that to me. EASY - does IT: LIFE! My life... this is truly the easier softer way here in AA. I commend you for doing what it took to save your life, your freedom and your sanity... but why wouldn't you? I went to great lengths for alcohol. I stretched myself so thin, became the worst mother in the world, did unimaginable things all in the name of addiction. When it clicked for me that If I could become and DO all that for alcohol, spending 100's of dollars each week on babysitters, and driving 100's of miles each week for meetings seemed EASY! And easy does it for me. Sobriety is worth it. I am worth it. You are worth it.

With deep love and thanks,
Tasha

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Q


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Yeah, you're right of course, Tasha. Compared to the life of a drinking alcoholic, everything seems much easier, even the hard stuff!

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The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.  ---William James
Mr_David


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Great lesson, Tasha. Thanks.



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