The following is an excerpt of a new book, just thought it appropriate to those of us in recovery also ... (in addition to those with non-alcohol generated problems) ... :
Whats your pebble? From The Pebble in the Shoe by Jim Fannin
Everyone has had a pebble in his or her shoe. You may have one or two now. Its the small, nagging thoughts that eventually weigh you down. Some pebbles have been hidden, undetected for years. Others push, prod, and make their presence felt every day. Each pebble intrudes into the lives of the unsuspecting. At different times in life the pebbles arrive. Although they are small and mostly undetected, they represent many unresolved thoughts, images and experiences. Some are pebbles of doubt. They form from a single thought that occurred years, months or weeks before. Some pebbles are lodged only in your business shoes. Some reside in your house slippers that you tuck under your bed. Some pebbles find their way into your golf shoes while others form in the shoes worn while you parent. Unfortunately, some pebbles travel in all your shoes regardless of where you walk or run.
Some pebbles are of fear. Others are created from guilt, rejection or shame. Maybe not today, but they eventually arrive unannounced and usually at the most inappropriate time. What challenges do they present?
To run the marathon race of life at your most efficient speed, you must be free of embarrassment, guilt, rejection, fear, envy, jealousy, anger, impatience, frustration and worry. All can be lodged in any shoe, from a pair of loafers worn by a city dweller in Manhattan, to a pair of boots on a farm in Montana. These intangible pebbles are crippling. They destroy relationships. They contribute to overeating and gaining unhealthy weight. They coax us into drugs, alcohol and other addictions. They destroy families and alienate friends. They thwart the potential of our children and physically snuff extra years from our life. These are the pebbles in the shoe.
The pebble can cause you to quit or perform with complete indifference. It can help instigate a fight or add disrespectful silence to an otherwise dynamic relationship. Even the desire for fame, fortune or power can turn into a pebble in your shoe if left undetected. Most pebbles stir up the past, cloud the future and keep the present to a blink of the eye. Like a garden thats been freshly tilled, a pebble can reappear without warning or detection. Prevention and removal are your only options for simplicity, balance and abundance.
I should add that for me, the program of AA helped me to remove the 'pebbles in my shoes' ... ... ... (I have not read this book ... not yet anyway ...)
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I like this, Pappy. It's really good. I took my "pebbles" to God as I first worked through the Steps long ago. And, Steps 10, 11, and 12 keep my "shoes" pebble-free. I had to see for myself everything that was really hurting me before I could ever want any of them removed. The Steps revealed them to me in stark detail. Blessings, Mike D.
